Acor Carbon TT lever

Acor’s TT levers might not be pure carbon, like many competitors they’re 3K carbon mated to alloy/resin mounting kit and just the ticket for TT, triathlon and higher end fixer builds using pursuit type bars. However, their compatibility with traditional, wide arm cantilevers means they’re worth considering for racing tandems and possibly Audax too. Here's a thing, Greyville, the UK distributor, tell us these outsell their alloy siblings, despite costing £40 more and saving a measly 8g.

Fitting neatly inside most bar ends from 19.6 and 26mm diameters courtesy of an expandable crocus type plug, the threaded sections benefit from a liberal greasing and be sure to remove any internal imperfections in the bars-especially older drops that have been chopped and flipped. Snugged in place, their sensual, shapely profile won’t spoil a machines clean lines. Aboard my Holdsworth and paired to a modest dual pivot calliper, performance has been surprisingly good, stopping 16lb of machine and it’s seventy kilo rider on the proverbial sixpence with excellent modulation and feel when thanks to surprising rigidity, clean cable channelling and high quality cables.

Similarly hurtling into sweeping descents didn’t spring any surprises, inspiring confidence when grabbing the proverbial handful of lever to avoid close and unpleasant encounter with a nervous horse and inexperienced rider. Fixers running a single brake but wanting a symmetrical look will be pleased to know the dummy lever can be locked closed courtesy of two screws either side, although our test pair’s left unit vibrated loose, resulting in a quiet, yet annoying chatter over rougher road surfaces. Luckily this was an isolated incident and easily remedied.

Standards of finish are what you’d expect at this end of the market with the rich glossy lacquer complimenting the all-important carbon weave, although the pragmatic approach would be to opt in favour of the aluminium versions-especially for training mounts and/or daily drivers. That said if you can’t resist carbon’s calling and your bike’s shed every ounce of fat, these won’t disappoint.

Verdict

Lovely levers for pursuit bars but alloy versions are better value