so bike has matchmaker sram reverb/shifter combo, which is nice simple and clutter free, but now the reverb lever sits ontop of the bars… so removing front and rear wheels to get the bike in and out of the car/house, i am having to rest reverb lever on the pavement etc to get the wheels in/out

now i know eventually im going end up just snapping that lever off, probably just before a ride too

so to stop me doing so, is there anything out there? like a handlebar type rest to stop the lever hitting the ground first? if i had any time/enthusiasm id knock something up myself out of wood, but im sure the bearded warriors of STW will have done something similar?

a long shot i know, or any other ideas welcomed too!

it’s easier to take the wheels out of a bike with it the right way up, do that

(can/worms)

Bar ends would do the trick. Nice big pair of X-lite ski ones.

🙂

Ridiculously, yes:

http://hiplok.com/bike-locks/spares-and-accessories/flipstand-workstation

it’s a weakness of the design, as it’s perfectly normal to rest a bike upside down while fixing a puncture or trying to sort shifting issues while on the trail single handedly.

You can mount the lever upside down on the other side.

Wow. Good find lemonysam.

🙂

lemonysam – hahahahah! thats amazing, thats exactly what im after haha! i thought somebody else must have had the same issue, that is perfect, not bothered about the seat ones, but the grip things are genius!!!!!!!

cant really mount it the other way, as its on the left hand side at moment, so would mean upside down on the shifter side (too much clutter!)

12.99 too, not to bad considering a new lever is what 40-50 quid then fitting? and time off the bike too? perfffecto, thank you so much lemonysam

ordering them right now!

Jesus Christ.

Mounting it upside down doesn’t actually solve the problem BTW.

Just to hijack this a bit…

Anyone thought about fitting a small hydraulic brake lever instead of the Reverb push-button? I find it a bit fiddly to get my thumb in the right position to push, especially if I’m on unfamiliar terrain and get surprised by a rocky section!

it does grum, i dont intend in breaking it any other way and should i crash and break it then so be it, thats life

but as for breaking it when its upside down just because i forgot, ill be mega pissed off!

why is it such a laughable prodcut? i can guarentee many many people have broken the lever off their reverb due to this

good little product exactly what i was after so thank you

Block of wood!

I still don’t understand why anyone turns their bike upside down for any reason other than crashing it, or how you can possibly find it easier to get the wheels in and out that way up. Seems to be a topic that divides opinion to an amazing degree.

Seems to be a topic that divides opinion to an amazing degree.

😆 quite

I still don’t understand…how you can possibly find it easier to get the wheels in and out that way up

I still don’t understand why people don’t understand this. If one hand is holding the bike, it’s one less hand for doing the other stuff required to get a wheel in and out. I have been practising getting wheels in and out without turning the bike upside down, but it’s purely for the sake of image rather than any sound practical reasons 😆

If its near the car why not just rest the bars on something

I’m pretty sure your spare pair of shoes (if its say next to the car and you’ve got riding shoes) would do the job perfectly

hob nob i know, ive tried block of wood straight in the middle, problem is it becomes un-even 😆 and it falls over to one side 😆

so these little things are exactly what i was after without sawing/making something myself, for 11 quid (with 10% off), cant really grumble

ive already come so close to snapping the lever on numerous occasions, with scratches to prove so

thanks again for the link lemonysam, spot on!

sadly i have to take both wheels on/off everytime and its much easier upside down to fit the rear (almost instantly with 142×12) so its no issue, apart from the reverb lever

edit : and yep as per stilltortoise, i find it much easier upside down as i have both hands available!

it’s easier to take the wheels out of a bike with it the right way up, do that

possibly as easy, putting them back in is the tricky bit*, if you reckon that’s easier “right way up” then you’ve been smoking some serious crack.

*it’s actually not too difficult with qr & rim brakes, add discs and funky wheel fastenings as most mtbs have now (and a growing number of road/cx) and upside down is by far the easiest.

Nobeerinthefridge – Member
Jesus Christ.

A little impractical to pack, and no use on an easter weekend.

Every time I see someone tarting round putting wheels in while holding the bike in one hand and the rear mech in the other while using the other hand to pop the rear axle in I know I’m doing something wrong.

I have to take my front wheel off to get my bike in the car. I hold the bike the right way up. Much quicker. I also do the rear the right way up. I suppose I’ve just got used to doing it. I hate getting grips and saddle scuffed, scratched and dirty from upside down wheel removal.

15mm and 12mm axles btw.

I suppose I’ve just got used to doing it.

I’ve no doubt it’s a skill you can learn and get proficient* at over time, but that’s time I could use learning to wheelie**

*but still not be as good as with the bike upsode down
**no I still can’t wheelie
🙂

Anyone thought about fitting a small hydraulic brake lever instead of the Reverb push-button? I find it a bit fiddly to get my thumb in the right position to push, especially if I’m on unfamiliar terrain and get surprised by a rocky section!

How would that work? Surely you’d have to keep hold of the lever or your saddle would just come straight back up (or down, never played with a Reverb enough to know which is is which!?).

add discs and funky wheel fastenings as most mtbs have now (and a growing number of road/cx) and upside down is by far the easiest.

Utter bobbins! Far far easier the right way up. Most ‘successful’ thread I’ve ever started I think was debating the merits of this on the back of a front page poll!

Deveron53 – Member

I have to take my front wheel off to get my bike in the car. I hold the bike the right way up. Much quicker. I also do the rear the right way up. I suppose I’ve just got used to doing it. I hate getting grips and saddle scuffed, scratched and dirty from upside down wheel removal.

Your seat and grips don’t get dity/worn/scuffed from your muddy arse and hands rubing on them for hours at a time???? 🙄

That being the basis of the discussion last time: here, if you want to save time.

Grips, saddle etc get worn through use, that’s unavoidable, why cause them extra damage unnecessarily? Particularly when it’s easier to put wheels in with the bike upright.

That’s like saying “I know my car will get stone chips, so I’m taking a handful of gravel to the dealership to throw at it”.

njee20 – Member

That being the basis of the discussion last time: here, if you want to save time.

Grips, saddle etc get worn through use, that’s unavoidable, why cause them extra damage unnecessarily? Particularly when it’s easier to put wheels in with the bike upright.

I saw the thread last time and thought it was bobbins then too. It cannot possibly be easier to fit your wheel with only one hand while the other is balancing the bike/lining up the mech etc.

The damage (the odd scuff to a grip/lock-on/saddle) is insignificant to the normal wear that occurs.

And no it’s not similar to me throwing handfuls of gravel at my car paintwork.

Uh oh, here we go again!

Define ‘easier’? I’d wager a fair sum I can do it quicker without inverting the bike than you can inverting it. I will also do no damage in that time.

For me, that’s easier. But you carry on, I’m not stopping you.

How is it not like throwing gravel at your car? You’re damaging it in a way that could easily be avoided…

Personally I don’t really want a ripped saddle or grip, they’re not particularly (in the case of saddles) cheap things after all.

Uh oh, here we go again!

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSVeDx9fk60[/video]

Anyone thought about fitting a small hydraulic brake lever instead of the Reverb push-button? I find it a bit fiddly to get my thumb in the right position to push, especially if I’m on unfamiliar terrain and get surprised by a rocky section!

How would that work? Surely you’d have to keep hold of the lever or your saddle would just come straight back up (or down, never played with a Reverb enough to know which is is which!?).

But you thought you’d contribute anyway… So, by this thinking, you reckon Reverb users have to have their thumb constantly and without letting go, pressed hard on the release knob while they negotiate a nice rock garden?

Back to topic, what about a couple of short lengths of pipe insulation foam (could actually gaffer tape a couple of layers to make it thicker)popped on the grips as a ghetto version of the foam blocks in the pic?

So, by this thinking, you reckon Reverb users have to have their thumb pressed hard on the release knob while they negotiate a nice rock garden?

No, I’m rather under the impression that like an XLoc fork lockout a Reverb lever has a stop – like a biro, so it’s press once for on, and again for off. That being how it works.

A brake lever just pushes fluid whilst you hold it, then it all goes back into the master cylinder when you let go.

You carry on with the sarcastic comments though eh!

press put pressure on/off saddle to lower/raise it, then let go when saddle is at right height.

you’re still wrong 😉

oh jesus, what have i started ….FWIW i do find it easier to put the wheels in upside down, it takes me just a few seconds now ive a rear 142×12 maxle, pretty genius, used to be a major pain for me with standard QR 😆

but i know of people that can whip them in and out in seconds flat upright, its just not for me and my level of skills sadly

anyways back ON topic, i did think about foam insulation, but cant be arsed finding it etc, this kit by the link above looks spot on, and its only 11 quid inc postage, and no hassle sorting out, im happy with that as it will serve a purpose, and hopefully stop me snappying my reverb

anyways back ON topic, i did think about foam insulation,

would pipe lagging on the grips raise the bars enough to clear the reverb button?

Im thinking for car park/home rather than midride

Great idea, but seriously why would you pay for it?

An old swimming float and a Stanley knife will do the job…they even give you a template!

Enlarge_and_print

Quicker is not necessarily easier, I agree it may be quicker. What do you do when you have a puncture? Do you not lay it down? Or can you repair your puncture one handed while holding the bike off the ground too? 😉

The paint on my car is not a wear and tear item, I wear my grips out and replace then probably every 6-8 months. This would not change if I didn’t invert my bike. I have never worn through the top back edge of my sadlle, the bit that touches the ground when inverted. The edges wearout from my legs rubbing grit against them. 🙂

donk i dont think the pipe lagging would clear the reverb button height wise, nor a pair of shoes also (plus not very stable)

best solution i thought of was some wood carved like the design on the one i bought, but in the end seeing that, its just easier for me personally to just buy it ready made, theres looks very stable and easy to carry around in the ikea biking back (better than two clumps of wood)

Surely one shoe under each grip, would be very sturdy I would have thought (using my Teva Links or Shimano M088s as examples). The Reverb lever isn’t really that big (I have one)

Just to annoy both sides of the discussion – i do my front wheel upright, but the back wheel upside down.

I thought this was a thread about modifying a lever and a high pressure revert post so that it could flip the bike back around to an upright position. I’d even do my wheel changes upside down if I had one of those 🙂

hmmm….kickstarter?

The upside down argument I can see when applying it to road bikes but on an MTB? It’s ridiculous. I’ve done it all my BMX & MTB life and that’s over 30 years and never seen any wear on a saddle. I may have worn the anodizing off some grip collars but that’s the extent of the grip damage. I’d be more worried about the damage I’d do to the bottom of the fork legs when putting the bike down than anything, after all they’re the thing that’s going to touch the ground while you’re taking out the other wheel and or doing some work/changing the tube/whatever and I’m sure that fork legs aren’t consumables.

Question to Robin L and njee – do you ever stop riding your bike? If so what do you do to support it? Do you lay it down and risk scratching your bar ends and pedals or carry an Andystand everywhere?

Back to the OP – I’d just put the lever back under the bars and bin the Matchmaker myself. It’s the best place for the lever (esp if you’re 1 x gearing) and it gets it out the way. What does the matchmaker add anyway? If it puts the lever on top it’s obviously designed “wrong”.