So I have an old super le tour and I want to install a set of safety levers on it (trying to bring back the original look) I cannot find an guide online so does anyone know how to install them? Dia compe brakes.
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Welcome to Stack Exchange! Can I ask you to reconsider installing them entirely? There's some good discussion at this question: bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/5267/…– Weiwen NgMar 23, 2020 at 18:50
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2I don't think these are something you can install on a existing set of brake lever units. You have to find and buy some units that feature the dual pull levers,and install those– Argenti ApparatusMar 23, 2020 at 19:00
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Can you add a photo of your existing brake levers? Specifically the inside surface where your thumbs would be when riding on the hoods ? Without the right fitting here, you're out of luck and would need replacement brake levers.– Criggie ♦Mar 23, 2020 at 22:14
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1 Answer
"Safety levers" are more commonly called "suicide levers" -- they are hazardous to use and make the operation of the regular brake levers more problematic.
A better choice, if you feel you need something along these lines, are "interrupter levers", also called "in-line brake levers" and "cross levers".
https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/in-line-brake-levers
answered Mar 23, 2020 at 19:06
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1I rode bikes with them as a kid in the 70s/80s and honestly I feel less safe without them. I have a set of factory nos add on levers meant to be added to bikes without them. And I’ve looked into those in line interrupters, neat idea but they look less safe. And honestly they don’t fit the look of an old bike. Mar 23, 2020 at 19:12
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1@RobertJett Having tried the safety levers on my wife's bike, I have to agree with the general criticism that they offer very little leverage (i.e. they don't create enough braking force to stop reliably). I had tried a set of the more modern interrupter levers on a cyclocross bike once, and they do in fact work. I would second this recommendation. Mar 23, 2020 at 19:25
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I have one fitted on my 80s bike, and I just don't use it. They don't noticeably compromise braking from the hoods/drops any more than the pretty-sub-standard brakes of the day already were.– Criggie ♦Mar 23, 2020 at 22:15
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1@Criggie - They limit the operating range of the "real" levers, and they don't offer very effective control. Plus their placement makes a head-over quite a bit more likely if you use them for a panic stop. Mar 23, 2020 at 22:27
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@DanielRHicks fair point - looking at my bike there's some range of motion lost, but there's still a heap of range left. I rarely use the tops hand position unless grinding up a hill, and on that bike its all for looks.– Criggie ♦Mar 23, 2020 at 22:37