Derailleur Differences

[Ming the Merciless]

I would say Suntour ratchet / friction bar-con were the peak of peak friction

I have some all metal Dia Compe friction shifters which are also microratchet. Got them after the plastic cracked on my Shimano Dura Ace shifters. By this point I’d already decided I prefer friction to indexed. The Diacompe don’t have an indexed mode. Used them with both 9 speed and 10 speed wheels and work a treat without needing any adjustment between swapping the wheels over.

 

[MichaelW2]

There are some flat bar Shimano shifters designed to work with the appropriate road derailleurs. Apart from these, flat bar shifter almost always means MTB system with the designated amount of cable pull per click.

 

[DCBassman]

My experience, up to 9-speed, is that rear mechs are completely compatible between road and MTB, front mechs, not so much. This is where the Claris/Sora STR221 flat bar stuff is brilliant if you like 8-speed. It works properly with a road front/ MTB rear, and can use any brakes. Get 'em while you can, they are increasingly hard to find. I'll add that these are combi units, if that's not clear. I've also mixed the STR221 LH units with St-EF65-9 RH to give a 3x9 on the Scott. This type of setup is how I run the Scott flat-bar roadie in such a lumpy location. 50-39-30 up front (Sora), and 11-34 rear (Sora GS with hanger extender, 8-speed). Works well. Have also used the same shifters with Alivio and Altus MTB rear mechs with zero issues.