shimano slr brakes.

[colker]

Slr brake levers made a huge difference on late 80s equipment; more control and power w/ a fluid feeling. Seems there is a mech inside the levers working to make it happen and like many things shimano you should better not open to see what is going on behind the plastics. They were much heavier (300gr x 165grs) than dia compe levers but worth it: one could have more pad clearance and more bite. Anyway, it seems there was an equivalent w/ drop bar levers and calipers. I just checked an instruction sheet from shimano mentioning slr x non slr. Anyone w/ experience w/ this thing clould tell me what is slr road braking? If it´s as good as canti braking w/ flat bars i am interested.

[Tandem Rider]

SLR brakes had an additional spring inside the lever to help move the cable and lever back to their resting position. This allowed the caliper spring to be lighter meaning it required less force to operate. These brakesets required the new at the time, lined brake cables which moved with less effort.

[colker]

SLR brakes had an additional spring inside the lever to help move the cable and lever back to their resting position. This allowed the caliper spring to be lighter meaning it required less force to operate. These brakesets required the new at the time, lined brake cables which moved with less effort.

I set flat bar slr levers w/ non descript cables and it still works very different from the rest.
Maybe it´s the canti pivot being low on the fork and stays and the slr levers work to give a stable feeling. Rollercams and centerpulls feel more solid than cantis and don´t need slr levers.

[Black Dog]

I set flat bar slr levers w/ non descript cables and it still works very different from the rest.
Maybe it´s the canti pivot being low on the fork and stays and the slr levers work to give a stable feeling. Rollercams and centerpulls feel more solid than cantis and don´t need slr levers.

The only difference between SLR and non SLR levers is a return spring in the lever itself, as was mentioned, and a nylon bushing in the lever pivot. This allowed for a lighter spring in the brake and a very smooth and friction free lever thanks to the bushing. Combined with the teflon lined outer cables the whole system had a very light and smooth feel. There is no difference in the pull ratios and geometry of the SLR versus non-SLR levers.

[colker]

The only difference between SLR and non SLR levers is a return spring in the lever itself, as was mentioned, and a nylon bushing in the lever pivot. This allowed for a lighter spring in the brake and a very smooth and friction free lever thanks to the bushing. Combined with the teflon lined outer cables the whole system had a very light and smooth feel. There is no difference in the pull ratios and geometry of the SLR versus non-SLR levers.

The canti brake levers have some kind of cam that applies more force when brakes reach the rim. Progressive feel, power and also let you adjust brake pads further away from rim with more clearance in case your rims are slightly out of true.
The original m733 xt lever(300grs of heavy metal) had a telescoping mechanism similar to ball point pens. It feels... solid. The last gen canti brake lever was m737 and it had a coil spring. Less damp, less solid but still smooth, powerfull and precise... also lighter. Same era was Xtr m900 which kept the telescope mechanism. M900 levers and cantis together made for the best feeling from canti brakes on mountain bikes. A real beauty. Feels better than V brakes.

[ultraman6970]

SLR = Shimano linear response... in other words and IME is the same thing shimano using fancy words to say... "yes, the calipers have double pivots now, they are super smooth to the touch". Which was true.

IME the trick is the caliper, not the brake lever. Im not sure about that spring they are talking about because after all the release of the tension cable is on the caliper springs aswell. Did not know some levers came with a spring at all, havent used shimano in like 30 years.

As for using slr levers with cantis, i think the SLR road brake levers wont work with cantis that i know of. Actually any road lever wont work with cantis because of the cable pull IME.

As for if slr (will put here all the double pivot brake calipers, because thats what slr is) is better than cantis? I have just one bike with cantis and the brakes arent that good, but is not a top of the line canti system either. So i cant answer u that question too much but at least in my case my road bikes with double pivot calipers stops a lot more than the canti lever old mtb bike i have moving around.

[PacNW2Ford]

SLR = Shimano linear response... in other words and IME is the same thing shimano using fancy words to say... "yes, the calipers have double pivots now, they are super smooth to the touch". Which was true.

IME the trick is the caliper, not the brake lever. Im not sure about that spring they are talking about because after all the release of the tension cable is on the caliper springs aswell. Did not know some levers came with a spring at all, havent used shimano in like 30 years.

As for using slr levers with cantis, i think the SLR road brake levers wont work with cantis that i know of. Actually any road lever wont work with cantis because of the cable pull IME.

As for if slr (will put here all the double pivot brake calipers, because thats what slr is) is better than cantis? I have just one bike with cantis and the brakes arent that good, but is not a top of the line canti system either. So i cant answer u that question too much but at least in my case my road bikes with double pivot calipers stops a lot more than the canti lever old mtb bike i have moving around.

Thousands of cyclocross bikes would beg to differ...

[fiamme red]

I replaced the Dia-Compe non-aero brake levers on my 1985 Schwinn Le Tour Luxe with Shimano BL-1050, SLR 105 aero levers. The brakes are Dia-Compe 960 cantilevers. Braking is now far easier, especially from the hoods.

Is there a Shimano SLR road brake lever that was made specifically for cantilever brakes?

[ultraman6970]

I do agree with that, the problem is that i do not have any high end cantis and the only thing i have moving around is nothing out of this world :) Which are pretty much used 80s and 70s bikes.

Thousands of cyclocross bikes would beg to differ...