How To Wrap Handlebars With Safety/Extension Brake Levers 

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Hey! Thanks RJ. I fix up kids bikes and give them away to kids in my neighborhood. I came across an old Miyata kids road bike with those safety levers and hadn't wrapped bars like that before. This was the first video that came up and it is perfect. Short and to the point. Very much appreciated! And from 2015! BOOM!!

how do you have a video for every problem i have? props to you

Followed the instrictions in this video and the results turned out great. thanks alot. Did and extra step though. i unscrewed the safety break levers and put them on again after wrapping the bar tape.

I appreciated seeing the instructions for a vintage bike like I ride.

hEY RJ this is just what I needed, about to wrap bars like this tomorrow, THANK YOU!!

Thank you for putting up this tutorial specific to vintage bars / lever setups. I had an idea how I might go about replacing the foam padding that came on a vintage Schwinn I bought and found this to be a welcome template to work off of.

I never had to go any further than your videos for all my bike repairs so far this video was very helpful hope i can get it as good as you did thank you.

Thank you, RJ - very helpful.

This was very helpful. Thank you.

Very helpful video thanks RJ

RJ, you're pro, man!

Just picked up a 1974 miyata thanks again RJ

Just what I was looking for, my non-aero brakes don't have hoods that pull back and I was wondering the best way to wrap the tape. RJ you have saved the day yet again!

Great job on this video! Glad you made it

You ROCK MAN! You helped me soooo much with my 1974 Schwinn Le Tour(cool lemon yellow) refurbish project. I love my bike! THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!

Perfect for my bike. Alteration - I was able to wrap the other direction, too, to get the pattern on the tape the way I liked it.

Hey RJ thanks for this, I was able to do a decent job of wrapping the dropbar of my Dad's old roadbike with extended levers. I wish I could've done better but since it's not for a show bike I'm pretty much satisfied. Cheers!

dude love your videos they are helping us on a project!

Awesome video! A friend just recently gave me an old road bike with similar brake levers and the foam grips definitely need to be replaced.

I love how good your tutorials are, from the perspective of someone who does not have enough money to buy brand new bars, brakes, and everything when your tape gets worn out. You definitely deserve more subs. I especially like this video because i have an old road bike with this kind of brake that i was planning on turning into a fixed gear/completely overhauling so now that i know how to replace tape, i will definitely do that. Also, do you happen to know of any relatively inexpensive (~$30-40) track/two sided/flip-flop hubs? Thanks

Timely upload!. Just today I got sick of the fabric tape on my old bike and ripped it off while trying to figure out how to do this. I'll have to run down to the bike shop this weekend and get some tape.

Thank you so much for this video, I'll be wrapping the handlebars of my old vintage bike this Sunday. Can't wait, cause I've been riding without bar tape since my grandfather gave me the bike.

Terrific video. Just did the bar tape on a 1976 Schwinn Continental and this video was the only one that showed me how to get them looking absolutely perfect. Thanks!

Excellent thanks 👍

Very useful! You need to do a video explaining how to overhaul that extension levers

Good job.

muchas gracias, estaba buscando esto

great tutorial, my only add would be to stress the type of electrical tape you used. 3m Super 33+ is the only choice for the stretch, hold and lifespan. You'll find it in most every electrician's tool bag.

Dear RJ the bike guy, can you do a video on how to adjust center pull brakes?

Hello, thank you for sharing your knowledge, but I have a question, is it possible to adapt this type of brake lever for internal cabling?

Which one will you choose between Fuji-Touring versus Opus-Legato? thanks!

have any suggestions for making those metal levers (i have Shimano 600EX that lost their covers and are too expensive to replace) more bearable ?

Great video, with regards to the brakes is there a way to tighten the levers. Not the drop brakes but the normal position pulls, I see you have screws on this bike but mine are press studs is there a way to tighten these as the rattle as I cycle.

Can also use old inner tubes cut down the middle. Great use for what can be hard to dispose of otherwise.

Hey RJ! Do you know of any brake hoods that are compatible with these brakes? I see some that would work with regular aero but not sure with the death grip/safety bars added

Hi RJ!! Thanks for your videos! One question how do you change the hoods to those safety brakes?

How do brakes assemblies come off? I go lanced at them the other day. Thanks.

Do they make these kind of safety brakes for modern bikes? I have a drop bar commuter bike and it would be very nice to be able to brake while resting on the top of the bar. Not sure why this type of brake is not more common!

is it okay to wrap the break cable into the bartape?

used to wrap bars with cloth tape in the 80's,those rolls never had the extra piece of tape to hide the brake lever mounting strap,they had bar plugs (cat eye brand)that had a screw with a round threaded metal plate behind it so after u pushed the plug in you tightened the screw & it squeezed the back of the plug & it prevented it from falling out.are they still around? it's been a while since i last wrapped some bars & gotta do mine soon :)

How do you release a band clamp? Thanks

I have a question, +RJ The Bike Guy, I have to change the hoods of ultegra 6500 brifters, but they are impossible to found. Can I put handlebar tape or something to cover brifters? the hoods are soft and sticky , chewing gum surface. Thanks a lot

Hi, one of my extension levers has come off my old road bike. Could you tell me the type of screw I need to fix it back onto my bike. The screw looks exactly like the one in this video

Geez, I haven't seen brake levers like that since I was a kid LOL

Bike Guy: How to change handlebars from Dropdown to Starigh bar. Problem I need to solve is with the brake-handles. How are them going to go on the flat handlebar? Thanks for your help!

Is it possible to put brake lever hoods (covers) on these vintage levers?

Can you wrap them to change direction? or is it going to get too fat around the levers?

Could you wrap the brake cable to the bars and hide them like modern hoods??

When I went to tape my handle bars, I noticed the band clamp was loose on one side. Do you have a video on how to tighten it?

what kind of brake lever is that? kind I like it

This bike looks exactly like my 1980 =/1981 Schwinn Continental.

Hi is there a way I can thread the brakes backwards with vintage brakes like those to hide the cables

Do you have a link for the tape? 🙏

Hey! Can you make a video of how to install/uninstall the extension levers of the brake levers?

I wish I could fit these on new paddle shifter breaks. Every time I try a new bike I grab air.

Great video, thanks! regarding the brake lever, could u inform us how to use that type of lever? I have them on my bike, however, I couldnt really use it from the hood position. Is there any mistake on my brake lever setting? thanks!

What kind of bike is this? It looks similar to one I have but I cannot find anything indicating the type of bike it is. All I have is a serial number and SunTour/Shamano components

Where can I get a lot of bar and plugs inexpensively? And please don’t say Amazon or eBay I was interested in a online retailer the exact name please

Love safety breaks only way i can ride a drop bar bike

Didn't you start in your other videos the other way round?

Why did thay get rid of them type of brake leaver

Trek had a paper in the tape box Said to rap the other way

how do you convert that type of friction shifter to a down tube shifter?

steel bike race you show the way to let staff brake cables

started wrap in the wrong direction. you want the bicyclist twist bias to naturally tighten the wrapping - not loosen.

they are called coaster brakes , please 70,s.

Those safety leaver roadbike grips are old I would just trash them and install sram roadbike break leavers

Why would you show how to do this? You should be telling people to ditch the extensions. They are not "safety" levers, and, in fact, are not safe. They are so flexible, that in a panic stop

I have the same ones how do I replace the nipples on the top for the cable stop and mine rattle like crazy how could I stop that I know 7 years later I hope you see this though I really don't wanna buy new ones though if I did I would get the diacompe quick release versions they make em nutted so I've done my research but I can't stop the rattling

This is perfect. I'm fixing up my 1974 Nishiki Custom Sport and that bike looks to be pretty darn close to that. You're right that those brakes are pretty crappy though, but for now working with them is gonna have to do.