I have just got a road bike to cycle to work as the trains are so bad, and as it came with drops, I would like to add some inline brake levers.
How hard is it to fit them? and will I need a new cable set etc?
Thanks for any help.
Also any reason why I shouldn't use MTB SPDs? why would you pick road ones over them?
Also any reason why I shouldn't use MTB SPDs? why would you pick road ones over them?
No, they're perfect - you wouldn't
MTB style SPDs work well for commuting and touring. Try Candys.
As for the brake levers, I'd just learn to live without them.
Cool will stick with the SPDs, the brakes levers are just for the city bits at either end, as I found it a little disconcerting cycling through the city on the drops when I needed to brake hard.
How good should road bike brakes be? As they seem ok, but not great (I can't lock the wheels even if I wanted to)
have you tried riding on the hoods yet? sorry if this is obvious, but i couldn't tell from your post whether you have ridden road bikes much before.
ride with your hands on the 'hoods' and you shouldn't feel any need for suicide/inline levers.
as for pedals, I commute with mtb spds, because i already had spare pedals and all my shoes were mtb shoes. no problems with riding, and easier to walk in. I would go for road shoes if I was riding further or more seriously (stiffer, better power transfer, less hot spots in feet).
Dave
I have done virtually zero road riding, so any tips are greatfully received.
I worked out the hoods fairly quickly, however when braking hard I couldn't seem to get enough leverage. Might be I just need to get used to them.
My commute is around 16/17 miles each way, three times a week so not too bad, so I will stick it out with SPDs
As they seem ok, but not great (I can't lock the wheels even if I wanted to)
If you can't lock (at least) the rear wheel for fun when stopping hard, then I'd suggest the problem will not be resolved with an extra pair of levers.....
Inline brake leaver do not offer the same mechanical advantage (so the brakes will feel less effective from the inline levers) compared the standard drop bar levers plus your hands are very close together reducing control. Spend some time riding the road bike you you will soon become accustomed to riding on the hoods as afabus says, it's not the issue that you first imagine and better to gain the skill rather than use inline levers.
IF you decise to go with them inline brakes are not hard to fit but you must as always be-careful with your cable prep, you don't nee new outer but may need new inners as you will have to nearly unthread the inners to fit and rethreading a cable that has been previously clamped is a pain and may damage any lining that exist in your outer cable.
Road brakes are pretty good, on a par or better than my 140/160mm disks on the MTB in the dry braking from the hoods.
Learn to live with drop bars, they're much more comfortable and I only use the tops for climbing, and arround town gettign from the tops to the hoods to brake is a split second thing, as quick or quicker than a car driver moving from accelerator to brake.
should be able to brake fine from the hoods. maybe they aren't set quite right. ( i see a lot of brakes that are low from shop)
bristolbiker
If you can't lock (at least) the rear wheel for fun when stopping hard, then I'd suggest the problem will not be resolved with an extra pair of levers...
yeah, that doesn't seem right... i can lock both wheels whenever i like with fairly minimal effort from the hoods (i then fall off).
Dave
I worked out the hoods fairly quickly, however when braking hard I couldn't seem to get enough leverage.
Sound like something is wrong with the setup, this should be no problem from the hoods.
.....with fairly minimal effort from the hoods (i then fall off)
Yeah, I didn't forgot to add that bit..... 
OP - what bike/brakes/rims is it?
its early days yet, i think you need to just get more used to the bike and road riding.
What are you used in terms of mtb brakes? large discs?
road bikes brakes are good ... but if you're coming from a large disc mtb, then they aren't as powerful for the same amount of lever force/pull. I find its a different style of braking for the road bike and me personally, i tend to brake gentler all round and kill the speed gradually for corners ( unlike mtb where you can race into a bend and kill speed by grabbing a fistful of the lever )
take time to get used to the hoods. you should be able to brake fine for them for the majority of corners, but for a big descent or stop, then sometimes the hoods just dont quite have the assuredness of bringing down the speed.
big hills are more likely to have you fully in the drops for speed and aero, in which case your hands are better positioned for getting the best pull out of the lever.
They are easy to fit and you will not need to buy new cables.
I commute using spd's mainly because walking from the bike shed and across our marble floored reception can be tricky in my road shoes.
As above give it some time without the 'chicken levers' as there really isn't a great need for them commuting. I had them on my commuter when I bought it but took them off after about 6 months.
The bike is a Charge Juicer and after a quick browse it mentions that the stock brake pads are poor so I will replace them to see if it helps.
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