Vintage French randonneuer's and porteurs.

not sure i understand, as the explanation seems to contradict the real estate between a load/ handlebar bag and where your paws would need to access the levers. ???

but continuing to think about the brake levers close to the steer tube has me wondering if that doesn't make

control a little jiggley in a hard stop situation.
 
Guinessisgoodforyou said:
I've seen many campeurs with large front bags and conventional brake levers so I'm not entirely sure of that. I think like anything else fashion and personal choice play their part.
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Well you can pack stuff right up against the fronts of the drops and still pull the brakes. They aren’t the easiest levers to use though. I can see why they weren’t as popular as conventional drop bar levers 👍

Related subject: I really need to get my RH reinstated after my move and new longer commute!
 
s.e.charles said:
not sure i understand, as the explanation seems to contradict the real estate between a load/ handlebar bag and where your paws would need to access the levers. ???

but continuing to think about the brake levers close to the steer tube has me wondering if that doesn't make

control a little jiggley in a hard stop situation.
Click to expand...

1733140806390.png 1733140851408.png

Don't exactly know the rationale of these type of levers - I always thought they were simply something else intended for more upright leisurely riding rather than being concerned with getting aero in the hooks. In both the Mafac and CLB catalogues they are shown alongside the "town bike" brake levers which would have been used with moustache or porteur bars.

I guess too it was considered no riding off the saddle with a loaded bike? Perhaps riding on the hooks was more intended for a temporary change in position or battling in a headwind on the flat?

Not tried these type of levers, but I probably wouldn't get along with them - especially on a long descent I would be afraid muscle memory would take over and then it would end in a nasty accident :D

Have seen someone fit these to bull horn bars where they seemed to make much more sense and probably safer than just having cross top style levers.

1733141913404.png
 
A little bit from Wikipedia concerning the "Suicide Lever" that I assume had some similar thinking to the guidonnet levers:

In the 1960s the Swiss manufacturer Weinmann supplied Dia-Compe with brake parts. Dia-Compe invented the brake-lever extension in roughly 1969. This was at once widely appreciated by manufacturers including Schwinn, which dropped the use of Weinmann brake sets and adopted Dia Compe brake sets on all models except the Schwinn Paramount. However, this invention was also nicknamed as "Suicide Levers" because they did not fully actuate the brake levers, producing a loss of stopping power. Their patents were so intimidating that Weinmann cross-licensed all Dia-Compe patents in return for access to the brake-lever extension patent a few years later.
 
Woz said:
Perhaps riding on the hooks was more intended for a temporary change in position or battling in a headwind on the flat?
Click to expand...

I believe that is it. Those guidonnet levers are generally found on full-on touring bikes (campeurs) where the comfort of a more upright position is more important than outright speed. The drop bars still give you the "trois positions" that were (and still are) favoured by those spending long days in the saddle.

I recently put a pair on one of mrs non-fixie's machines and found they work rather well. They seem to flex much less than most "turkey levers".

These were made by C.L.B., BTW:

Guidonnet Mercier.jpg
 
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