The Tektro one on my Nyquist is a bit worn out and kind of mangled, just wondered if I can fit a standard v-brake lever or does it have to be a BMX specific? (it’s a Dia Compe MX single pivot caliper)

If BMX specific, what’s a) good and b) cheap?

Cheers!

If its a u-brake as far as I can remember the pull ratio is different so you need to use a bmx lever.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx?CategoryID=1921&SortBy=Price

Dang. Caliper looks very much like this:

The cable’s run through the steerer and then back up from below the caliper, so that I can delude myself into thinking one day I might do some mad spinz… Doesn’t really look like the most ideal routing, might that be part of the problem? The loop’s a decent size but still, it’s pulling right back on itself obviously.

The older style LX levers had a adjustable pull ratio thing built in to the lever! If you have a spare v’ee brake lever I would suggest that you try it out.

hi mate, you’re right. the routing through the steerer is not good in terms of cable friction as it creates some super tight bends in the outer. it needs a bmx lever to work to. also bmx brakes are quite flexy . if ur caliper looks like the one pictured then id say its gonna flex like rubber so the lever will come back to the bar. I would bin the front brake and just use a rear. Get rid of any giro and just use a longer cable. if ur practising barspins (ive been trying for a year) get a linear cable outer for the rear. Its like gear cable outer and doesnt compress so wont tighten as much when it gets wrapped round the steerer during spins.

I’m sure someone on here will be along to correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought BMX calipers / levers had the same or similar pull ratio as road brakes (I quite often see fixies and the like running BMX levers with centre pivot brakes). In that case if you use standard V levers I guess you would find them really grabby.

V levers are just for V brakes, as they pull a lot of cable (pivot length of 35mm-45mm)

BMX, cantilever and road dual pull calipers need less cable pull from their levers, and the levers are interchangeable (pivot length of 20mm-25mm)

If you run a V-brake lever on the other types of caliper then you’ll get a hard lever and very little power.

Avid do a SD V-brake lever which has adjustable modulation between about 25mm and 35mm, so can just about work the other types of caliper on it’s softest setting.

Ah, I’ve got some fairly nice (but incredibly ancient) canti levers in the garage, I’ll give that a crack, cheers reggie.

Burmaboy, no front brake would mean the thing goes up for sale tbh, useless to me without it but cheers

So just to jump ahead a step as it were, can anyone recommend a BMX lever to me, somewhere under £30? (ideally less, since the whole bike cost £20!)