31 March, 2011

A Few New Items

We received a few new items in the latest container: Here are some of them:
If you've broken as many tire levers as I have, you might appreciate these new Dajia Steel-Core tire levers. The insides are steel for strength while the outer body is plastic to help prevent rim scratches. At $6 they are also a pretty good deal.
The VO Thumb Shifter Mounts allow you to mount Shimano, Dia Compe, and many other shifters on your handlebars. This is an ideal setup for city bikes, porteurs, or even drop bars. They put the shifters within easy reach and avoid the complexity of brifters. The finish is polished alloy and they fit standard road, MTB, and city handlebars (22.2mm and 23.8mm grip area) .Unlike other bar mounts they are hinged for easy installation.

We also have the new Tektro FL-750 brake levers.

And we have a silver polished version of our Temple Bell. It's still made of brass so the sound is really nice.
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18 comments:

  1. j.schwartz3/31/11, 12:41 PM

    Excellent job on the shifter mounts... They look so elegant and it appears they are hinged!
    I'll definitely purchase a set.

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  2. Anonymous3/31/11, 1:04 PM

    Some beautiful minimalist components, that's for sure!

    Chris, what is the function and material of that little arch-shaped piece on the linkage of the brake lever?

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  3. Velo Orange3/31/11, 1:42 PM

    The black arch shape piece is a plastic protector so the levers don't get scratched in shipping. We just took a new photo without it that I'll post.

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  4. Anonymous3/31/11, 2:37 PM

    Are the FL-750's all-silver or do they have the black clamp?

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  5. masmojo3/31/11, 3:28 PM

    Love the Shifter mounts and the Brake levers are exactly what I have been looking for!! Really super looking products; Well done!!!

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  6. masmojo3/31/11, 4:10 PM

    One additional question on the brake lever; I noticed no barrel adjusters there! I am guessing that one could be adapter to work, but what's the possibility of them adding those in the future?

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  7. Anonymous3/31/11, 4:34 PM

    The brake levers looks like some old Mafac levers I have only much more handsome.
    Jerry

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  8. web3/31/11, 6:32 PM

    Love the sifter mounts but wish I could buy rear only - I have multiple bikes that are 1X7 and 1x8

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  9. Christopher3/31/11, 6:55 PM

    I already put in my order for the brake levers and the wingnuts! Can't wait to have them in my sweaty little hands. I suppose I will have to find a way to adapt the wingnuts to work with skewers now....

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  10. Brian4/1/11, 1:46 AM

    Anonymous @4:34...I was just thinking that they look like my Mafac city levers too, only not quite as handsome. But with modern bushings I bet they feel a bit more smooth. Too bad they don't come in 23.8.

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  11. Winga4/1/11, 10:50 AM

    Will shift mounts work with road bars/handlebar bag setup?

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  12. Anonymous4/1/11, 1:45 PM

    I wonder if these levers are a lot like Soma steel core levers. Soma levers have a flaw where the steel core does not reach into the very tip of the lever. With plastic casing being just a thin layer intended to protect the rim, it easily breaks off near the tip, exposing the sharp steel core, basically rendering the lever useless. I've had this happen to more than one lever.

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  13. nordic_684/2/11, 12:20 AM

    +1, I also had the same problem with Soma steel core tire levers. They seemed great at first, but after a few uses, the plastic tip broke where it doesn't have a steel core inside. I'm happier with the Lezyne tire levers...

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  14. Anonymous4/2/11, 8:44 PM

    I'm not sure where to post this question, but I noticed in the picture of the new stainless steel wingnuts the hub looks like one of your Grand Cru hubs but it has threading for a lock ring. Do you guys have any plans to release a track hub?

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  15. Abdon4/4/11, 12:51 AM

    I'm putting together a mixte, using a VO Porteur Handlebar, Dia Compe Guidonnet Brake Levers, and cork grips. I'm tempted to go with these shifter mounts (as opposed to a stem mount) but I'm having a hard time visualizing how it would look.

    Any chance you could take a picture of this setup?

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  16. anonymous4/18/11, 2:15 PM

    can you tell me why the thumb shifter mounts are so expensive? not that i don't think they should be, but i'm wondering if it's possible for you to make a cheaper version? maybe just with a plain nickel or galvanized finish if the chroming is the hard part?
    i'd love to turn some of my old 10-12speeds into 5-6speeds and move the shifter up to the bars, but i can't plow $50 into a $125 bike...

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  17. Brob4/26/11, 2:40 PM

    Just like to reiterate what Camp6ell said above.

    RE ppl wanting something similar for drop bars I'd suggest the Kelly Take Off mount:
    http://kellybike.com/2nd_xtra_takeoff.html

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  18. Nanseikan6/15/11, 11:05 PM

    For those interested, I have some pics of using a first gen Dura Ace friction shifter with VO's thumb shifter mount. http://feelofsteel.blogspot.com/2011/06/victors-new-cockpit.html

    I compared the VO thumb shifter mounts with Paul's in store and the VO ones were much nicer. The VO mounts matched the alloy on my bike whereas the Paul mounts looked much more MTB-ish. b

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