Can anyone recommend non-gear shifter road brake levers for small hands??
My brand new Specialized singlespeed bike is great except it has bog standard tektro levers designed for blokes hands and I can't get a proper grab on them.

The guy in the shop has recommended a bontrager race lite bar to help but I'm not sure this is going to help with the levers!!

Is that the Spesh Langster you've got? Apart from the brakes how is it, I've been tempted by that one to use with a fixed wheel for general winter riding/commuting.

As for brakes you could also consider a women specific set of bars although not much use unless you are riding on the drops all the time which I suspect you aren't, as for bog standard brakes for small hands I'm not sure, you could try looking asking Isla Rowntree as Islabikes who makes childrens road bikes.

Hi Daphne
Yes it's the 07 Langster. I only got it yesterday eve, rode it home about 12 miles or so, (tentatively) so haven't quite got a feel for it yet. I need to swap the saddle and sort the brakes before I can go full throttle on it. I also need to get used to how a road bike feels as I have been riding hybrid/MTB regularly. Not used to the riding position!
It has a flip flop hub so can be fixed or freewheel. I'm not brave ehough to ride fixed wheel yet! I bought an extra sprocket to go on the fixed side - this didn't come as standard.
07 model has carbon forks which I'm told are much better to ride than the 06 model so I'd recommend that. Noticed 06 models going for around £350 but I'd stick with carbon forks - I thought it was a lovely smooth ride.
I was told you can fit race blades on this if you want, and it has fixing things for a rack - handy for commuting.
Has 42t chainring and 16t sprocket - found this fine for most of the hills I go up. Will have to walk up some steeper hills (embarrassment!!)until I get fitter and less porky. (Unless someone has a magic tip for growing stronger legs quickly!!)

Will check out Islabikes - thanks for that.

Interesting point about the carbon forks, but I understand that the bottom bracket height has been lowered in the 07 model which has an impact when riding fixed (sometimes literally!) although not sure by how much and how much effect it will have, and as we may want it as a summer track bike this could be a factor. I also prefer the colour of the 06 version.

You've got to give fixed riding a go it's great fun, safer in the wet, improves your riding skills and makes you ride much more efficiently as you can't give up so easily when it gets a little bit hard. You'll find you are able to get up hills easier on fixed than in the same freewheel gear because of the benefit of being able to pull up on the pedal stroke and the fact that you don't need to push the pedal over the 'top dead centre' point.

I'd have thought that 42x16 (70.6in) was a bit big for fixed winter riding, I always used 42x18 (63in) but I suppose it depends on your preference. I have always always been one for lower gears and a good pedalling style (souplesse as they call it in the trade!) rather than full on speed/strength as I come from a very traditional club riding background with hefty dose of track riding thrown in.

Hmm - well fixed wheel riding sounds a bit daunting! Will try and get a bit more used to the bike before I give it a go.

Am reassured that you say that it's a bit big a gear - I'll see how it goes over the next few weeks - may well invest in a few alternative sprockets for the less flat routes. I'd never get up big hills with the 16t one but it's fine for my commute/day to day stuff.

You might be interested in on-one who do a similarly priced one to the Langster andthere is a carbon fork option for an extra £80 or so - Bike Plus in Croydon. I'm sure they are available elsewhere at that price.

Hi Muddy,

If you give Condor's a call we will be able to help. We use a similar brake lever on our Pista single speed, but also offer a short reach version for those with smaller hands.

We can be contacted on 020 7269 6820. If you call we can put a pair aside for you.