Review: Twenty6 Products Levers
Who:
From Twenty6 products: Twenty 6 products is an American owned and operated manufacturer of high quality, innovative CNC machined, performance enhancing components for bicycles. Twenty6 products was formed in February 2006 by Tyler Jarosz on a few basic premises; quality products, unsuppressed customer service, advanced technologies, passion, devotion, and determination. We are a team of active, insightful, and dedicated individuals, all seeking excellence. Our team is composed of experienced engineers, proven machinists, and top riders who rigorously and continuously test our products.
Product Tested:
Twenty6 products Dualie Lever
Red means stop!
Website’s MSRP:
$ 74.99
Specs:
Dualie lever
6061 t6 cnc brake levers
two-finger grip design
quicker engagement
available in anodized colors
fits: avid: juicy / code, hayes: mag / nine / el camino trail, shimano (it doesn’t say but I’ve seen the dualie levers for Formula brakes too)
Pretty details in the finish.
First Impressions:
These dualie levers will bring attention to your bike. Unless you’re going with black, then expect to get some comments on them. Thankfully I love me some attention! j/k.
The anodized colored levers are very nice but I’m still not digging the blue and red they sent. I’d rather have one color of course but you won’t have this problem when you purchase yours as they’ll both be the same color. Ours are different colors because they are 2007 samples.
Blue lever flipped as it is normally a left lever. Normal pair will not need to be flipped nor will the etching be upside down.
Strengths:
The first thing you notice about the levers, other than the cool color, is that they have little to no vertical movement when mounted. The stock Avid levers that came with my juicy 7 always had a little bit of vertical jiggle to them. I’m not exactly sure why, but the twenty6 levers did not have this problem. Once installed, they exhibited little to no vertical movement which tends to inspire a little more confidence in their abilities.
I also noticed that the dualie levers are stiffer than the stock levers my juicy 7’s came with. The stock levers are nice. They have a nice shape that I have liked with all my Avid brakes but they somehow feel flexy when I’m squeezing hard. They never felt like they’d break, but it did feel like it gave in a bit more than it should. This is nothing “bad� but it is different from the twenty6 dualie levers. The dualie levers do not feel flexy. They feel firm when squeezed which is reassuring.
One finger braking… my favorite!
The curve is the reason why you would buy a twenty6 lever. Sure the levers look great and the machining rocks but it’s really all about the curve. If the curve is not right on, then what’s the point? In the case of the twenty6 levers the curve of the lever is at an optimal position. I am normally a one finger brake-r so on the twenty6 levers I use the first hook for my index finger. In all the riding I’ve done with these levers, I have not had to use my middle finger to apply more power to the brakes. This speaks to a couple of design elements including the excellent curve, the stiffness of the lever and the location of the mounting holes which provide faster engagement.
The design of the lever allows for the brakes to engage earlier in the “squeeze� than stock brakes. This has to do with the mounting holes which are not in the same position that the holes are found on the Avid levers. This also allows for me to engage the brakes easier without it touching the rest of the fingers still on the bar.
I can’t believe I’ve written so many positives on this lever without mentioning the fact that they are offered in a 10 different colors: red, blue, black, orange, yellow, pink, green, brown, urban camo and white. Matching your levers with the rest of your bike is a cinch.
Slightly longer than the stock levers
Weakness:
The lever is a tad long. It is just a tad bit longer than the Avid lever and I think it could use a bit of shortening. I don’t think it will ever be as short as the stock levers (because of the first hook) but shortening it up a little will help in that it decreases unnecessary weight. Weight, by the way, was not a factor in my mind but could be to you. Shortening will also allow me to move the brakes out towards the grip a bit more. Currently I find them to be located a little farther in on the handlebar than I prefer.
Red lever to match the red headset
Summary:
If you’re looking for better levers than the current ones you’re running on your bike look no further than the twenty6 dualie levers. They’re stiffer than stock levers and have an excellent curve to them that makes braking much easier especially one finger braking. The mounting holes are designed to allow for quicker engagement of the brakes and the levers look great with many different colors to choose from. Not only this, but twenty6 makes these levers for many different braking systems including formula, shimano, hayes, avid.
Click here for the twenty6products.com website.
I’m curious to know if you shorten the lever, wouldn’t that affect the leverage and feel you get from it?
Good question. No. Since I use one finger to brake I do not need the extra bit of lever (although it’s nice if I ever go two finger). If I used two fingers for braking my two fingers are not spread out wide when squeezing the lever. They are tight together leaving extra lever that can be taken off and reshapen.
Also, because of the location of the mounting holes which are different from the location on the stock levers, you can get a lot of braking power without squeezing so hard.
Jeremy, it is simple physics…shortening a lever will ALWAYS affect the leverage if the pivot point remains a constant. Shorter lever = reduced leverage.
Actual mechanical advantage is only really gained at to where the force is applied.
Though if he were to move the mounting of the brake closer to the grip and shorten the lever he would be back to stock n two shakes of a lambs tail.
From what J says, I would recommend him to keep the brake mount further away from the grip and lose the “knob” between the two finger grasp for closer grasp if needed and therefore shortening the lever from its’ current length by about a cm or two. (not that it would really matter beyond aesthetics because it looks pretty dope and dirt-bikey to me.)
You guys took this review straight to Nerdsville with your physics and mechanical advantage analogies.
GR: You’re right. Trimming off the end would lose leverage, but I don’t believe you would in real world applications because when using two fingers your fingers sit closer to the 1st hook then the 2nd leaving a bit of 2nd hook out there unused. Since you’re not at the end of the 2nd hook then you’re really not losing any leverage and can afford to trim off a little.
If you’re losing enough leverage to make your hands tired while braking, then you need to readjust your brakes, get bigger rotors or buy brakes with more pistons.
Aaron: you lost me at “Actual” 😉
“matter beyond aesthetics”… other than the curve and stiffness of the lever, the dualie levers are ALL about aesthetics!
Lynch: haha. You’re right. These levers look sick, perform better than stock and hold up VERY well after eating it. Best of all, you can color match them to your pocket protector. Go get ’em!
I have a quibble!
Bought these levers, first off they are heavier than originals.
My problem is that I use XO twist grip shifters and the levers bottom out on the shifter housing when you set them up for 1 finger use.
Can’t you rotate the XO assembly to give a little more lever-to-housing clearance?