Hello members,
Taking Dales request to have more CR 'readers' contribute; here is a preface and some questions I have had on my mind. Being a youngster in the bike world, I have been puzzled by the lever on side pull brake calipers. It is my assumption is that they exist so a wheel can be easily taken off. Just flip up the switch, the calipers open further and a wheel can be taken off. When the switch is down, the calipers are closer to the rim and make for tighter/precise braking.
My conundrum with this little feature of brake calipers has come to fruition for a number of reasons.
First, when screaming down Germantown hill (a great quick climb and descent just outside Portland) on my '82 Univega my rear brake caliber became very, well, 'squishy' for lack of a better term. Come to find out my rear caliper opened because the switch lifted on its own.
Second, I observed at the last Hand Made Bike Show in Portland a very nice -in fact, amazing; the lug work was beautiful- build with a 25th anniversary Dura Ace groupset. The calipers were open/up on both the front and back. I thought maybe they just didn't close them when they put the bike together for the show; however, at closer look the brakes were tight and tuned to where they should be for riding. Why did these expert builders tune the brakes lever up?
Since then, I have observed a number of cyclists/bicycles that keep the lever up/open, and many who keep them closed/down. Why?
Am I incorrect about their purpose? Do people keep them up to avoid what happened to my while barreling down Germantown? Do other CR members have a preference, and, if so, why?
Just a thought, Jeremy L. Robillard Portland, Oregon USA via Bellingham, WA
PS: Hello Kurt Sperry. I never knew that the place I was born in, raised, and attended university had such a bike aficionado. I was just up for the holidays. Bellingham is truly a beautiful place, I recommend any CR member to visit.