Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Classic & Vintage
Reload this Page >

Road Brake Lever covers: are they made anymore?

Notices
Classic & Vintage This forum is to discuss the many aspects of classic and vintage bicycles, including musclebikes, lightweights, middleweights, hi-wheelers, bone-shakers, safety bikes and much more.

Road Brake Lever covers: are they made anymore?

Old 03-21-23, 05:24 PM
  #1  
Writenride 
Malcontent
Thread Starter
 
Writenride's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Milwaukee
Posts: 123

Bikes: I honestly don't know...

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 72 Post(s)
Liked 89 Times in 42 Posts
Road Brake Lever covers: are they made anymore?



Hi, here's a scan from the 1986 Dia Compe catalog. On the top left they had a product called "Lever Sleeves," which I guess are for road brake levers, like the ones pictured here:


I don't know of any company which makes brake lever sleeves for road aero and non-aero levers. Do you know of any? Thanks.
Writenride is offline  
Old 03-21-23, 05:44 PM
  #2  
jdawginsc 
Edumacator
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Goose Creek, SC
Posts: 7,429

Bikes: '87 Crestdale, '87 Basso Gap, '92 Rossin Performance EL-OS, 1990 VanTuyl, 1980s Losa, 1985 Trek 670, 1982 AD SLE, 1987 PX10, etc...

Mentioned: 56 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2385 Post(s)
Liked 2,931 Times in 1,862 Posts
Are you wanting the hoods or the sleeves which go over the lever itself? I assume that is what they are?


On the other hand, look at all those cool colored cable housings...
jdawginsc is offline  
Old 03-21-23, 05:57 PM
  #3  
sloar
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Elwood Indiana
Posts: 7,560

Bikes: they change so much I'm tired of updating this

Mentioned: 168 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1211 Post(s)
Liked 1,120 Times in 421 Posts
eBay has silicone covers.
sloar is offline  
Likes For sloar:
Old 03-21-23, 07:15 PM
  #4  
ollo_ollo
Senior Member
 
ollo_ollo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Soviet of Oregon or Pensacola FL
Posts: 5,339

Bikes: Still have a few left!

Mentioned: 48 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 462 Post(s)
Liked 497 Times in 253 Posts
Don't think lever covers are made any more, but Mafac made a lot of them over the years. See levers with them on the bay frequently, like these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/25601118293....c100667.m2042
Less frequently there are used sleeves for sale:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/29512463099....c100667.m2042

Last edited by ollo_ollo; 03-21-23 at 07:21 PM. Reason: provide missing word
ollo_ollo is offline  
Old 03-21-23, 09:30 PM
  #5  
Writenride 
Malcontent
Thread Starter
 
Writenride's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Milwaukee
Posts: 123

Bikes: I honestly don't know...

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 72 Post(s)
Liked 89 Times in 42 Posts
Originally Posted by SurferRosa
OP is very clear about the "sleeves."

Plasti Dip?
I remember there used to be a product called “Plastisol” which was a dip one could use for plier and screwdriver handles.

As for actual road brake lever sleeves or covers for the lever blades themselves (I think that’s what you call them), I never seen an actual product first hand.
Writenride is offline  
Old 03-21-23, 10:11 PM
  #6  
SurferRosa
señor miembro
 
SurferRosa's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Pac NW
Posts: 8,237

Bikes: '70s - '80s Campagnolo

Mentioned: 92 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3846 Post(s)
Liked 6,437 Times in 3,183 Posts
Obviously, it's time someone here plasti dip a whole gruppo.

​​​​​​Ofmega had the look down, perfetto:

https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/site...glia_rosa.html
SurferRosa is offline  
Old 03-21-23, 11:33 PM
  #7  
Trakhak
Senior Member
 
Trakhak's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Baltimore, MD
Posts: 5,338
Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2429 Post(s)
Liked 2,888 Times in 1,646 Posts
Originally Posted by SurferRosa
Obviously, it's time someone here plasti dip a whole gruppo.

​​​​​​Ofmega had the look down, perfetto:

https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/site...glia_rosa.html
The shop where I worked back then brought in a few of those in assorted colors, along with the matching down tube shift levers. The levers were nicely curved backward for the last 1/4 or 1/5 of the length. Smart design, making them less likely to snap than if they'd been straight all the way to the top of the lever.

I don't remember there being matching front derailleurs. Took a while to sell through them, I think.

Last edited by Trakhak; 03-21-23 at 11:36 PM.
Trakhak is offline  
Old 03-22-23, 06:03 AM
  #8  
tiger1964 
Senior Member
 
tiger1964's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 2,414

Bikes: Drysdale/Gitane/Zeus/Masi/Falcon/Palo Alto/Raleigh/Legnano

Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 967 Post(s)
Liked 615 Times in 394 Posts
Originally Posted by Writenride
Hi, here's a scan from the 1986 Dia Compe catalog. On the top left they had a product called "Lever Sleeves," which I guess are for road brake levers, like the ones pictured here: I don't know of any company which makes brake lever sleeves for road aero and non-aero levers. Do you know of any? Thanks.
I've looked before, I wish there was a source. I'm sure that many of us have old levers with road rash to cover up!

Originally Posted by sloar
eBay has silicone covers.
I've seen those or some like them, but they certainly looked shaped to fit upright-bar levers to me. If anyone has mounted them on drop bars, I'd love to see a photo.
__________________
Larry:1958 Drysdale, 1961 Gitane Gran Sport, 1974 Zeus track, 1988 Masi Gran Corsa, 1974 Falcon, 1980 Palo Alto, 1973 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1974 Legnano. Susan: 1976 Windsor Profesional.


tiger1964 is offline  
Old 03-22-23, 07:17 AM
  #9  
Charles Wahl
Disraeli Gears
 
Charles Wahl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: NYC
Posts: 4,162
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 504 Post(s)
Liked 364 Times in 213 Posts
Originally Posted by sloar
eBay has silicone covers.
To me, those look like they're shaped to fit MTB brake levers, rather than road levers -- but they might work, depending on how elastic/flexible they are. If one could deal with what happens at the lever end, then there's heat-shrink material in lots of different colors, composition and "shrink ratios" -- check out McMaster-Carr on that front. If the shrink ratio were high enough, then the termination at the end of the lever might be "barely visible".
Charles Wahl is offline  
Likes For Charles Wahl:
Old 03-22-23, 08:50 PM
  #10  
Writenride 
Malcontent
Thread Starter
 
Writenride's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Milwaukee
Posts: 123

Bikes: I honestly don't know...

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 72 Post(s)
Liked 89 Times in 42 Posts
A long time ago, when my high school had shop classes (those were fun, man!), we had some cans of Plastisol. I had some pliers which had plastic handles at one time. As I recall, it was a dip, and if you dip the handles into the can, the Plastisol layers on when the product dries. You could have multiple layers and thicknesses of the product.

Recently, I purchased some adjustable wrenches from Harbor Freight, and the wrench handles had two different textures gripping the metal; a gold smooth texture and a black grippy texture.

As for road levers, I just think the added texture of a product like that would make them more comfortable to use.
Writenride is offline  
Old 03-23-23, 04:23 AM
  #11  
oneclick 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 2,890
Mentioned: 49 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1105 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1,311 Times in 775 Posts
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/122693510193

I got a pair; they are hard-ish poly or some similar plastic, haven't put them on anything yet but I thing they'll go on without too much trouble.

Cheap enough to try, even with postage.
oneclick is offline  
Old 03-23-23, 05:37 AM
  #12  
tiger1964 
Senior Member
 
tiger1964's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 2,414

Bikes: Drysdale/Gitane/Zeus/Masi/Falcon/Palo Alto/Raleigh/Legnano

Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 967 Post(s)
Liked 615 Times in 394 Posts
Originally Posted by oneclick
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/122693510193

I got a pair; they are hard-ish poly or some similar plastic, haven't put them on anything yet but I thing they'll go on without too much trouble.

Cheap enough to try, even with postage.
I think I'll try a pair. Perhaps immersion in hot water for a while will make them pliable for insertion.
__________________
Larry:1958 Drysdale, 1961 Gitane Gran Sport, 1974 Zeus track, 1988 Masi Gran Corsa, 1974 Falcon, 1980 Palo Alto, 1973 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1974 Legnano. Susan: 1976 Windsor Profesional.


tiger1964 is offline  
Old 03-23-23, 05:52 AM
  #13  
PhilFo 
Tinker-er
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Mid-Atlantic
Posts: 409

Bikes: 1956 Rudge Sports; 1983 Univega Alpina Uno; 1981 Miyata 610; 1973 Raleigh Twenty; 1994 Breezer Lightning XTR; V4 Yuba Mundo aka "The Schlepper"; 1987 Raleigh "The Edge" Mountain Trials; 1952 R.O. Harrison "Madison"

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 152 Post(s)
Liked 244 Times in 166 Posts
You could always go a little cheaper and get a length of latex tubing. I used to put that on brake levers, and come to think of it, I've been meaning to get some to stick on the levers of my bikes.
PhilFo is offline  
Old 03-23-23, 08:28 AM
  #14  
tiger1964 
Senior Member
 
tiger1964's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 2,414

Bikes: Drysdale/Gitane/Zeus/Masi/Falcon/Palo Alto/Raleigh/Legnano

Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 967 Post(s)
Liked 615 Times in 394 Posts
Originally Posted by PhilFo
You could always go a little cheaper and get a length of latex tubing.
Are you sure? Possibly online but the last time I check at Home Depot the per-foot cost shocked me. But it IS an option, certainly will flex/stretch well, and the 'gum' color compliments some brake hoods.
__________________
Larry:1958 Drysdale, 1961 Gitane Gran Sport, 1974 Zeus track, 1988 Masi Gran Corsa, 1974 Falcon, 1980 Palo Alto, 1973 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1974 Legnano. Susan: 1976 Windsor Profesional.


tiger1964 is offline  
Old 03-24-23, 08:27 AM
  #15  
Steel Charlie
Senior Member
 
Steel Charlie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 902
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 355 Post(s)
Liked 489 Times in 261 Posts
Whoa ! ! Have you thought about how much extra weight that's going to put on the front of the bike ? ? I mean, what's going to happen to the balance ? KWIM ?
Steel Charlie is offline  
Old 03-24-23, 09:43 AM
  #16  
tiger1964 
Senior Member
 
tiger1964's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 2,414

Bikes: Drysdale/Gitane/Zeus/Masi/Falcon/Palo Alto/Raleigh/Legnano

Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 967 Post(s)
Liked 615 Times in 394 Posts
Originally Posted by oneclick
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/122693510193 I got a pair; they are hard-ish poly or some similar plastic, haven't put them on anything yet but I thing they'll go on without too much trouble. Cheap enough to try, even with postage.
I just ordered a pair, checking the seller's other items I found some in "Marrone" with a translation tells me is "brown" but the color looks close enough to the same seller's gum hoods. We'll see. I am working on a project, a nice bike given to me by an old friend and he had 1 or more crashes and the levers are scraped up. And they are Campagnolo Record. Even with machine polishing, you can see the scrapes -- but they are shiny . Rather than $70 for new levers, I'll try these first!

Originally Posted by Steel Charlie
Whoa ! ! Have you thought about how much extra weight that's going to put on the front of the bike ? ? I mean, what's going to happen to the balance ? KWIM ? ​
I'll take the risk. Perhaps they'll balance out the fruit bar kept in the under-seat bag?
__________________
Larry:1958 Drysdale, 1961 Gitane Gran Sport, 1974 Zeus track, 1988 Masi Gran Corsa, 1974 Falcon, 1980 Palo Alto, 1973 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1974 Legnano. Susan: 1976 Windsor Profesional.


tiger1964 is offline  
Old 03-24-23, 11:32 AM
  #17  
RB1-luvr
I don't know.
 
RB1-luvr's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: South Meriden, CT
Posts: 1,976

Bikes: '90 B'stone RB-1, '92 B'stone RB-2, '89 SuperGo Access Comp, '03 Access 69er, '23 Trek 520, '14 Ritchey Road Logic, '09 Kestrel Evoke, '08 Windsor Tourist, '17 Surly Wednesday, '89 Centurion Accordo, '15 CruX, '17 Ridley X-Night

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 306 Post(s)
Liked 823 Times in 430 Posts
this would be hot:

RB1-luvr is offline  
Likes For RB1-luvr:
Old 03-24-23, 12:52 PM
  #18  
Vintage_Cyclist
Senior Member
 
Vintage_Cyclist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Big Apple
Posts: 1,632

Bikes: yes

Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 510 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 401 Times in 172 Posts
Still existent, box of crap items from the 1970s that ended up on the errand hoopty. Probably Schwinn or Reg brand.


Vintage_Cyclist is offline  
Old 03-24-23, 03:10 PM
  #19  
Robvolz 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2022
Location: Pac NW
Posts: 1,912

Bikes: several Eddy Merz (ride like Eddy, braze like Jim!)

Mentioned: 39 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1044 Post(s)
Liked 1,708 Times in 624 Posts
shrink electrical tubing? Comes in different colors. kinda slick when shrunk though.
__________________
"Leave the gun. Take the Colnagos."
Robvolz is offline  
Old 03-25-23, 05:18 PM
  #20  
Lattz
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2017
Location: Germany
Posts: 1,091

Bikes: 80s Alan Super Record, 79' Somec Special, 90s Rossin(?) Columbus Ego Triathlon, previously: Bianchi SBX Reparto Corse (stolen) and so on...

Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 391 Post(s)
Liked 812 Times in 602 Posts
Originally Posted by SurferRosa
Obviously, it's time someone here plasti dip a whole gruppo.

​​​​​​Ofmega had the look down, perfetto:

https://www.disraeligears.co.uk/site...glia_rosa.html
That Ofmega is almost NSFW I totally dig it, and not because it looks like.... anyhow..
Would have looked cool on the Torpado a friend built to his GF just to learn she won't be a CV gal.

OP, get a cheap pair of pliers, emphasis on cheap as quality ones won't easily release the material.

Since these were common in the MTB, Vespa and Motocross world as well, you might be able to find some generic stuff which does the job and has the look.

Last edited by Lattz; 03-25-23 at 05:21 PM.
Lattz is offline  
Likes For Lattz:
Old 03-27-23, 05:36 AM
  #21  
montclairbobbyb 
Recovering Bikeaholic
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Lambertville
Posts: 171

Bikes: 84 Specialized Expedtion, 85 StumpJumper, 85 Schwinn Cimarron, 2019 VO Polyvalent, 2007 Niner MCR, 2008 Niner SIR

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 41 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 47 Posts
Been thinking of cutting a leftover roll of Newbaum's cloth tape down the center (into half-wide strips) and wrapping a pair of oversized MTB levers. Add some fine twine whipping and a few coats of shellac... THAT could be pretty awesome...or not... Anybody ever see this?
montclairbobbyb is offline  
Old 03-27-23, 07:08 AM
  #22  
RustyJames 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: Beaverton, OR
Posts: 1,443

Bikes: You had me at rusty and Italian!!

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 559 Post(s)
Liked 1,032 Times in 534 Posts
Originally Posted by Writenride
A long time ago, when my high school had shop classes (those were fun, man!), we had some cans of Plastisol. I had some pliers which had plastic handles at one time. As I recall, it was a dip, and if you dip the handles into the can, the Plastisol layers on when the product dries. You could have multiple layers and thicknesses of the product.
Plastidip is functionally the same and was widely available at hardware stores a few years ago. I haven’t looked for it recently so I’m not sure if environmental regulations or supply shortages have effected availability.
RustyJames is offline  
Old 03-27-23, 07:17 AM
  #23  
RustyJames 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: Beaverton, OR
Posts: 1,443

Bikes: You had me at rusty and Italian!!

Mentioned: 31 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 559 Post(s)
Liked 1,032 Times in 534 Posts
I found some stuff on Amazon that might be fabulous.



It comes in various lengths, ODs, colors, etc.

Sorry, no link but I googled “textured heat shrink wrap” and ^^ popped up.
RustyJames is offline  
Old 03-27-23, 07:28 AM
  #24  
oneclick 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 2,890
Mentioned: 49 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1105 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1,311 Times in 775 Posts
Originally Posted by montclairbobbyb
Been thinking of cutting a leftover roll of Newbaum's cloth tape down the center (into half-wide strips) and wrapping a pair of oversized MTB levers. Add some fine twine whipping and a few coats of shellac... THAT could be pretty awesome...or not... Anybody ever see this?
I think you might have trouble with it unraveling.

Just buy twill tape from the fabric store, you can get it many widths.
oneclick is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.