Re: Levers for Tektro Oryx brakes

Scott Loveless <[email protected]> Sat, 19 Feb 2011 11:30:19 -0500
Newsgroups gmane.recreation.bicycle.touring.phred
Message-ID <[email protected]>
On Sat, Feb 19, 2011 at 11:07 AM, . dkoloko <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Sat, Feb 19, 2011 at 10:39 AM, Scott Loveless <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 17, 2011 at 7:19 PM, . dkoloko <[email protected]> wrote:
>> > Any recommended? (Just levers; not brifters.)
>>
>> Based on my personal experience with Oryx brakes, coupled with Jan
>> Heine's recommendations in BQ and elsewhere, I would recommend
>> non-aero levers.  VO is selling some these days if you don't have a
>> pair or 20 laying around.
>>
>> --
>> Scott Loveless
>>
> Why, please?

To use a stock Surly Long Haul Trucker as the example, with Tektro
R200 levers and Oryx brakes, you basically end up with too much
mechanical advantage.  Both the levers and the brakes are high
mechanical advantage machines.  In other words, if the pads aren't set
very close to the rim, you could run out of lever travel squeezing
air.  Those R200 levers work very nicely with dual-pivot road calipers
and wider profile cantilever brakes.  I have used them on my own bikes
with Tektro R556 calipers and CR720 cantilever brakes.  The Oryx
brakes are better suited to non-aero levers for drop bars and
canti-specific MTB levers.  I'm generalizing a bit and there's a lot
of gray area, but I think that's a good place to start.

There are a few threads on the i-BOB list concerning this very topic,
at least one of which I started with questions similar to yours.
There's a review of the LHT in Bicycle Quarterly Vol. 8, No.1 that
includes some criticism of the Oryx brakes.

-- 
Scott Loveless
http://www.twosixteen.com/fivetoedsloth/
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