due to achy thumbs from shifting I was thinking about flattening the angle of my brakes and shifters from about 60 deg down from vertical to about 45. I remember reading a while ago that this is good for technique on descents too ? thoughts ?
Thanks

60 degrees down (up, surely?) from vertical? As in 30 degrees below horizontal? Doesn’t sound too far out, though I’ve never measured. I’ve always just set the brake lever immediately below straight outstretched fingers when seated with hands on the bars, and then positioned shifters to suit. Works for me.

Closer to horizontal they are the more it pushes your weight back on the bike, easier to reach on rough descents and gives you more freedom to move the bike around underneath you. If too steep they pull your weight over the forks.
Exact angle is personal preference tho so I’d play around with different settings and see what you prefer

Going to singlespeed would also solve the problem.

What brooess and hopkinsgm said.

The “correct” set up as advised in manuals is the brake levers should be at the same angle as your arms. i.e. a straight edge along the middle of your arms through the bars will also go through the levers. I’ve now have them a bit flatter for easy grabbing on steep descents when you’re off the back of the bike.

if there is a 60 deg angle between the horizontal then I’d suggest they are too far ‘down’. Mine are more like 45 deg.

And Capt. Mainwaring +1

Lots of people seem to like their controls very far down, like you have them but to me it’s just bizarre, feels horrible for anything other than braking while weight forward (so spot on for hard braking mid climb, but horrible while descending, hmm). Also works to encourage bad hand position, it’s very hard to drop your wrists when you’ve got low controls. But, ymmv of course, I have mine something like 30 degrees down from horizontal at most, but generally higher

[video]http://vimeo.com/18481682[/video]

52secs in

After reading similar somewhere I tried lifting my levers/shifters up a bit and found it a lot more comfortable. When I took my bike into the shop to have new brake hoses fitted and they put the levers back on as they used to be (probably thinking I was clueless,) I left them like that for a ride – instant arm ache.

It will be personal preference same as saddle height, bar width etc etc so just have a play around.

sorry chaps, I posted then got reminded that I was supposed to be going to look at Castles that my kid’s primary class had made 😳

so just catching up with this. yes, I have been about 60 degrees down from horizontal, now have set flatter, more like 45, so I think from reading the opinions here I had them too steep !