11/26/13 1:36 PM

In this case just brake levers, as the bike is a now a SS for sake of the Oops. But I usually do not honk levers tight in case of a fall so they might rotate instead of maybe break upon a fall.

Going to stop doing that.. ;O

Did some bunny hopping over speed humps and ramp ups [walk ramps on PDX Esplanade dock areas] on the Strong Sunday.

A few hard enough landings to move the front [losser?] lever. it moved down making front brake start engaging. Whoops.

After I figured out what the heck was happening and was glad it did not cause a spontaneous wheel lockup, I am rethinking this idea to be sure. Felt like I hit a 40 MPH head wind. I realized quickly it was my own doing...

Sort of a heads up if anyone might do the same thing on levers..

The habit now seems a little foolish to me. Especially with $20.00 brake levers in this case, and not Dura Ace STIs which actually breaking one is a $ concern.

11/26/13 1:46 PM

Instead of starting another thread, "East Coast" weather cycles these days,

Whew! Mother Nature been PMSing for a while now.

[Hope using 'PMSing' is not too non PC]

11/26/13 1:57 PM

As expensive as STI shifters parts are, body parts are more expensive. I'd rather not loose a few teeth to loose shifters. That's just my opinion. You may end up replacing the STIs anyway.

11/26/13 2:04 PM

I have more bikes that teeth at this point... ;0

11/26/13 8:23 PM

I think what Sparky is saying is to come up short of "the handlebars will break before these levers will move" tightness of the lever clamps. The answer is yes, I leave my (Campy so not STI) lever clamps shy of "really tight" so if the bike gets knocked around the levers will move rather than take the full brunt of impact. I've done that long before integrated shifters came out as well. Same with stems (whether they be quill stems or stems that clamp on the steerer tube).

11/26/13 9:45 PM

I'm not sure I get it!

I don't have strong arms so perhaps my "tight" isn't the same tightness some of you achieved. But I generally tighten my stem and my brake lever as tight as I can make it. (ok, stem is a bit tricky sinnce it's also the headset clamps so too tight is obviously not going to work) In any case, tight enough that I can't move it around (or rotate) by hand.

Especially with carbon handlebars (which I don't have any more but many here do), you can only tighten it so much without demaging the handlebar. Many advocate toque wrench, for good reason.

So in short, I don't purposely keep anything "loose". When in doubt, I make it on the tight side. A guy in our club crashed after the shop returned his bike with a "loose" headset, which within 50 miles worked its way to become really LOOSE! He sued the shop, successfully (settled out of court, for a decent sum).

11/27/13 12:44 AM

'A little loose', and that being relative to tight I suppose.

11/27/13 1:58 AM

Torque wrench plus the Park Tool torque table if the torque setting is not engraved on the part somewhere: http://www.parktool.com/uploads/files/blog/torque.pdf

The recommended torque setting for tightening an STI road lever band is about 7Nm.

With most torque wrenches the supplied 5mm hex key will be too short to use on brake or Ergo or STI levers. The cheapest way to get a longer key to fit the wrench is to cut off the bend and short end of a normal 5mm allen key with a grinding wheel, leaving a 5mm hex shaft, and drive the shaft with a 5mm socket in the torque wrench.

11/27/13 5:25 AM

Nope, will weaken the bar by scoring it. No way would I do that. SNAP!

11/27/13 7:41 AM

I understand the looseness. Thanks (sincerely). Even when they are at their normal tightness, they are still loose enough to move by hand after a crash or say drop of the bike.

I fear doing a face plant after a bunny hop or honking up a steep climb out of the saddle if they are too loose. I'm pretty conservative in that regard and replace my bars and stems every few years for that same risk.

12/9/13 8:53 PM

Loose enough to move by hand after an accident always seemed to be a symptom of the band clamp having stretched some during the crash.
Since these lever bodies are plastic, I use a slightly different tightening technique, a firm twist on the wrench but I wait a full (1) moment for the bolt to settle (rotate) to it's final position before letting off on the torque (actually these bolts are really nuts, though insignificant to this discussion).

Certainly some handlebars are a lot more slippery inside of a clamp than others, depending on material, finish and plating/process/coating (if any).

The old Weinmann/DiaCompe and many other brands of levers had clamp bands with engagement windows that could tear, so needed to be removed and inspected after an impact instead of just re-tightening (an impact usually would seriously loosen the lever).
The chromed-steel bars were especially slippery, and of 2mm smaller diameter in most cases.
I noticed yesterday that my Nishiki "Seral" tourer's bars are steel, but of normal 23.8mm diameter, and with the alloy center sleeve hiding the fact. Magnets don't lie and rust doesn't sleep I noticed.

12/10/13 3:48 PM

I had a pair of 9sp Ultegras which had a reputation for being a bit too loose...rattling. I don't miss them.

12/10/13 4:27 PM

"9sp Ultegras which had a reputation for being a bit too loose...rattling"


I thought the rattle was the trim cover, a small dot of silicon was all it took to stop that IIRC.

12/10/13 6:38 PM

Yep. Spot on.

12/10/13 7:31 PM

Yes sir, you are correct. A different kind of loose.

12/10/13 7:49 PM

quote:

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a small dot of silicon was all it took to stop that

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12/10/13 8:17 PM

I did, and not my first time getting corrected for that one either. ;(