How DO you grab the brakes if you are on the drops?
I’ve got the same levers on my velo de ville but with porteur bars although it wouldn’t have been like that originally. From what I’ve seen, that style of levers are meant for drop bars but they don’t seem all that practical.
Loving this thread, your work on the build and the stories around it.
I think that Jan Heine of Rene Herse Cycles has the build books from the original business. If so, he should be able to tell you when it was built with the details you now have.
That’s great. Thanks @non-fixie. I measured ~27mm rear and ~31mm front so definitely in the ball park. And you naming the brake shoe pivot helps me to see that there is a bit of up and down adjustment for the shoes.
That looks to be the answer. Thanks to @Woz for your guidance too.