Tony has small hands and wants some advice as to how he can get them closer to his handlebars to make braking easier. There is a method, but it’s not the easiest or safest thing you can do, but we pass on this trick anyway.
Question: How do i get the brake lever closer to my fingers on-road bike (small hands)
Answer:
Hi Tony, There is not an easy way of doing this, there are smaller levers on the market, but very hard to buy in either Shimano or Campagnolo.
The old trick used to be to fit a small wedge between the top of the lever and where it meets the body of the brake. This brings the lever closer to the handlebars. You must loosen the brake cable before fitting.
If you know an engineer, he could make you something in the alloy, and you could use glue to hold it in place. The big problem is if the wedge falls out, then you will lose your brakes and stopping could be difficult and dangerous. So be careful!
The other thing you could do is look for non-anatomically shaped handlebars that bring your hands closer to the brake levers.
Read more about round vs anatomic handlebars here…
Adjusting your lever reach when your hand is too small by Kristen Legan
Kristen Legan, the writer, athlete, and coach from cycling tips, has written the about small hand problems that often most women have to deal with because most bicycles are designed for men. If shift and brake levers stick out too far from the handlebar, then this article is for you.
Junior brake lever reach adjustment trick
Lastly, there is another road bike brake lever reach adjustment trick I’ve just found while digging at youtube. It may work very well too. This is though for adjusting a brake lever in a junior road bike. But why don’t you try it too?
