I bought some used Shimano Dura Ace 7400 levers a while back. I plan to put these "non-aero" levers on the Teledyne. I learned that "non-aero" means that the cable comes out the top of the lever and makes a big loops to get down to the head-tube area. "aero" levers are the ones that have the cable routed inside the lever and comes out the side of the lever so that it can be run along the handlebar so that it can basically be hidden behind the bar tape and not stick up into the air... Since about the late '80s, pretty much all road bikes have come with "aero" levers (most with the shifting function also integrated into the levers, starting in the late '90s).
Diacomp brake lever versus Shimano Dura Ace 7400 lever (early 1980's vintage). I've placed them on top of each other to show the similarity in the shape of the hoods. The rubber hoods on the Dura Ace were completely deteriorated. Had to scrape off the remnants! It turns out that Shimano used a relatively standard pattern for the hoods for once in their history. The "standard" is a Campagnolo Nuevo Record shape. I'm getting the feeling that this was kinda unofficial standard design in the late '70s & early '80s. Either I'll swap the hoods from the Daicomp to the Dura Ace or buy some generic replacements. |
