{"id":1733,"date":"2013-08-04T06:42:31","date_gmt":"2013-08-04T04:42:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/?p=1733"},"modified":"2019-08-28T10:52:01","modified_gmt":"2019-08-28T08:52:01","slug":"1981-gerber-race-bike-modified-for-left-handed-riding-howto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/?p=1733","title":{"rendered":"1981 Gerber race bike modified for left handed \/ one handed riding [howto: brake lever]"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Summer\u00a0 is coming and I now get back to street biking (not just off road riding). As changing gear levers can be a bitch, I decided to go with an old bike with frame mounted gear levers (rather than handle bar mounted levers). So I bought this 1981 Gerber race bicycle. Very elegant.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/?p=1733\/#Original_bike_state\" >Original bike state<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/?p=1733\/#First_attempt_brakes\" >First attempt, brakes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/?p=1733\/#Second_attempt_handlebar_shifters_brakes\" >Second attempt, handlebar, shifters, brakes<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Original_bike_state\"><\/span><!--more--><br \/>\nOriginal bike state<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/709406212_6_Big.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1742\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/709406212_6_Big-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"709406212_6_Big\" width=\"100%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/709406212_6_Big-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/709406212_6_Big.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/709406212_2_Big.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1746\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/709406212_2_Big-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"709406212_2_Big\" width=\"100%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/709406212_2_Big-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/709406212_2_Big.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/original-gerber-rennvelo-von-1981.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1747\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/original-gerber-rennvelo-von-1981-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"original-gerber-rennvelo-von-1981\" width=\"100%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/original-gerber-rennvelo-von-1981-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/original-gerber-rennvelo-von-1981.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"First_attempt_brakes\"><\/span>First attempt, brakes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>As you see, two brakes are a problem as this blogger (me) will want to have one brake lever for both front and rear brakes. So question is how to set the bike up for one handed (left handed) braking with the least effort achievable.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2742.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1735\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2742-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"CIMG2742\" width=\"100%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2742-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2742-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So, how to fix this?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2741.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1734\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2741-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"CIMG2741\" width=\"100%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2741-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2741-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I ordered a Paul duplex brake lever &#8211; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=paul+duplex+lever\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">LINK<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I used a special tool to force the clamp of the brake lever over the handle bar. This was necessary as this older Swiss bike&#8217;s handle bar features a diameter that is just ever so slightly higher than the inner diameter of the brake lever clamp.<\/p>\n<p>Here, the front brake cable is already in place.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2743.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1736\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2743-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"CIMG2743\" width=\"100%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2743-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/CIMG2743-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here, both front and rear cables in place.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_002.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1738\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_002-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"WP_20130603_002\" width=\"100%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_002-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_002-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_002.jpg 1632w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_008.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1740\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_008-168x300.jpg\" alt=\"WP_20130603_008\" width=\"100%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_008-168x300.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_008-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_008.jpg 918w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 168px) 100vw, 168px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I used Shimano cable sheaths as I had them lying around anyway.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_009.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1737\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_009-300x168.jpg\" alt=\"WP_20130603_009\" width=\"100%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_009-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_009-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_009.jpg 1632w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_007.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-1739\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_007-168x300.jpg\" alt=\"WP_20130603_007\" width=\"100%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_007-168x300.jpg 168w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_007-576x1024.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/WP_20130603_007.jpg 918w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 168px) 100vw, 168px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Also, I have the bike mechanic change the rims to tubed rather than tubeless tyres. Until that is done, I decided that I might as well take time to get the brakes going. So, here we go.<\/p>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Second_attempt_handlebar_shifters_brakes\"><\/span>Second attempt, handlebar, shifters, brakes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p>I used Shimano BR-R451 brakes for best performance, as the reach (distance between screw and pads) for this Gerber bike is just 1-2 mm more than the Shimano 105 which these days seems to be ubiquitous across bike shops. I now mounted a horizontal handle bar as the curved one gave me back aches with the prosthetic arm. Furthermore, I put the shifters up om the handle bar, by putting in a cable stop where the downtube shifters were.<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-1733 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/?attachment_id=4419'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/DSC0840-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/?attachment_id=4420'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/DSC0830-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/?attachment_id=4421'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/DSC0833-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/?attachment_id=4422'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/DSC0828-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/?attachment_id=4424'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/DSC0824-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/?attachment_id=4425'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/DSC08211-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"twitter-share\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?via=swisswuff\" class=\"twitter-share-button\" data-size=\"large\">Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Summer\u00a0 is coming and I now get back to street biking (not just off road riding). As changing gear levers can be a bitch, I decided to go with an old bike with frame mounted gear levers (rather than handle bar mounted levers). So I bought this 1981 Gerber race bicycle. Very elegant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[302,98,11,123,1,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1981-gerber-road-bike","category-activities-of-daily-living","category-bike","category-biking","category-support","category-worldmods","wpcat-302-id","wpcat-98-id","wpcat-11-id","wpcat-123-id","wpcat-1-id","wpcat-9-id"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-09 01:58:07","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1733"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10090,"href":"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1733\/revisions\/10090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swisswuff.ch\/tech\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}