Touring shifters any good?

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island andy

New Member
I am now looking at getting a replacement road bike for winter and i have seen a bike with shifters on the end of the drops .

Are they easy to use?

My link
Just bought a very unglamorous touring Raleigh with barend shifters which won't even index with the 6 speed block fitted and am getting on very well with them and the bike in general. Surprised me this after years on decent mountain bikes to find such fun for 200 quid. Try it says I.
 
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cyberknight

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Just bought a very unglamorous touring Raleigh with barend shifters which won't even index with the 6 speed block fitted and am getting on very well with them and the bike in general. Surprised me this after years on decent mountain bikes to find such fun for 200 quid. Try it says I.

If its a 6 speed block chances are they are friction shifters and not indexed ones anyway.
 

PpPete

Legendary Member
Location
Chandler's Ford
Still standard equipment on many tourers, some Galaxy models, Kona Sutra. Never used them in that position myself, but put some on for my son - he really likes them, much better than DT shifters he says. Also used on the ends of aero-bars sometimes, as lighter than STI's. I once put an old set on the end of a bull horn, looked stupid, worked really well.
 

island andy

New Member
Bar end shifters were used for racing back in the sixties, though only by a minority of riders (including Tom Simpson). It's purely down to whether you get on with them, they do the job.


You are right cyberknight, my shifters are in friction mode, I would put a 7 speed block on and use the indexing but my " block ' is not a cassette nor is it a usual type multi freewheel block so until I've solved that little mystery I'll simply " enjoy" the friction shifting.
 
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cyberknight

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
Looking more closely at the bike i was intending on bidding on it looks as though its not in as good a condition as i wanted so i will looking at another bike today.

Thanks all for the replies.
 

MacB

Lover of things that come in 3's
Having used them for a while now I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the bar end option, but riding style has an impact as well. If you're a 'tempo hound' constantly flicking through the gears then STI/Ergo/Double Tap are the only real options. If you're like me, and I suspect many others, where changing gear is your last option, then they work well. One thing to be aware of, this aversion to gear changing can cause you to leave a gear change too late and result in excessive honking.....it may have happened to me now and again :whistle:

I have a 9 speed triple on Dura Ace bar end shifters and my 3 speed SA hub now has a DT shifter, I like them both. Down tube isn't a problem when there's only the 3 gears to think about. As Pete mentions they can work on the ends of bullhorns and you can also get thumb mounts to put them on the flats by the stem. My 9 speeds are indexed, rear only, and can also be run as friction, very easy to set up and maintain. I prefer them to the Sora STI's I tried but I think that's because the Sora had the thumb tab rather than all shifting via a lever sweep action. For my future weekend bike plans I'm torn between Ultegra and SRAM Double Tap shifters.
 

Fiona N

Veteran
I use 'bar end' shifters on the Windcheetah but obviously not on the ends of the bars. They seem to be pretty bomb-proof compared to the intricacies of the various combined brake/gear levers

Maybe because I started cycling (well, once I progressed from Sturmey Archer gears) with friction changers on the down tube, I've never had any problem with the unindexed front derailleur lever and the rear one is indexed for the 9-speed block. I'm not sure I've ever understood the bar-end position for touring bikes, even in the past when changers were on the downtube under normal circumstances, as IME tourists used the drops less than any other category of cyclist.
 

youngoldbloke

The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
I know quite a few who use them, and like down tube levers there is much less to go wrong than brake/gear shifters.
I'm not sure I've ever understood the bar-end position for touring bikes - you need to move the hand much less distance than is required to operate a down tube lever, after all.
 

zoxed

Über Member
I'm not sure I've ever understood the bar-end position for touring bikes, even in the past when changers were on the downtube under normal circumstances, as IME tourists used the drops less than any other category of cyclist.

In the 80s I toured with drops and full camping gear: barend shifters were great as, although I was not often in the drops, it meant I was still holding the bars when I changed gear. Also my favourite areas were the windsweep moors of N Wales/England, where the crosswinds can be strong and/or gusty :-)
 
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