Shorter Reach Brake/Gear Levers

By Alastair Hamilton
© copyright by bikecyclingreviews.com

Philip Eddington wants to know how to bring the brake/gear levers closer to the handle bars so that he can reach them safely. This can be a big problem with certain handle bar shapes and with smaller hands. We give Philip a couple of suggestions on how to sort out this quite common problem

Question: How do I adjust my road bikes STI type brake and gear change levers so I can reach them safely when I'm using the drops on my handlebars?

I have Shimano Flight deck Tiagra levers if that helps.

Hi Philip,

I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve, I guess you are talking about the reach to the leavers? Well you have two choices, move the brake/gear levers lower on the handlebar drops; this should bring the lever nearer to your fingers. This all depends on which handle bars you are using, if they are non-anatomic (normal round shape) then the lever will get closer, if the bars are anatomically shaped then because of the flat part just under where the levers clamp the lever will not get any closer.

Levers & Bars

Your other choice is to get your hands on some Specialized Slim Shim brake lever spacers; these are wedges that go in the brake levers to bring the lever 20 mm closer to the bar for smaller hands. They are specifically designed to reduce the reach on Shimano STI brake/gear levers, this improves comfort and control.

There are four different shims and they cost around 10 US Dollars. The four shims are:-

Specifically designed for Shimano STI brake levers, reducing reach by 20mm for smaller hands
2005-9001: Fits Ultegra (ST-6500/6501/6510) 9-speed levers. 20mm reach adjustment. Fits 105 (ST-5500/5501/5510) 9-speed levers. 20mm reach adjustment
2136-0100: Fits Ultegra (ST-6600/6603) 10-speed levers. 15mm reach adjustment. Fits 105 (ST-5600) 10-speed levers. 15mm reach adjustment
2136-0110: Fits Dura-Ace (ST-7800) 10-speed levers only.15mm reach adjustment
2136-0115: Fits Dura-Ace (ST-7801/7803) 10-speed levers only. 15mm reach adjustment

Specialized Shims

I hope this is the information that you need? Having small hands or short fingers can be a problem, but not an impossible one, either with better lever positioning or with the Specialized Slim Shims you should get a more comfortable reach. Changing your handle bar shape can help and buying the new SRAM Red group set as the lever have a reach adjustment built in to the lever body.

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