Black Cycling Mountain Bike Bicycle Brake Levers 1 Pair Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Yes, I know these are cheap levers. That's why I decided to order them, just to check out what these levers were like. And they took about a week to arrive, but that was what was reported and seeing these came from overseas, I was impressed they arrived that quickly. What are they? Well, a cheap set of left and right mtn bike brake levers. They are not long-sized, but mid-sized. Some might call this a 3-finger lever. The stand-off or reach away from the handlebar is standard, but maybe 4-5mm closer than a set of full-sized shimano brake levers.
The things I liked about these levers:
- size: not too long a set of levers
- reach: not to wide of a stand-off from the handlebar
- shape: the lever bends nicely so the fit is good for a lot of hand sizes.
- feel: snappy return spring makes for crisp braking feel initially
- inside diameter: fits standard 7/8inch OD bars
The things I didn't like so much:
- cast aluminum levers had high porosity and poor finish; could break with light impacts
- No reach adjustment screws, so you can't make the reach closer for kids hands.
- Philips screwdriver to tighten - not 5mm allen, and nuts on the underside of lever may fall off during use - and you'll lose them forever
- brake cable tension adjustment barrel is weak, and poorly made, likely to strip or break
- plastic resin clamp/main body, can't hold position or lever play adjustment, and so the levers must wobble more and more with time and the crisp feel turns mushy.
Why such a low score? Because there aren't too many requirements by real cyclists for brake levers except to be reliable and bring us to a safe stop. But the quality and design of these levers are such that the brake lever can't keep a smooth, tight crisp setting without loctiting or epoxy. The nuts will move and loosen and might even fall out over time. In addition, the barrel adjusters to increase tension on the brake cable are also the same as the super-cheap, prone-to-breaking ones you find on most dept. store bikes. For just $3 more, you can get a set of tektro levers (which I also bought) and they are far superior to these.
These were cheap levers, so I didn't expect much. But because these are a safety component on the bike, I can't recommend them. In a pinch, I would put them on and use them, and I might actually get by. But I would switch them out with something better as soon as I could. Safety first.

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