Road bike brake levers

[nammynake]

I have a Specialized Allez with Sora brake levers. The brakes work adequately when operated from the hoods for most of my riding, but there are times on steep descents when it's pretty uncomfortable to get enough leverage. My hands aren't particularly small.

I've noticed that higher-end brake levers seem to be angled slightly outwards, whereas my Sora ones are vertical. Do these angled levers make braking from the hoods easier ?

Ta

[Jimbo.]

Is this problem when riding on the hoods or on the drops?

[nammynake]

Jimbo. said:

Is this problem when riding on the hoods or on the drops?

Hoods. Plenty of leverage on drops.

[okgo]

It's best practice to descend in the drops.

[shalmaneser]

okgo said:

It's best practice to descend in the drops.

This, basically. Onto the drops for long/steep hills.

[anonymous-user]

shalmaneser said:

This, basically. Onto the drops for long/steep hills.

Yes. Much harder for your hand to slip/get kicked off when you're on the drops

[Raven Flyer]

The answer is probably better brake pads. My Koolstop blacks made a huge difference in braking power and seem to be kinder to my rims.

[itsnotarace]

Well adjusted brakes and decent brake pads will definitely help but I agree with the others, brake from the drops.

[nammynake]

Thanks for the tips. But back to my original question, what advantage do the pointy outwards levers give?

[anonymous-user]

nammynake said:

Thanks for the tips. But back to my original question, what advantage do the pointy outwards levers give?

Not sure I understand. Do you mean vertical if you look at the bike from the side? Vs levers where the bottom of the lever is further forward than the top?

If so, that's just to do with where you have positioned your handlebars in the stem clamp. Rotate them forwards and the bottom of the levers tucks back; rotate them backwards and the bottom of the levers sticks forwards. Set them up at whatever angle feels most comfortable for your wrists. There's no magic, and no "right" position.

[Rouleur]

Is something like that what you mean? I've got Force as above on my new bike and it doesn't feel any different to the less angled Ultegra on my other one, or the vertical 105 on my ancient winter bike. I guess the idea is that it's a more comfortable position

[itsnotarace]

The angled levera are slightly more ergonomic for gear changes, no difference in braking functionality

[nammynake]

Rouleur said:

Is something like that what you mean? I've got Force as above on my new bike and it doesn't feel any different to the less angled Ultegra on my other one, or the vertical 105 on my ancient winter bike. I guess the idea is that it's a more comfortable position

Yes, that picture explains what I was trying to describe.
Thanks

[shalmaneser]

itsnotarace said:

The angled levera are slightly more ergonomic for gear changes, no difference in braking functionality

This. Means you can change more gears in one 'sweep' of the hand, as your starting point is further outward.