Altek levers

[Drdan]

Hi,

I recently (yesterday) made an inquiry in the BRAKE forum concerning "Alltech" levers. I received no responses, and assuming beforehand that the spelling might be some variation of Alltech, I finally came upon ALTEK... Wow, these are some seriously nice levers.

MTBR had 23 reviews, which resulted in a 4.83/5 rating, which is impressive. Only one reviewer gave less than a 5 chili rating (he gave one), and that was because the levers were not compatible with his pod shifters.

I'd be very much interested in learning more about the levers and the company itself, and why they are no longer in existence. I've come upon many photos of the ALTEK levers, and these appear to have been very nicely made. I'm considering getting a pair instead of going the "Avid Speed Dial Ultimate route". I would not be surprised if the Alteks are better made...

Thanks for your help!

[uphiller]

I can't tell you much about the company, but can say that these were available around 1997 or so. I think Altek made v-brakes and levers, and nothing else.
This is actually a really good lever. It's called the Sharkfin because at the place where the lever hooks into the brake, there is a little wedge of metal that controls the brake's leverage. At the beginning of the brake's stroke, the leverage is low, meaning it pulls a lot of cable and you can set the pads far from the rim for no drag and good mud clearance. As you pull, the leverage climbs- so you get the best of both worlds, good power and good rim clearance. It's something the Shimano LX brake lever copied around the same time, although it was adjustable and the Sharkfin is not.

[Drdan]

Thanks, uphiller... Here's a shot of the "Shark Fin".

You gave me a very clear understanding of just why the model has that name. On a MTBR Review, they're referred to as "Sharktooth", which might be descriptive, but is a misnomer.

I like the look of them, and am convinced of their quality, etc. I'd appreciate it if someone would chime in an let me know if they're as good functionally as the better contemporary v-brake levers. If you had a choice between Avid Speed Dial Ultimates and Altek Shark Fins, what would you choose? If I went the route of the Ultimates, I would get a vintage pair and have them mirror polished and hard coat anodized. The new ones are lacking in aesthetics IMHO...

Thanks for your help!

[Fillet-brazed]

Thanks, uphiller... Here's a shot of the "Shark Fin".

You gave me a very clear understanding of just why the model has that name. On a MTBR Review, they're referred to as "Sharktooth", which might be descriptive, but is a misnomer.

I like the look of them, and am convinced of their quality, etc. I'd appreciate it if someone would chime in an let me know if they're as good functionally as the better contemporary v-brake levers. If you had a choice between Avid Speed Dial Ultimates and Altek Shark Fins, what would you choose? If I went the route of the Ultimates, I would get a vintage pair and have them mirror polished and hard coat anodized. The new ones are lacking in aesthetics IMHO...

Thanks for your help!

I'd choose the Alteks. The machining is so very nice on them. But the Avids are nice in that you can fine tune the leverage...

[uphiller]

It's a toss-up between the two. The Avids are great because of the adjustability, but their leverage doesn't adjust itself automatically as you pull the brake, which is what the Alteks do. The Alteks adjust themselves automatically, but I have never tried them myself, so I can't say how significant the leverage changes as you pull.
Keep in mind that the Avid Ultimates of the day were not designed for use with v-brakes, although they do ok when they're set at max cable pull. There is also an adapter that they made for Ultimates to work better with v-brakes, it was called the V-Chip, and you will not likely be able to find it. The Ultimate levers you want to buy may or may not already have it.
Bottom line- sounds like you have the coin to have both and try them all out.
For what it's worth, the Shimano LX levers of the same era use a similar wedge mechanism but with the cable in a different position, and (manual) adjustment on top of that. Their leverage changes significantly as you pull, and improve your braking power by a full level and a half. No V-Brake lever, Avid Ultimate, Altek, or anything else, comes even close in stopping power.
Sorry for the nauseating level of detail.

[Drdan]

Ad infinitum ad nauseum? No way!

I remember a friend in Rome had the Alteks on a really nice ride about 10 years ago. I'm not sure if it was the v-brake version, but the feel and modulation were really nice. The bike was used mostly for commuting, city use, and light off road, much like mine will be used for.

I know that the new Avid Speed Dial Ultimates have quite a bit of pivot play right out of the box, and this is for a high end lever. The Speed Dial SL's, which are significantly less expensive, are said by some to have better feel and ergonomics.

The look and design of the Altek is really nice, and would look fantastic on a bike with other nice components. I'm working on a pair of levers right now on eBay... If I win, I'll most likely have them stripped and completely mirror polished by a good finishing shop. I'd have the blades and barrel adjusters hard coat anodized CLEAR and the body/clamp hard coat anodized gray. They'll likely look better than new, and I'd have gorgeous vintage levers which hold their own as far as functionality.

Thanks for the input.

[shovelon]

I can tell you what I know is that they were made in an aerospace machine shop in Chatsworth, California as a boutique product line. The owner operators first name is/was Arie.

Wish I could remember more.

[Drdan]

I can tell you what I know is that they were made in an aerospace machine shop in Chatsworth, California as a boutique product line. The owner operators first name is/was Arie.

Wish I could remember more.

Thanks, you're making me even more interested in getting a pair. I noticed that a cantilever version popped up on eBay today. Too bad the shop doesn't pop out an updated 2012 model. I'm sure it would put the big boys to shame...

[Drdan]

shovelon, that was a very good head's up! I will try to find Arie; you never know.

A couple of months ago I was trying to find a Boone 34t titanium chainring without success. I connected Experimental Prototypes in Sweden and Bruce Boone... Let's just say that I'll have a specially engraved chainring in April, and you might see these around soon.

[shovelon]

Asil Aerospace is a customer of mine, but is not the machine shop that Arie owned. John of Asil Aerospace may know what became of Arie. I do remember now that is Arie Levington, or something close to Levington.

I wish I could remember Arie's company name, maybe it will come to me. On Monday I will call a couple of burr houses to see if they remember Arie. Arie did mold and die work too, and in the last decade lot's of work went to China, so Arie got smaller or sold or closed, I don't know.

I have a couple of sets myself. They are indeed beautiful.

[Drdan]

Thanks again.

Those quality "boutique type" machine shops truly make some nice components. I'll be getting a pair of Alteks either Monday by way of eBay, or from someone in London. They left a memorable inpression on me years back, and I'm happy to have "rediscovered" them, especially since they also function well.

[-Anomie-]

I had a set of the canti levers back in the mid 90's that were the second nicest levers I've ever seen (the nicest being the original Box levers seen below). Altek also made lever blades for Magura HS hydraulic rim brakes, which I had on my Bontrager in the late 90's. I found another set on Ebay last year and have them back on the Bonty. They don't do much to improve the function of hydraulic brakes, but they look a hell of a lot nicer than the stock Magura blades.

edit: Fixed my links, sorry about that.

[Drdan]

Just picked up a pair offered on the Retrobike forum. The seller lives in Italy, where I live, so no customs hassles. They're 150 EUROS, or about $185.00, and they're in NOS condition, whatever that means...

[uphiller]

Congrats! Those look awesome; let us know how well they work.
In the same league as BOX and Ultimate levers in terms of workmanship and stoutness.
By the way- I have the newer Ultimates and they have no play in any of the pivots.

[Drdan]

Anomie posted a photo of the BOX levers, and they are CNC marvels. Are they American made? There are a lot of great small American companies that make super high quality bicycle components. Hopefully they will grow in number...

I'm glad to hear that your Ultimates don't have a pivot play problem. A shim would resolve it, but in $200 + levers, there should never had been issues in the first place. If all the Ultimates come with no pivot play now, then their name says it all. For looks, I still prefer the Alteks, but the Ultimates would be my second choice.

[Drdan]

P.S. For those of you who enjoy vintage levers and beautiful machining, there's a German MTB website with a thread asking which are the best and most beautiful levers... 7 pages of eye candy, most of them vintage. Betcha can't just look at one page!

welche sind die schönsten und besten Bremshebel Thread - MTB-News.de | IBC Mountainbike Forum

[uphiller]

That made my day. I wonder what the green ones with the weird ball at the bottom of the pivot, on the top of the second page are. Never seen anything like them.
I was in Germany several times, and was always amazed by how many cool old US-made mountain bikes were floating around, and also how many of their own cottage industry CNC brands they had themselves. In France, you almost never see a high-quality vintage MTB- it just took too long for MTBing to get popular.

[shovelon]

I got the name of the shop that Altek brake products were made. The company is MicroSteel in Canoga Park, CA., just on the border with Chatsworth. They are still in business but without Arie, who went on to do consulting work and is still active in the area.

Here is a link for Microsteel, which I don't think moved from that location for the last 20 years. Take a look at the machinery they use.
Home

[Drdan]

Impressive! On their homepage, look at that gismo in t center photo; too bad it isn't a bike part.

The photo on the top of page 2 on that German MTB site could be a nice poster or background photo for a computer.

[ICONCLS]

Best levers I have ever owned!

[DFA]

Of all the chi-chi levers I have (Love Levers, Ultimate, Ultimate Black Ops, Graftons, Altek) I find the Alteks to be the stiffest.

The Alteks with the slots are V levers.



The canti levers have 3 holes.

[apat13]

Back in the day I installed a few sets of Altek levers for people and got to ride a bike with them once on trail, and to this day I still remember how impressed I was with them. The lever shape/feel was spot on, and the power was great. I wish I had bought a set back then when my shop had 5 pairs in the case! oh well...there are a lot of things I wish I had done...