V brake levers - do springs make a difference?

[deejayenuk]

I'm building up a bike with V brakes, and pondering what to buy.

From what I can tell some of the lightweight levers don't have return springs, so I'm wondering... what are the pros and cons of levers with\without return springs?

 

[legrandefromage]

No

 

[deejayenuk]

Thanks!

 

[ishaw]

I agree with lgf to a point, though the lever return will rely on the spring tension in the brakes completely. If you've got draggy cables or a noodly cable run, or light spring tension, the lever return will be affected. I've got some Paul's without springs in the levers, they work fine but probably have a little more spring tension than if the levers had a spring, not a big deal.

 

[deejayenuk]

Thanks, ishaw

I'll see how I get on with the non-sprung levers. It's a long recumbent bike, so has about a 2.5metre cable run with full housing. I saw that Box One levers make a slight thing about having a spring, so wondered about the benefits.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Springs all the way even with canti's, V-brakes of course.

Or just ramp up the tension at the caliper end. Not as good but works like the very old days and you need stronger fingers.

Same for shifters, SRAM twist improved when they added helper spring to the shifter. RF have them by design.
Did anyone make thumbies (mtb/Road) with helper springs?

 

[deejayenuk]

We've gone from a No, to a Maybe, to a Yes!

 

[FluffyChicken]

We've gone from a No, to a Maybe, to a Yes!

There is a reason why the best levers have them.
Not all expensive CNC levers are the best.

It is what made the SS5 (spring) and SS7(bit of rubber) really good levers and XT/XTR (air piston, sadly lost for boring springs) so good to use the earlier XT levers etc.

The only con for return springs is extra weight and cost at the BitD.