The Hunt
When you’re looking for a lever for your mechanical disc brakes or ‘supposedly obsolete’ v-brakes, you’ve got a fair selection of affordable budget options. Be it from AVID, Shimano or Tektro, but I think there’s a general consensus that when it comes to a bit of bling, there aren’t quite as many options out there.
Of course you’ve got your flashy Paul’s Components levers (hope your kidneys are healthy) or slightly more affordable, though still rather dear, KCNC. Sure, you can always go the used route, but even second hand, nice CNC’ed levers can go for a small fortune. As such I delved into the bowels of Big Ali, the home of mass produced, mostly shite, bike tat.
I began my journey by popping into the search bar ‘Brake levers’, although I probably misspelled it a good ten times as my lumpy fingers struggle with the phone keyboard, especially when I’ve had a few (that’s when I empty my wallet), but we got there in the end. There’s a wide selection on there, many solid budget levers such as Tektro and off-brand stuff reminiscent of cheapo Shimano and AVID.
But if you want the real interesting stuff, you have to venture into the world of folding bike components. That’s where I found the ‘LitePro Ultimatelever’, an ultra-light, CNC brake lever. The manufacturer has obviously taken a bit too much artistic liberty while gazing at a set of KCNC VB1’s. But the price spoke louder than any moral conundrum regarding the ethics of mass produced knock offs.
Click click, type, type.. They’re mine. Well, not yet. It takes forever actually. After waiting the average life span of two house flies, I finally received a padded envelope and within it was two bags, stapled together. Very basic packaging, no fancy cardboard box or anything like that. But who cares? We want cheap!
First Impressions
My first impressions of the levers is neither one of total amazement or disappointment. The truth is they don’t look too bad. Yep, that’s right. These levers that set me back a total of 18€, don’t look half bad. The machining is actually fairly clean, not overly jagged, like what you get with some Chinesium components that’d be better off used as a kitchen knife. The colour is nice and solid, not granulated/textured with varying colour intensity and splotches which is another common feature of Big Ali’s goods.
Oh, and did I tell you that they’re light? Now I’m not a weight weenie so I couldn’t be arsed to find my scales, but according to the great interwebs, they’re about 64 grams! You may as well be holding a feather in your hand. Now, you’d imagine that a skimpy lever like that will be about as sturdy as an overcooked pasta noodle, right? And well, it is a bit flexy, to be honest. But I’m going to go out on a limb here and say: Show me a skimpy, ultra-light CNC’ed lever that ain’t skimpy! Less material, less robust. And though there’s a distinct flex, particularly in the lever portion itself, which has a slight up and down movement, it’s not something that’d put me off using them.
Installation and the Hiccup
So, I popped them on the bike. In this case I’m installing them on my Tech Wildthing, on a set of MX bars. They slid on with no problem, and the clamp is easily adjusted using a hex key. Once clamped down, they feel solid, with no slipping. As I proceed to install cabling, that’s when I run into the first hiccup, so to speak. The barrel adjuster. Ugh, it’s horrid. Due to the way it’s machined, it has a rather harsh and abrasive feeling as you turn it, which isn’t helped by the fact that the adjustment screw sits so close to it, from factory, that it gets caught on the adjuster. Definitely room for improvement there, first and foremost just making sure the threading is smooth and clean, because it is by no means as smooth as even the cheapest Tektro offering. You get what you pay for, right? Luckily it only took a finicky few minutes and a couple of sips of my lager to break the adjuster loose. I was then able to finish my adjustments.
It’s not all bad news, though. Once everything was set up and I took it for a test ride, I didn’t find them significantly inferior or superior to any other budget lever I’ve used in the past. But let’s keep in mind that a mechanical brake setup is not rocket science, so I’m not about to pop the Champagne just because my Chinese goodies manage to pull a cable. The modulation definitely isn’t something I’d write home about, nor do I find it so lacking that I want to bin it. Regarding the up and down flexing from the lever portion itself, which I mentioned earlier, it isn’t actually noticeable when riding. The only way you’d notice is if you actively sat pushing it up and down while riding, which isn’t a very joyful pastime if I’m being honest with you. Ergonomically they’re not fantastic, but also not uncomfortable. Compared to other budget levers, the edges are a bit more prominent due to the machining, which some may find annoying compared to a more rounded lever. But I didn’t mind that, and on a brighter note, I actually think the angle of the lever makes for a quite secure grip and it felt very easily accessible.
But I know that after reading this, some of you may be thinking: “Oh, you took it for one ride and then called it a day! Humbug! What a crook! Hoodwinker!“. I see you there, tomato at hand, ready to throw.. But hold your horses there for a minute cowboy! or Cowgirl? I’ve bought the lever again twice since my first purchase, putting it on my Surly 1×1 and KM. These bikes are daily riders for me and the levers have worked just fine. I use them for V brakes on the Tech and the 1×1, and for mechanical disc’s on the KM.
Conclusive Thoughts
Now, would I recommend LitePro Ultimatelever over a basic set of Tektro, AVID or Shimano? Yes and no. From a standpoint of wanting something solid, with good incremental adjustments and more advanced modulation?… Eh no, UltimateLever is not that. A cheap set of AVID SD7’s have a more robust feel and a superior barrel adjuster. BUT! If we take it from the viewpoint of wanting a useable, slightly flashy lever that does the job at a low cost? Then this is absolutely what you’re looking for! I have used these levers in varying terrain and I’m not a light fella at 130 kg. I can safely say that I’ve never lost confidence in the levers while riding.
Here they are on my Karate Monkey… Don’t they look rad?
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