Shimano Brake Levers

[KDC1956]

I want to change my brake levers from what came on my surly lht bicycle to the shimano bl-r400 brake levers.How hard is this going to be I have bar end shifters on it. And I also want to change out the the brakes to shimano br-r550 while I am at it. I think I can do the brakes easy but not real sure about the brake levers I don't want to have to take off the bar end shifters at this time I like the way it looks and it shifts fine for me.
Thanks for any info you can give me.

[Bill]

(12-21-2009, 03:31 PM)KDC1956 Wrote:  I want to change my brake levers from what came on my surly lht bicycle to the shimano bl-r400 brake levers.How hard is this going to be I have bar end shifters on it. And I also want to change out the the brakes to shimano br-r550 while I am at it. I think I can do the brakes easy but not real sure about the brake levers I don't want to have to take off the bar end shifters at this time I like the way it looks and it shifts fine for me.
Thanks for any info you can give me.

KDC,
After looking up all the models you described the only way I see is to pull off the bar end shifters. I'm not sure if the band on the lever assembly can be completely removed. Thus not having to take off the bar end shifters. That someone else here would have to tell ya. Here is a small drawing of what I mean. Excuse the drawing I am not by far an artist lol.

[KDC1956]

(12-21-2009, 06:11 PM)Bill Wrote:  

(12-21-2009, 03:31 PM)KDC1956 Wrote:  I want to change my brake levers from what came on my surly lht bicycle to the shimano bl-r400 brake levers.How hard is this going to be I have bar end shifters on it. And I also want to change out the the brakes to shimano br-r550 while I am at it. I think I can do the brakes easy but not real sure about the brake levers I don't want to have to take off the bar end shifters at this time I like the way it looks and it shifts fine for me.
Thanks for any info you can give me.

KDC,
After looking up all the models you described the only way I see is to pull off the bar end shifters. I'm not sure if the band on the lever assembly can be completely removed. Thus not having to take off the bar end shifters. That someone else here would have to tell ya. Here is a small drawing of what I mean. Excuse the drawing I am not by far an artist lol.

Thanks Bill and I thought this was going to be easy lol.I see what you mean tho.Now I got to think this one out before I start.This might be a good time to switch to down tube shifters.Or maybe I would be better off taking it to my LBS and have them do this part for me.Wish I was better at working on this kind of bicycle.I can build one from parts and get all the things to work out good but this kind of bicycle scares me a little I got a lot of money in this bike don't want to mess it up.

[Bill]

You are very welcome. Something else I came across is that they make a combination shifter/brake lever. I am not sure if shimano makes them or not. I think some call them brifters or something like that. By the way I found a picture of the model of bike you have and it is really nice .

[Joe_W]

Yep, road bikes use now integrated shift / brake levers. They are made by Shimano, SRAM, Campagnolo and some others (I cannot remember). Shimano still has some that are 8 or 9 spd (2200 or Sora?), standard is 10spd, Campa has 11spd (Super Record group). Might be worth looking into that, they are much more convenient than downtube shifters. Only problem is the brakes, some are not compatible with those STIs (though there is a wide range of options available: mini v-brakes and cantis etc.)