Building up new Ti frame (on kitchen table of course). Bars swung round…sharp intake of breath as brake lever daunted into top tube – no damage this time. Apart from improving my riding though, are there any sensible (Don’t fancy riding with a feather pillow between my knees) means to avoid tragic toptube damage when bailing on the trails?

Extra steerer spacers and/or high rise stem and/or higher rise bar and/or move your levers up.

Raise the stem/bars? Angle the levers up a bit?

Couple of layers of heli tape on the top tube where it would get hit will help a bit

One of those padded 80’s bmx top tube pads.

A bit of bar tape or old inner tube taped to the point the bars/levers might hit.

Just adjust your brakes / bars so the levers don’t hit

Adjust the tightness of the leaver so they can move with a reasonable force – this can help stop the leavers breaking in a crash as well. It is possible to find a sweet spot where the leavers won’t move under normal use, but will when hit.

Raise your brake levers – having them much closer to horizontal than vertical really improves your position on the bike, however weird it feels at first.

Raise your brake levers – having them much closer to horizontal than vertical really improves your position on the bike, however weird it feels at first.

Really? Sounds interesting. I’ve alway thought that having the breaks at a diagonal slant was better for riding ergonomic.

I put a few wraps of tape round the tube where the lever hits, then a piece of tin can, then a few more wraps of tape. Subtle enough with colour-matched electrical tape:

Goyt Valley Pompino by Simon J Taylor, on Flickr

there was a headset recently I think that had bump stops built into it, not sure how good it would be, but seemed very neat way to do it

All mine have the controls high enough to clear, but it’s not always possible (My last mmmbop had litle scratches across the top as I didn’t quite get it right!)

mangatank – Member

Really? Sounds interesting. I’ve alway thought that having the breaks at a diagonal slant was better for riding ergonomic.

It Depends- not everyone’s riding position is the same, and it also varies depending on the bike and how you ride it. Lots of folks set the controls up so they feel right in a neutral riding position, I set mine up so that they feel right when I’m riding harder, which means a bit flatter- I don’t care that much how right the brakes feel when I’m relaxed or climbing, I want them to feel spot on when I’m almost crashing

Think the “set them up flat” thing is maybe not quite as good advice as it was now, since lots of us are riding bikes that don’t require you to sit on the back wheel as much 😉

Steeply angled levers are an indicator of radness…..

…at least in the mind of the owner.

It has become fashionable to have levers dangling under the bars and the sheeple all follow fashion.

Canyon bikes have a headset spacer with bump stops that hit a small plastic thing that is screwed to the top tube, really effective.

simon1975- loving that bike!

I would be a bit worried by that Canyon thing. If you pile into the dirt the force you can put through your bars with your 13 stone following through could rip that little stop right out of the frame.

I just make sure my levers dont clout the top tube as others have said.

plyphon – Member
Canyon bikes have a headset spacer with bump stops that hit a small plastic thing that is screwed to the top tube, really effective.

I can’t see that lasting long in a crash situation with the leverage that a 700mm wide set of bars would apply to it?