vintage 600 brake lever hoods?

[maxo]

The dia-comp generic hoods on my lovely circa 78-9 Shimano 600 levers are
splitting--though still quite nice and rubbery. They never fit well in the
first place--though they feel fine in hand, just look odd. The rubber
hangs too far over the lever.

I'm thinking about a replacement--I'm sure I could modify some of those
old dia-comp type hoods to sorta fit with an exacto knife--but curious if
something else might fit better.

I could also just grab a pair of cheapie Tektro levers for fifteen bucks
and be done with it--but I do love the drilled look of the old 600s (I can
lock a wheel from the hoods, so they function just fine). Have also peeked
at the Cane Creek scr-5s (made by tektro) which are campy ergo minus the
shifter clones--they look quite nice too--but it seems silly to replace
the entire lever for want of hood.

Anybody know if modolo hoods fit these or did Shimano have strictly their
own hood shape?

 

[Hank Wirtz]

maxo <[email protected]> wrote in
news[email protected]:

> The dia-comp generic hoods on my lovely circa 78-9 Shimano 600 levers
> are splitting--though still quite nice and rubbery. They never fit
> well in the first place--though they feel fine in hand, just look odd.
> The rubber hangs too far over the lever.
>
> I'm thinking about a replacement--I'm sure I could modify some of
> those old dia-comp type hoods to sorta fit with an exacto knife--but
> curious if something else might fit better.
>
> I could also just grab a pair of cheapie Tektro levers for fifteen
> bucks and be done with it--but I do love the drilled look of the old
> 600s (I can lock a wheel from the hoods, so they function just fine).
> Have also peeked at the Cane Creek scr-5s (made by tektro) which are
> campy ergo minus the shifter clones--they look quite nice too--but it
> seems silly to replace the entire lever for want of hood.
>
> Anybody know if modolo hoods fit these or did Shimano have strictly
> their own hood shape?
>
>
>

My 600EX levers (2nd generation, ca. 1984 or so) are Campy clones. I
picked up some generic hoods from LooseScrews.com and they worked great.

That said, the 1st gen ones you have look like the hoods are a cross
between Dia-Compe and Campy. I have a feeling that your idea to get Dia-
Compes and cut off the excess rubber is probably your best bet. I think
if you went with Campy clones (or Modolos) you'd leave about a quarter-
inch of aluminum from the lever body exposed.

I saw this thread at Bikeforums.net
http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-85985.html
and this guy, doing a restoration of his (1st gen) 600EX bike wound up
finding NOS sets of levers more easily than he found hoods. They list
some current ebay auctions for levers w/hoods.

FWIW, I'd go with the Cane Creeks, or their Tektro-branded Ergopower
knockoff brethren (that go for about 10 bucks less than the Cane Creeks,
or only slightly more than the pointy-top Tektros), if only for the
return springs, which make any brakeset feel much snappier.

I was sad to give up out-the-top cable routing, though. They had style,
but were not compatible with cyclocross levers.

-Hank

 

[maxo]

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 01:39:05 -0500, Hank Wirtz wrote:

> That said, the 1st gen ones you have look like the hoods are a cross
> between Dia-Compe and Campy. I have a feeling that your idea to get Dia-
> Compes and cut off the excess rubber is probably your best bet. I think if
> you went with Campy clones (or Modolos) you'd leave about a quarter- inch
> of aluminum from the lever body exposed.

Sounds about right--the dia-compe clones are pretty cheap--I'm not going
to want to spend fifty bucks on some Campy rubber that *might* fit

> FWIW, I'd go with the Cane Creeks, or their Tektro-branded Ergopower
> knockoff brethren (that go for about 10 bucks less than the Cane Creeks,
> or only slightly more than the pointy-top Tektros), if only for the
> return springs, which make any brakeset feel much snappier.

Yeah those Tektro "Ergopower" clones sure look comfy. I don't have a
problem with mushy return though--part of the beauty of great cable
routing and quality cables.

Seems they would add a virtual inch to the height of the hood riding
position since they appear to mount higher up on the bar compared to
traditional levers.


> I was sad to give up out-the-top cable routing, though. They had style,
> but were not compatible with cyclocross levers.

Yup, it's a style issue--I do love the loops coming out the tops for some
reason. I also like how the drilling looks. Wonder if they did that to
save weight or just to be stylish?


Here's the levers btw:
http://photos17.flickr.com/20772845_1ede4a8bf2_o.jpg

 

[Sheldon Brown]

maxo wrote:

> The dia-comp generic hoods on my lovely circa 78-9 Shimano 600 levers are
> splitting--though still quite nice and rubbery. They never fit well in the
> first place--though they feel fine in hand, just look odd. The rubber
> hangs too far over the lever.
>
> ... Have also peeked
> at the Cane Creek scr-5s (made by tektro) which are campy ergo minus the
> shifter clones--they look quite nice too--but it seems silly to replace
> the entire lever for want of hood.

Not as silly as you might suppose!

Upgrading to those levers would result in a MAJOR improvement in braking
on your bike, especially while riding on top of the hoods.

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_aa-l.html#aerobrake for a detailed
explanation.

http://harriscyclery.com/brakes

Sheldon "Aero" Brown
+--------------------------------------------------+
| Take sides! Always take sides! |
| You will sometimes be wrong--but the man who |
| refuses to take sides must _always_ be wrong. |
| Heaven save us from poltroons who fear |
| to make a choice. --Robert A. Heinlein |
+--------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

 

[maxo]

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 13:10:50 -0400, Sheldon Brown wrote:

>
> Upgrading to those levers would result in a MAJOR improvement in braking
> on your bike, especially while riding on top of the hoods.

I can already lock the brakes at will from the hoods--does this
"improvement" involve doing a really *****in' endo?

I'm aware of the mechanical advantage, so it *might* be worth it to make
the braking feel lighter.

 

[Bob]

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 18:00:16 GMT, maxo <[email protected]> wrote:

>I can already lock the brakes at will from the hoods--does this
>"improvement" involve doing a really *****in' endo?
>
>I'm aware of the mechanical advantage, so it *might* be worth it to make
>the braking feel lighter.


Yeah, but you are ignoring the "baguettes" issue.

 

[maxo]

On Wed, 03 Aug 2005 17:20:49 +0000, Bob wrote:

> On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 18:00:16 GMT, maxo <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I can already lock the brakes at will from the hoods--does this
>>"improvement" involve doing a really *****in' endo?
>>
>>I'm aware of the mechanical advantage, so it *might* be worth it to make
>>the braking feel lighter.
>
>
> Yeah, but you are ignoring the "baguettes" issue.

The fact that I "get" that comment makes me feel uber-cool. LOL

Good for carrying golf umbrellas too!

 

[Michael Press]

In article <[email protected]>,
Hank Wirtz <[email protected]> wrote:


[...]

> I was sad to give up out-the-top cable routing, though. They had style,
> but were not compatible with cyclocross levers.

I was too until I felt the relief of not having to avoid the
cables when moving my hands around; both riding and at rest. Now I
prefer it. Still, for a modern bicycle, it resembles the older
style very much.

--
Michael Press

 

[Hank Wirtz]

Michael Press <[email protected]> wrote in news:jack-18161C.01015504082005
@newssvr14-ext.news.prodigy.com:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> Hank Wirtz <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
> [...]
>
>> I was sad to give up out-the-top cable routing, though. They had style,
>> but were not compatible with cyclocross levers.
>
> I was too until I felt the relief of not having to avoid the
> cables when moving my hands around; both riding and at rest. Now I
> prefer it. Still, for a modern bicycle, it resembles the older
> style very much.
>

I hear you. That's one of the many reasons I decided on Ergopower rather
than STI.

(The main reason was that putting something non-European on a 30-year old
Peugeot seemed heretical.)

-Hank

 

[maxo]

On Tue, 02 Aug 2005 13:10:50 -0400, Sheldon Brown wrote:

> Not as silly as you might suppose!
>
> Upgrading to those levers would result in a MAJOR improvement in braking
> on your bike, especially while riding on top of the hoods.

Well, I didn't feel like throwing $40 at my brakes so I checked to see if
the Cane Creek SCR5s were available branded as Tektros.

Sure enough my PFABS (pretty far away bike shop, Allanti in Brentwood TN)
was able to get a set of Tektro R200A's for $25. Can't beat that--and the
hoods don't have those annoying "lizard bumps".

So if you're looking for excellent levers sans shifters and for
cheeep--have your LBS order some.


Here they are at Lickbike--at a fair 26.95:
http://www.lickbike.com/productpage.aspx?PART_NUM_SUB='1348-00'

Harris has the Cane Creeks if you like the lizard bumps on the hoods.