Using Shifters on the Drops

[GuyBoden]

I recently got back back into doing some more serious miles on a road bike last summer, I'm an old school cyclist and I use the drops on the handle bars a lot. Since the early 1980's, I've used the old style gear levers on the down tube.......

My latest road bike has the newer style shifters (gear/brake combination), I find them impossible to reach on the handle bars when I'm on the drops.

Is there a solution.

These type:

 

[Milkfloat]

You can get shims for a lot of shifters to move the brake/shifter lever closer. You can also investigate if moving the whole shifter forward and down a bit helps.

 

[MikeW-71]

I recently got back back into doing some more serious miles on a road bike last summer, I'm an old school cyclist and I use the drops on the handle bars a lot. Since the early 1980's, I've used the old style gear levers on the down tube.......

My latest road bike has the newer style shifters (gear/brake combination), I find them impossible to reach on the handle bars when I'm on the drops.

Is there a solution.

Unfortunately not without replacing the shifters. Is that 8-speed Shimano 2300? If so, you could replace them with the 8-speed Claris shifters which don't have that thumb-shift. They have a little paddle inside the main brake lever for the downward shift.

That thumb lever was a big criticism of 2300.

 

[PK99]

I recently got back back into doing some more serious miles on a road bike last summer, I'm an old school cyclist and I use the drops on the handle bars a lot. Since the early 1980's, I've used the old style gear levers on the down tube.......

My latest road bike has the newer style shifters (gear/brake combination), I find them impossible to reach on the handle bars when I'm on the drops.

Is there a solution.

These type:

my LBS now sets up most bike with the brifters set higher on the bars than used to be the case as so few people ride on the drops, ie to give quick easy access from the top of the bars. It looks like that may be the case here. Moving them down and round a bit is easily done

 

[MikeW-71]

No matter where you move those shifters to on the bars, the thumb lever is out of reach from the drops, that is the problem. It can only be pressed from the hoods.

 

[MontyVeda]

...Is there a solution?...

Yes... there is...

...available at most high street beauticians. .

..they might even chuck the nail extension in for free with a full leg wax.

 

[GuyBoden]

No matter where you move those shifters to on the bars, the thumb lever is out of reach from the drops, that is the problem. It can only be pressed from the hoods.

After moving the shifters down the bars over the last few months, at the moment I'm agreeing with your post. I hope I don't have to go back to putting levers on the down tube.

 

[winjim]

No matter where you move those shifters to on the bars, the thumb lever is out of reach from the drops, that is the problem. It can only be pressed from the hoods.

Not true. I can reach mine from the drops. But is moving ones hand slightly really any more difficult than reaching for a downtube shifter?

 

[MikeW-71]

After moving the shifters down the bars over the last few months, at the moment I'm agreeing with your post. I hope I don't have to go back to putting levers on the down tube.

Change them to these:
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-st-2400-claris-8-speed-road-sti-levers/

 

[Alex H]

After moving the shifters down the bars over the last few months, at the moment I'm agreeing with your post. I hope I don't have to go back to putting levers on the down tube.

Put them on the bar ends?

 

[Milkfloat]

Just to be clear - is the problem the brake lever/shifter like you state in your first post or the thumb shifter?

 

[GuyBoden]

Just to be clear - is the problem the brake lever/shifter like you state in your first post or the thumb shifter?

It's the thumb shifter, like the picture I posted, I didn't know it was called a thumb shifter, so as stated by
MikeW-71, the Claris type may answer my problem.

 

[GuyBoden]

Not true. I can reach mine from the drops. But is moving ones hand slightly really any more difficult than reaching for a downtube shifter?

Fair point, but it just seems more awkward. The thumb button seem like a bad design to me.

 

[vickster]

Fair point, but it just seems more awkward. The thumb button seem like a bad design to me.

Probably why they got rid of it on the new designs

SRAM Double tap easy to operate from drops

 

[winjim]

Fair point, but it just seems more awkward. The thumb button seem like a bad design to me.

The positioning is not ideal. It's due to the location of the internal mechanism within the shifter. Campagnolo have a thumb lever downshift, but because they put all the internal gubbins in the body of the unit rather than attached to the brake lever arm as Shimano do, they are able to put the thumb lever in a sensible place and it works very well from all hand positions. In fact, on the newest versions they've even changed the shape of it so it's right by the drops.