RoadWearier

Pretty much like it says in the title. I have brakes in the drops and then those other levers that are on the top of the handlebars. They are a little sloppy but they actually work pretty well. Why are they considered evil?

abdon 

Funny enough when they first appeared in 1969 they were a hit. Overnight Schwinn moved all their bikes but one (the paramount) to them. Weimann found the prospect so intimidating that they cross licensed all their parents to dia compe in exchange for access to them turkey levers.

To a lot of folks they look dated. Nobody on the tour de France used then so they were obviously for people that were not serious :-/

So yes, they don't work as well as the front levers but they work well for driving around in the upright position. I put them on all my touring bikes.

Eyes Roll

The ones on the top of the handlebars are "inline" brake levers and are main or primary brake levers. The ones that extend horizontally in the drops are the "safety" or "suicide" brake levers and are secondary brake levers. Historically, bike experts and mechanics consider and think that the inline/main/primary brake levers on the top of the handlebars provide the best braking force of the two, and the safety/suicide/horizontal brake levers do not provide as much braking/stopping force as the inline/main/primary brake levers, and are garbage/trash.

Ironically, safety/suicide/horizontal brake levers are my "go to" levers and I almost always reach out to them first to break and stop my vintage Schwinn bike, as being placed horizontally under the handlebar they are much more easily accessible to my hands and fingers than the inline/main/primary brake levers. Mine (safety/suicide/horizontal) break well and perfect. I ride long distances in the city and in an upright position. I can't imagine myself riding a >25 mile distance bending over throughout.

Mackers

What is this doing in appraisals?

bargainguy

When I starting refurbing bikes long ago, I would regularly remove the "suicide" accessory brake levers based on personal bias. I didn't think they helped, so off they went. Easier to apply handlebar tape too.

Then a buyer asked me where the suicide levers went. Told them I removed them, and they shot back: "Do you still have them?" Nope, they're long gone.

But that one incident made me rethink my strategy. After that, I left the suicide levers on, and instead gave the buyer the typical warnings about them and best use practices.

In the end, business sense won out over personal bias. I still don't like them, but it's a buyer's prerogative, so I left every single pair on after that.

RB1-luvr

I had the modern-day version of those levers (interrupter levers) on a bike in the early 2000s and have often wondered why I don't use them again. They worked great.

jon c. 

Not really evil, but they're a sign of a lower end bike. And as you say, they tend to be sloppy.

cb400bill

Thread moved from Appraisals to reggly C&V.

repechage

Not Bad if you admit that the braking effectiveness is reduced. way back we sold them a “comfort” levers, not safety levers. customers wanted the appearance of a “racing” bike but these allowed steering and braking from the tops, often paired with stem shifters. Not a braking position for max braking.

abdon 

The reduced breaking is blown out of proportion. You could call the front end of my brakes suicidal because if I slam on the front one hard enough I would go flying over the handlebar. Heck a friend of mine did just that on a bike I let him borrow, he wasn't used to brakes that actually worked as intended. Or riding on the top of the handlebar without "suicide" brakes suicidal, if you have to make an emergency stop you have to let go of the bars in order to reach the brakes.
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the reality is that on a well adjusted bike they offer adequate breaking power, which is less than the front, which in most cases is more than you could even use. Plus is your bike, you know what works best. Many times when I see a hard stop coming I automatically switch hand positions.

I'm waiting for a specialized expedition touring bike to arrive in the mail. I don't think it ever had them turkey levers, it is about to get them for the first time.

Mr. 66

Yes those, if one was not paying attention and used the safety lever at the wrong angle the lever could, and would, pop out of position leaving one for a oh dang moment.

daka

It seems to me that if a rider is spending so much time on the tops that they want the brake levers there, perhaps converting to upright bars/levers would be prudent. Full travel for the brake levers would then be restored.

79pmooney

The extension levers of the 1970s usually had two issues that reduced maximum braking. Typically they would bottom out on the handlebar tops or come parallel to the tops; nullifying your squeeze. And this often happened well before the main lever was fully squeezed. And at least the DiaComp extensions pulled the main lever down with a tab that prevented the main lever from returning all the way so maximum braking power is reduced using either lever. The Weinmanns, as I recall (it's been 40 years) had a different connection and left the travel of the main lever untouched (but still not fully used by the extension).

Now the modern (CX cyclocross) inline levers are fully effective, do nothing to the basic braking with the main lever and are real stoppers. They do assume modern "aero" brake levers with the brake cable housing run under the handlebar tape.

randyjawa 

Properly set-up, the levers do work OK but there is a distinct need to apply more pressure. Improperly set-up will result in poor stopping performance...


Properly set-up means ensuring that the hubs are adjusted, the wheels are true, the brake pads are toed in, and clearance from pad to wheel is optimal. Get that all correct, and those comfort levers will do their job, until something goes out of adjustment, cable stretch, pad wear and ??? occurs, then the levers will, sooner or later bottom out. I base those comments on personal experience.

The Golden Boy 

I used to be kind of in favor of them- they didn't seem to affect my braking too much. Until that one time that it affected my braking just enough to almost cause a serious accident.

If people are comfortable with them - all power to them- and they considered with all the other things that people dig that I don't. Turkey wings, "the Rules," Strats, Taylor Swift, etc...

abdon 

Is not like you remove the front levers in order to use those. The only difference is that you get a choice that you can apply based of conditions.

Headpost

Yeah, and the real tragedy is (was) that so many people in the bike boom days ended up with bikes that weren't comfortable for them so they just stopped riding.

88ss

I like the accessory levers and miss them a lot when I ride a bike without them. Some years Shimano 600 brakes had them so they were not all on low-end bikes.

Eyes Roll

1) they are closer, longer, and easier to squeeze.
2) they are farther (making you and your body to stretch), shorter, and harder to squeeze.

It's a no-brainer what brake levers my hands automatically reach out to in order to slow down or to stop.

repechage

the Power of marketing and styling. You are being sensible, people do not spend money on being sensible as often as spending money to look sophisticated. Hip, with it. Young, sporty.

we added convenience levers to Mafac brakes very often way back, Peugeot would not put them one the UO8 for the longest time, that was a profitable decision for bike shops, especially when the converting pin was made to allow Mafac levers to use the Dia-Compe extension levers. They liked the way the Peugeot rode, but wanted the ease of use.

abdon 

I used to do long distance and touring. On open roads and God forbid a strong headwind, it would suck something fierce not to be able to be on a more aerodynamic position. On the other hand it is awesome when you are slow riding through towns to stretch and relax in a more upright position. I would not want to be forced into either and them turkey levers buy me that flexibility.

As a matter of fact if I'm going fast I'm in the drops using the main levers, when I'm upright I'm going slower. I'm not a mechanical genius but I can get my turkey levers to give me all the stopping power I could need.

smd4

Don't get 'em, personally.

I would never own a bike that had suicide levers. But I also would never own a bike with a kick stand, bell, streamers or an orange pennant flag attached to the rear axle. To each their own.

USAZorro

They're complete crap. Over time, they get sloppy and loose - which means you can pull them with all your might and yeah... you might slow from 20 mph to 13 mph before you crash.

fwiw - my uncle owned a bike shop when these came out. He would spend a few minutes with customers explaining their shortcomings and encouraged that they either remove them, or not rely on them.

bikemig 

Not always a sign of a lower end bike. Schwinn used them on their fillet brazed chrome moly models such as the Sport Tourer. My 70s Sekine SHS 271 has them and it's a pretty decent bike with a double butted chrome moly frame and forged drop outs. It's a fun bike:

John E

Same Mafac story when I worked at a Peugeot/Nishiki dealership (1972-74), to supplement my teaching assistant salary at UCLA.