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Dia Compe PC-7

MSRP $ 70.00
Weight
# of Reviews 26
Average Rating 2.65/5
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Description: Dia Compe PC-7



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    Submitted by Alex a Cross Country Rider from Portland, OR, USA
    Date Reviewed: April 15, 2003
    Favorite Trail:Mounthood & city streets
    Duration Product Used:1 Year
    Price Paid: $5.00
    Purchased At:E-bay
    Strengths:Great modulation, adjustment barrel made of aluminium, long handle, easy to set up.
    Weaknesses:A little bit side play of the levers
    Similar Products Used:Tekro (POS), Shimano of different kind.
    Bike Setup:Rigid commuter rig. Leader LD-515 aluminium frame, Surly rigid fork, Pazzaz threadless stem and handle bar, all Shimano Mega-9 XT drivetrain (derraileurs, crankset, cassette), Shimano LX center pull cantilevers, SRAM-9 shorty grip shifts, Bontrager wheelset, Planet Bike wide carbon fenders, GT seat post, CD bike seat, RAD accessories silver platform cartridge pedals.
    Bottom Line:These Dia Compe PC-7 brake levers were designed to work with center pull cantilever brakes only. Therefore, all complains, that they're not working well with V-brakes, have no grounds. These brakes have some lever side play but it's not preventing you from stopping the bike. They might not look too cool for some posers and freds, but they do the job well.
    I'll give them four flaming bananas because of this overlooked design flaw with the levers' side play.
    Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Jason DeWilde a from Savage MN
    Date Reviewed: May 3, 2001
    Duration Product Used:More than 3 years
    Strengths:Cheap
    Weaknesses:CHEAP, ugly, weak
    Similar Products Used:Avid AD1.0 L
    Bike Setup:Specialized Stumpjumper, judy xc, Avid SD 25 V-brakes, Avid AD 1.0 L levers, Nashbar clipples pedals
    Bottom Line:These levers came on by bike. Once I upgraded to V-brakes, these old levers didn't optimize the braking power. They're probably a fine upgrade for someone with an old cheaper bike, but they have no place on mine. Email me if you want them for a cheap price.
    Value Rating:3Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Blake Williams a Weekend Warrior from Chicago, Il USA
    Date Reviewed: March 14, 2001
    Favorite Trail:Potto
    Duration Product Used:2 Years
    Purchased At:on bike
    Strengths:Few. Fairly Light.
    Weaknesses:They have zero modulation. Terrible feel. I honestly feel like they don't stop the bike well either. Look Generic.
    Similar Products Used:93' Deore Rapid fire plus, Avid Speed Dial 7
    Bike Setup:96 Klein Pulse Comp, Ritchey Rock/OCR Pro/Deore wheels, Indy SL(next to be upgraded) Gripshift 800/lx Avid Arch Rival 50 Brakes/speed dial 7 levers
    Bottom Line:These came on my Klein, They look cheap, and don't perform well. The ancient Rapid fire levers on my backup bike work/feel better.
    Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by john a Cross-Country Rider from Canada Eh!
    Date Reviewed: January 3, 2000
    Duration Product Used:
    3 months
    Strengths:
    great
    good feel
    Weaknesses:
    Squeak after two uses need lubing
    Similar Products Used:
    none
    Bike Setup:
    RH A1 FS
    Bottom Line:GReat crisp levers that always work
    Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Nomar a Weekend Warrior from Fredericton, NB
    Date Reviewed: July 19, 1999
    Duration Product Used:
    3 months
    Strengths:
    None
    Weaknesses:
    These levers are crap and are part of a crap brakeset
    Similar Products Used:
    STX-RC
    LX
    Bike Setup:
    Specialized A1 FS with Manitou Spyders, and Dia comp 733 brakes
    Bottom Line:These levers are just crap. The feel is sloppy, the return springs are not strong enough, the appearance is garbage.
    Need I go on??
    I guess so, for 50 words. The front brakes is constantly sticking on the rim, no amount of lubing will help.
    The levers rattle, and have a ridiculous amount of vertical play, and tightening only makes them unuseable. It kills me that a 1200 dollar (Canadian) bike can't even find a set of brakes better than ones I can make myself.
    Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by Shane a Weekend Warrior from Australia
    Date Reviewed: June 23, 1999
    Duration Product Used:
    less than 1 month
    Strengths:
    Honestly... nothing good about it.
    Weaknesses:
    Lever is very loose, too much up and down movement, lever material no strong enough tends to flex slightly when pulled hard.
    Bottom Line:Forget this one and get something else.
    Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Ray a Cross-Country Rider from State College, PA
    Date Reviewed: April 25, 1999
    Duration Product Used:
    1 Year
    Bike Setup:
    Alu Hardtail with DiaCompe 737 brakes
    Bottom Line:GOOD: The price was good. There is not a lot of slop in movement or weakness in the materials.
    BAD: The return spring is weak. No return spring adjustment Do not pull enough cable quick enough for V brakes
    SUMMARY: Buy for standard cantis, not V-brakes
    Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Phil... a cross-country rider from Alaska
    Date Reviewed: November 16, 1998
    Bottom Line:

    Well, they work. They are kind of sloppy, and don't have the kind of feel a quality lever manufactured to close tolerances provides... Were I rich I would get Real levers. But I am not so I will stick with these. They are tough enough to have survived a few crashes, adjustable enough that I can get them to fell almost right. A very average performing lever in my opinion.
    Three blazing violin cases, or are they cellos?
    Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Demolition a cross-country rider from miami
    Date Reviewed: August 24, 1998
    Bottom Line:

    These levers came on my klein and were very weak and cheap
    feeling from the get go. They scratched very easily and
    rattled to no end. I replaced them with xt's ,what a
    difference. I recommend you do the same.
    My name is Elmer J. Fudd. I own a mansion and a yatch.
    Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by trekker a cross-country rider from Elk Rapids, MI
    Date Reviewed: July 12, 1998
    Bottom Line:

    I like these levers because they have a really soft feel which keeps me from slamming on them. Probably most people don't like that soft feel but personaly, I like a little give and you can't beat the price on these things. Thier cheap and they work for me but don't buy them if you're into perfect control.
    Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Fabio Luthernia a downhiller from Calgary, AB, Canada
    Date Reviewed: April 28, 1998
    Bottom Line:

    With my Haeyss BCD brakes they are great. The feel I get with DQDs when i hit the vcxs on the runs are sweet. There sweetness are equivilent to T6BP. Sometimes I slam the flexy brakes on just for fun, even in the up hill. ERP will help with these heavy levers though.
    Due to the softness of these brakes I give them 1 hot dog.
    Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by Billie-Joe-Bob a racer from Hickville, USA
    Date Reviewed: August 12, 1997
    Bottom Line:

    Horribly sloppy, very heavy, terrible modulation, crappy return spring. Barely fit for a Huffy.
    Overall Rating:1

    Submitted by Jason a weekend warrior from Singapore
    Date Reviewed: March 16, 1997
    Bottom Line:

    Just got my PC-7 EXA with my new KHS and it worked well with PC's V-brakes.
    It just didn't have the solid feel of my previous Tektro's lever but probably it's the brakes that works , not the levers.
    Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Gonçalo Costa a cross-country rider from Lisbon - Portugal
    Date Reviewed: November 14, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    These levers work just fine. They are powerfull and fit the hand just right.
    They may not be the best levers, but for the price you pay
    they are very good.
    Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Roger M. a cross-country rider from Phoenix,AZ.
    Date Reviewed: November 5, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    These levers do have some lateral play, yet it doesn't bother me to the degree that it has others. I have been on them for nearly a year w/ no complaints other than getting use to them and dialing them in for my Avid canti's. They have a tremendous anount of modulation which took some getting use to. Now that I have, I like them alot. I paid about $40.00 for them at R.E.I., considerably less than the price listed at the top of this page.They don't WOW me by any means, but on the other hand they are adequate and do the job.( by todays standards they aren't that trick) I give them a 3.5.
    Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Chris Decker a weekend warrior from Ohio
    Date Reviewed: October 19, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    Model: Dia Compe PC-7 Brake LeversThese levers came OME on my '95 Ascent. Too bad these are the only downside to an otherwise phenomenal bike. Intitially they worked great, however after a summer of serious riding I am already seriously considering the V-brake as an upgrade. Definitely will be glad to get rid of these levers. Too muck play, and even more flex. Reminiscent of my old Huffy.
    Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Softrider a weekend warrior from Singapore
    Date Reviewed: October 19, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    The PC-7 levers came with my new bike.
    Cannot think of any pleasant comments about it
    except perhaps it marginally gets the job done?
    I'm getting a new set of levers soon...
    Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Guy Bouchard a racer from Ste-Marie,Qc,Canada
    Date Reviewed: October 14, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    My comment are for the new PC7 EXA for V-Brake compatible brake.
    They pull between 25-31 mm of cable. A lot of power and modulation.
    I don`t know if they will develop play in the long term run.
    I like it with my XT V-Brake
    Overall Rating:4

    Submitted by Bill Arlofski a weekend warrior from Plantsville, Ct.
    Date Reviewed: October 9, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    These levers came on my leftover '95 Trek 6500. I was immediately NOT impressed with the play in the levers perpendicular to the lever travel and the cheasy teflon washers (that wore out and broke). After 3 weekends of VT. mountain (some steep-fast-hair-raising downhilling included) riding, it has become clear that there is definitely unwanted flex in these. Compared to my buddy's rapid-fire/Deore-LX levers, these things are in the minor leagues...
    Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Lee a weekend warrior from California, USA
    Date Reviewed: October 8, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    Dia Compe PC-7 brake levers, came on a 1995 bike.They work ok. They do tend to develop a bit of play (in a direction
    perpendicular to the way the lever is supposed to move).
    Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by Jason Chiu a weekend warrior from California
    Date Reviewed: August 20, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    The PC-7N's are great levers. I have been using them for two weeks now and they are very easy to use. I have been using one finger to operate them (middle finger). It doesn't take much effort to press them. If you have bad levers and want to upgrade to something better but not expensive, get these!
    Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Tom Arbogast a cross-country rider from Randolph, MA
    Date Reviewed: June 24, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    My bike came equiped with PC-7s. They work OK, but they are a pain when it comes
    to taking the cables off. The routing is from the bottom which makes it difficult
    to see. The cable ends fit very snuggly which makes removing them difficult at
    times.
    Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Mark Drayton a weekend warrior from Southampton
    Date Reviewed: June 24, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    I chose these levers at my local bike shop because :-
    i) I'm a skint student
    ii) They looked good
    When I fitted them to my bike (STX cantis front, LX rear) I was immediatley impressed. Their feel is excellent, and the Power Control cam works very well. They have a nice shape and feel very solid. The performance was miles better than the squishy Tektro levers I had before!
    They are a cheap price (about 20 quid) and will serve you well.
    Overall Rating:5

    Submitted by Barry Hopkins... a racer from Lexington, KY
    Date Reviewed: June 18, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    The PC-7s came spec'd on my Gary Fisher when I bought it last year and at first I
    was pleased with them but I turned out to be very wrong about these levers. They
    aren't all that light and flex quite badly, as far as levers are concerned. Also,
    they developed quite a bit of slop after a few months. I have stuck it out with them
    for the last year only because of not having the coin to purchase new ones.


    I have just recently upgraded to XTR levers/shifters and V-brakes and all I can
    say is WOW! I am more than pleased. Great action, no slop, adjustable leverage,
    great stopping power, etc. Pricey, but worth it to me as far as performance goes.


    Stay away from the PC-7s.

    Overall Rating:2

    Submitted by Chuan Keng Keat a weekend warrior from Singapore
    Date Reviewed: June 14, 1996
    Bottom Line:

    model: Dia Compe PC-7

    Not exactly the best levers around...
    It flex quite a bit and is somewhat too small for my big hand...
    It is easy to set up though.
    Overall Rating:3

    Submitted by David Fang a cross-country rider from La Jolla, CA
    Date Reviewed: May 31, 1996
    Bottom Line:




    model: Dia Compe PC-7

    These levers are light and work well. They didn't seem to modulate as well as my
    old 89 Deore levers, but they do have more power. I have the one with the silver
    colored levers and they seem to have a bit of play in them compared to the black
    colored. Its a little difficult to get the cable stop out of the levers, but
    since that isn't needed very often, it doesn't really matter.
    Overall Rating:3






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