What levers pair with avid SL v brakes?

[ishaw]

I have a nice set of avid SL v brakes in silver. First up, are they the same as SL ti? They seem to be the same and have ti hardware.

I have a set of avid levers in the same colour, I think they are fr5s, and while they match, they aren't quite as nice as the brakes so wondering if there was an SL lever to match the brakes? SL ti seem to come in orange or grey and aren't a match for the brakes.

What other decent levers would look nice and suit the brakes?

 

[Pipmeister]

Hi Ian, I have had a mix of various Avid SL V brakes and Levers as well as the Avid SD-Mag, which are the Orange version that you mentioned.

The Silver SL Levers have Ti fixings, but are not quite the same slick finish as the V-Brakes that they are supposed to match. I think I got them from a blowout sale at C.R.

This is the best shot that I have of the levers:



I assume these are the same SL V-Brakes with Ti fixings that you mentioned, which I don't think match the SL Levers very well:



I'm not sure that I've helped very much, but I would say that from the set that bought from C.R., there doesn't seem to be an aesthetically matching set of Avid SL Silver Levers and Vs.

Just for reference here are the Avid SD-Mag, which are super lightweight:





Pip

 

[mk one]

The Avid vbrake range is confusing, from what i have seen they do matching levers for most of them.

Here is a better pic of the matching levers for the SL's



And @Pipmeister those Mag's are nice, meant to be a bit fragile though, but they also made the Ti model in a similar coppery orange.

 

[Pipmeister]

Cheers Mark for the extra pictures, which explain it rather better.

I always felt that the Silver Speed Dial SL Levers in my first picture were sort of like a unfinished prototype version, with a super textured finish, compared to the V-Brake Arms that they were paired with. They used to bug me when I glanced down at them!

Anyway, I haven't really tackled answering Ian's question "What other decent levers would look nice and suit the brakes?"

Pip.

 

[ishaw]

Thanks for the replies, has certainly helped me visualise what is out there avid wise.

I guess I was assuming that there would be a lever like the mag ti, but in SL colour. The levers I have are the same colour as the brakes but haven't markings model wise or any adjusters. I do have a set of what look like the SL levers pictured, but mine are dark grey with red adjuster, not a silver colour, and if I am honest, prefer the look of the mag lever. Did this come in SL silver?

 

[Pipmeister]

Hi Ian, Mark may be better qualified to answer than I am on this, but Avid did produce the Ultimate Speed Dial Level in Silver. I assume from what you are saying here, that these had a similar design to the Mag Ti. They do fetch crazy money though!



Pip

 

[ishaw]

I am lucky enough to have a full set of ultimate v brakes in black, but not looking to spend that kind of money on levers for these. The ones I have are ok and a good enough match, if a little worn compared to the brakes. I do have a nice set of new trp levers that I bought ages ago, as were recommended by someone as a good high end brake partner and also had to ti fittings.

I think I've seen the mag style ones with black bodies, I'd probably be happy with that.

Will search and see what turns up, have the trp ones to fall back on.