Improvements and disimprovements over time

[Ming the Merciless]

Wheel clicker odometers vs. Wired cycle computers vs. Wireless cycle computers vs. GPS

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Now into discussion

I really like friction shifters. I have the Dura Ace 9 speed ones on my recumbent.

Advantages

Far lighter to have bar end shifters and pure brakes than STI
Far cheaper
Simple to replace cables
They don’t chew cables to start with so replacing cables is a rare thing.
Shifting 1,2,3,4,5,6 gears at a time is simple with a single lever throw and muscle memory gets you there every time.
You can put in a 10 speed wheel or 8 speed or 9 speed and just get riding. No gear adjustment required. You are not locked into speeds
On long distance rides you don’t get numb hands (applies more to upright bikes as you don’t get numb hands on recumbents anyway)
You can see roughly what gear you are in and whether you have more cogs for shifting up and down

Disadvantages

You get called a dinosaur 🦖

 

[Dogtrousers]

Un-e-bike vs e-bike.

 

[Dogtrousers]

You can see roughly what gear you are in and whether you have more cigs for shifting up and down

Always a good idea to roll two at a time and put one behind your ear.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Always a good idea to roll two at a time and put one behind your ear.

It so you can smoke the competition

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Tyre dynamos vs. Hub dynamos vs. Modern rim dynamos

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Dynamo lights vs battery lights

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Bike packing vs. touring - What’s the difference?

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Strap on luggage vs pannier setup

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Red valve caps vs. Black valve caps

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Patching tubes vs bung a new tube in

 

[Dogtrousers]

Now into discussion

I really like friction shifters. I have the Dura Ace 9 speed ones on my recumbent.
[...]

I'd tend to agree with much of this. Friction shifters are way easier to install and maintain and nice to use. Mind you I use do brifters. Partly because personally I find them a bit of a nicer experience but also because it's the path of least resistance. I'm not into building my own bikes and constantly changing things around. If I was I may have fitted them.

Points I disagree with are: Numb hands - I've not found them to be more of a problem vs friction shifters. Maybe others have, but I haven't. You can see what gear you are in regardless of the type of shifter. And I don't care about being able to put different kinds of wheel in as that's not something I ever want to do. But others, who own a vast library of wheels and like to keep changing things round, may find this useful.

I'd also add - more reliable. Brifters are phenomenally reliable for something so complex but they do go wrong, as I found out just before I went on tour this year. The replacement arrived by post the day before I set off (after doing a mystery tour of Britain's sorting offices) ... which was cutting it uncomfortably fine.

 

[TheDoctor]

Now into discussion

I really like friction shifters. I have the Dura Ace 9 speed ones on my recumbent.

Advantages

Far lighter to have bar end shifters and pure brakes than STI
Far cheaper
Simple to replace cables
They don’t chew cables to start with so replacing cables is a rare thing.
Shifting 1,2,3,4,5,6 gears at a time is simple with a single lever throw and muscle memory gets you there every time.
You can put in a 10 speed wheel or 8 speed or 9 speed and just get riding. No gear adjustment required. You are not locked into speeds
On long distance rides you don’t get numb hands (applies more to upright bikes as you don’t get numb hands on recumbents anyway)
You can see roughly what gear you are in and whether you have more cogs for shifting up and down

Disadvantages

You get called a dinosaur 🦖

That! My next build will have downtube shifters. Friction ones are a bit unobtanium ATM, but I have some 9 speed ones. A 34T chainset and 12-36T cassette gives me all the range I need.

 

[raleighnut]

That! My next build will have downtube shifters. Friction ones are a bit unobtanium ATM, but I have some 9 speed ones. A 34T chainset and 12-36T cassette gives me all the range I need.

with most Shimano DT shifters the indexing can be switched off leaving them as friction.

 

[TheDoctor]

These are Suntour ones that don't have the friction option. Of course, I could use the LH lever to do the rear gears, I'm sure that wouldn't be at all confusing!