Avid Speed Dial 7 Brake Levers Gray Pair

To those who are buying these for the first time based on reviews, this set of brake levers is my personal favorite. These can standard on my recumbent trike, paired with Avid BB7 disk brakes and Avid G2 Rotors.I've owned a lot of bikes, with varying brakes set up on each. There have been Tektro brakes, which seemed like a joke since they were so poor and functioned worse than rim brakes. I've also ridden road bikes, which have pretty poor brakes (designed for light weight and speed, not stopping) but do function when need be. However, I will restrict this review to my SD-7's and Shimano Hydraulics to compare them to.On my recumbent, I've swapped between Avid BB7's paired with these SD-7 levers, and Shimano Deore M615 Hydraulics. The avid's are rated as one of the best cable disk brakes on the market, as is the Shimano being one of the best hydraulics on the market (at a reasonable price point, not super ridiculous price point). The Shimano's are amazing, with great modulation and feel. They gave confidence and inspired me to brake later into corners.The BB7's and SD-7's, however, are an amazing combo that rivals the Shimano's. First off, The levers are adjustable to change the lever position and the cable pull position. This helps this lever achieve better modulation than any other cable brake lever I've used. The levers are also the right size for mountain biking. The Shimano's really only were a 2-3 finger lever, whereas you could use all your fingers on the SD-7's. This gives the SD-7's a power advantage over regular brakes. The adjustable cable pull position, which is the red knob, allows you to adjust the mechanical advantage you get by the levers. I leave mine at the highest advantage position and they work great.Power wise, the SD-7's and Hydraulic levers feel very similar. Properly set up, each work very well, although the hydraulics are a bit small for my preference. In terms of modulation, the SD-7's are the best at replicating hydraulics, but aren't the same. Very good however. To sum up, these levers make cable actuated brakes perform much better than regular levers by providing the user with increased leverage.I have also installed a set of these levers on a road bike with rim brakes. Night and day difference in terms of power and stopping. I considered buying the FR-5's for $10 less, but the extra money is well spent on these. The adjustment knob makes up for the dollar difference. You won't be disappointed by these levers on any cable brakes you use.

After using these for sometime on my mountain bike I must say this makes a world of difference in my braking ecperience at least. The quality alone is much better than the crappy OEM levers that originally came on my bike but what really make these great is the adjust-ability and how well they mate up with BB7s. You can take up slack in the cable for a more responsive braking experience with the barrel adjuster, which are plenty long and stiff (LOL) but you can also set the modulation with the speed dials. The modulation controls the leverage of the levers, which basically means the amount of pull require to really engage the brakes. These are much better than the cheaper levers which are either on or off type braking because you can set them up exactly how you want them to handle. For example my back is setup with a quicker modulation then my front so I can easily lock up the back, but the front has slower modulation so I don't use too much excessive braking power in the front (which can only result in bad things).In short these are the best levers you can get for the money in my opinion and are a definite must for high quality mechanical disc brakes. I imagine they would also work great with linear pull as well. I would definitely recommend these.

WORKS! I got rid of my index shifters that were conjoined with brake levers. I bought these to replace the brake lever part. No problems, no fussiness. They are smooth, giving brake feedback feel. They are stable, no wiggling or flexing. They are much lighter than the units they replaced. Nice adjuster that lets you move the handle closer or further when braking without changing cable length. I am satisfied.

Bought these for my 6 year old son's 20 inch mountain bike to replace the lesser quality stock levers. They provide much improved feel and he tells me how much better he feels about braking. If you look at image with the old and new lever comparison, you can see that I adjusted the Avid lever reach for him which helps him a lot to have more confidence in controlling his braking. Another plus is they look great on the bike. I would recommend these to anyone looking for an affordable option that works well.

These levers work very well but they do feel cheap, which is ok because they are cheap. A very decent lever for just over $20. Still ok for a little under $30. The speed dial does actually work to adjust lever feel. These levers combined with bb-7s make a pretty solid brake setup if you don't want hydros.

I just finished up rebuilding an old TREK Navigator 100 comfort bike with V-brakes front and rear. It was in sad shape; everything was either worn out or broken. I ended up having to replace all of the old worn-out drivetrain components, the broken original SRAM grip shift shifters and, of course, the bent brake levers. Pretty much everything.As for new components, I went with these brake levers from AVID and SRAM MRX COMP GripShift shifters. SRAM MRX Comp Bicycle Twist Shifter SetThese AVID Speed Dial levers compliment SRAM MRX COMP and MRX 3.0 GripShift shifters perfectly. They butt up right against the shifter housings yet don't interfere with them. And the levers are long enough that they clear the housings perfectly, and you can reach them easily when you want to apply the brakes. What else can you ask for?The build quality of the levers at this price point is pretty amazing. The action is smooth as silk - and adjustable! I'm very satisfied. They look great, and color-wise, with their dark, charcoal grey color, they match the SRAM grip shifters' dark grey color almost perfectly. Everyday use, outside of dropping your bike, these levers should last forever.I bought some AVID brake pads, too. Avid 20R Brake Pad Set Now this bike literally stops on a dime. Highly recommended.