Shorty levers on sports/road bikes - Pros and cons please

[5150]

Just one quesation guys. What happens to the "loose" fingers in a crash? No I DON'T know I'm just asking and wondering if actually they might get crushed between lever ball end and whatever you crash into.

Won't know till we try it

But seriously, look at it from the opposite direction. with full length your whole hand would be squashed between lever and bar i guess. MX guys been using these for donkeys years in MX and SX, with lots of big crashes. So they must be ok or they would never be used

[ckai]

Just one quesation guys. What happens to the "loose" fingers in a crash? No I DON'T know I'm just asking and wondering if actually they might get crushed between lever ball end and whatever you crash into.

I wasn't stupid enough to be holding on to the bars with my crash. If you're going to crash or in the process of crashing, the last thing you'll be thinking about is, "shit, where do I put my fingers"

To be honest, I'd much rather have shorties in a crash situation as they're less likely to break off.

If your fingers are going to be getting 'crushed', it's not going to be from the levers crushing them, it'll be from the force that has been applied to the levers.

[DrunkenMistake]

Just one quesation guys. What happens to the "loose" fingers in a crash? No I DON'T know I'm just asking and wondering if actually they might get crushed between lever ball end and whatever you crash into.

Dont crash,
Sorted.

[Brian d marge]

the whole clutch system is a symbiotic relationship, between force on lever and travel,
Some people like to fit heavy duty springs thinking it will cure slip,,, now add a short lever .....one hell of a great ,,Wayne king hand will develop....
In a crash my lever per chase are left loose, so that they move easily,
on my MX bike I have the softest springs I can get and an extra plate, and modded throw levers and still its not " one finger ",,,no hydraulic as its VHS and wasn't period ( stand to ne corrected please ..)
at the end of the day horses for courses,
I personally like a light clutch, so go with a longer lever.....it if its bearable ( most japanese clutches are of a light lever ) then go for the short .....

Stephen

[FastBikeGear]

We sell Shortys regular. And folding levers Tiatx and Pazzo brands. Here's some thoughts and observations

Short levers have the advantage of not being so likely to be damaged in a crash.
Short levers are great for two finger braking - avoids your other unused fingers getting trapped between the bar and lever.
Long levers allow you to use your little finger for fine control
Don't change your riding style to suit your levers - match your levers to your preferred braking method (2 or 4 fingers)
Fold up levers are great for racing but we discourage them for road use and insist you use our Woodcraft brake lever protectors with them now. The issue for road users is that if someone folds up your lever while you are parked you may not notice until you reach the first corner.
Titax are a better quality than Pazzo. (Better alloys, TUV certified, proper bearings). but Pazzos are slightly cheaper and still better quality than the non brand name levers on Trademe, etc.
Titax also offer optional radial bend lever to stop lever coming too close to the bar with bikes fitted with radial master cylinders
All Titax parts are available separately - should the unthinkable happen, you want to change colours or lengths, or swap your levers onto another bike.