There was a thread recently, I forget if on this list or the boblist, about riders buying old STI or Ergo levers and gutting the shifting bits to use them solely as (for them) very comfortable brake levers.
On Sun, Mar 15, 2026 at 11:46 AM Jay <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi everyone - long explanation, thanks for reading. > > I've been having some pain at the base of my thumb and the area between by > thumb and index finger. I've done some research but haven't had it > assessed. If I go a few days without riding, then I ride, the next day > it's usually sore to the touch. I do self-therapy on it using tips I've > found online. This helps, but I would like to see if this can be > prevented. When I ride multiple days, it's generally sore on the > subsequent rides on the bike, and off the bike as well. I'm 51 so it might > be wear and tear (arthritis). > > I have Apex brifters on my Fargo, which I've ridden exclusively Jan-Feb > because the weather was lousy and the Roadini stayed home. I don't like > the Apex brifters, however, I did not have this pain at all. > > I've been on the Roadini 4x in the last 8 days, and my hand started > hurting a day after the second ride...and it's been sore ever since. I > recall I had this on and off last year, but I was trying alt bars on the > Fargo and thought it was related to something with those bars / grips, now > I'm thinking it's the Tektro RRL brake levers. Thing is, I love the feel > of these when I grip them, and I have thick bar tape with gel pad beneath > so that's as good as that can be. These levers are relatively small > compared to modern day brifters, and I think the cause of the pain might > come from my palm resting on the bars and not being fully engaged around > the lever. I say this because my friend has Sram Force electronic brifters > and when I grip them, it's night and day, my whole hand is on the brighter > and nothing is touching the bar. I've noticed the same with my Ultregra > brifters on my road bike that stays on the trainer. The Sram on the Fargo > is small in comparison, and just awkward, but it might actually be better > for this hand problem then the Tektro. I rode it last night and it's felt > fine since then. I really want to keep these Tektro levers as I love how > they look, and feel, even though the feeling might be okay even though it's > painful after (this doesn't make complete sense to me, how this can happen). > > So I'm looking into other options. I don't think there are large brake > levers that are as large as Ultegra brifters, so I could keep the downtube > shifters. I could get 105 brifters as I'm using 11-sp 2x shimano road > drivetrain. What I don't like about these, is when I ride on the trails > and use the brakes a lot (steep, technical-ish descents), how the lever > wants to push in to shift when I'm just trying to brake; I would rather > have one that stays put (like Sram). The Tektro levers have been awesome > as brakes on the trails. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/8a02d138-14cf-4bb4-9f5f-8d0d21028292n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/8a02d138-14cf-4bb4-9f5f-8d0d21028292n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing services ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgs2mTShivbEpaog0EQBVXW99LBG6W8YesdNMtDsKpMnZw%40mail.gmail.com.
