bar/lever reach

mrushton
mrushton Posts: 5,182
edited August 2007 in Workshop
My girlfriend is having a problem using the levers on her fixed in that the reach from the drop to the lever (Dia-Compe) is quite long. On her Ultegra shifters she has shims to bring the levers closer to the bars. so the question is, can we get the levers (D-Compe) nearer or is there a better bar that has a reduced distance from the bend to the lever?
M.Rushton

Comments

  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    Mmm I have a similar prob with Shimano set up on long alpine descents , major cramp or even blisters! from 'over reaching'
    Looking froward to helpful replies which I suspect might include other bars.?
  • pigman
    pigman Posts: 76
    my only real experience is with shimano or campag, rather than dia compe etc., but observations I have made are
    1. Like for like, shimano levers seem to be closer to the bars than campag.
    2. most shimano set ups have the lever set high on the bars, so that the hood is held like a revolver. This makes braking from the drops more difficult.
    3. anatomic, rather than all-curved bars place the hand further from the lever.
  • mrushton
    mrushton Posts: 5,182
    ut_och_cykla wrote:
    Mmm I have a similar prob with Shimano set up on long alpine descents , major cramp or even blisters! from 'over reaching'
    Looking froward to helpful replies which I suspect might include other bars.?

    if you use STIs, you need a set of Specialized 'Slim Shims' that fit behind the top of the lever . They bring the lever back towards your hands by @20mm. Cost £3.99 and they do work and take 2 mins to fit, incl letting the cable out from the brake.
    M.Rushton
  • wildmoustache
    wildmoustache Posts: 4,010
    yes, there are female specific bars with shortish reach and also reduced diameter around the hood area for easier braking/shifting. not that many on the market though.

    search around the online retailers and you should find some. you might also ask C+ as there was a test not so long ago which included female specific bars.
  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    YEs I got the shims, had to trim them to fit my R600 shifters but they helped enormously - a very easy 'bodge' to do. But I still lack the last little bit of 'confidence grip'! WOuld round bars help/3t Morphe - any comments?Anybody?
    (And apologies for hijacking this thread too mrushton!) :oops:
  • mrushton
    mrushton Posts: 5,182
    ut_och_cykla wrote:
    YEs I got the shims, had to trim them to fit my R600 shifters but they helped enormously - a very easy 'bodge' to do. But I still lack the last little bit of 'confidence grip'! WOuld round bars help/3t Morphe - any comments?Anybody?
    (And apologies for hijacking this thread too mrushton!) :oops:

    3ttt don't do the Morphe anymore. It's the.........BIOMORPHE!!!!!! according to the catalogue
    M.Rushton
  • CarlosFerreiro
    CarlosFerreiro Posts: 83
    mrushton wrote:
    My girlfriend is having a problem using the levers on her fixed in that the reach from the drop to the lever (Dia-Compe) is quite long. On her Ultegra shifters she has shims to bring the levers closer to the bars. so the question is, can we get the levers (D-Compe) nearer or is there a better bar that has a reduced distance from the bend to the lever?

    Do you know what kind of levers they are?
    I'm not clear if these are BMX style levers or something else.....

    In the BMX style ones there are some models with an adjuster screw to control the reach to the lever. Otherwise, for the BMX style at least, the levers are forged aluminium and will easy stand up to bending to a more suitable shape with a couple of big ring spanners.
  • mrushton
    mrushton Posts: 5,182
    dia compe 287V
    M.Rushton
  • CarlosFerreiro
    CarlosFerreiro Posts: 83
    OK, not what i was thinking then.....
  • mrushton
    mrushton Posts: 5,182
    mrushton wrote:
    ut_och_cykla wrote:
    YEs I got the shims, had to trim them to fit my R600 shifters but they helped enormously - a very easy 'bodge' to do. But I still lack the last little bit of 'confidence grip'! WOuld round bars help/3t Morphe - any comments?Anybody?
    (And apologies for hijacking this thread too mrushton!) :oops:

    3ttt don't do the Morphe anymore. It's the.........BIOMORPHE!!!!!! according to the catalogue

    I lied. Chicken cycles the importer still show the Morphe as being in the 3ttt catalogue
    M.Rushton
  • Jonathan Mcp
    Jonathan Mcp Posts: 2,472
    Wasn't there a bar out there that had small indentations on the inside curve of the drop to allow smaller hands to get a better grip on the brake levers? they were not sold as women specific but that was the implication of smaller hands.

    Got a feeling i may have seen these in an Evans catalogue somewhere...

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