Teuchter
Über Member
- Location
- Erskine, Scotland
^^^ glad I'm not the only one!
What Shifters Are Best For Converting From Down Tube Shifters? Reynolds 1983 531 Double Butted
- Thread starter Alasdair Geddes
- Start date
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Gravity Aided
Legendary Member
- Location
- Land of Lincoln
I dislike the lack of immediacy of shifting with bar ends. I think downtubes are faster and more accurate. Touring is often a loaded situation, and there are 2 camps to this belief
1- That you should never take your hands (either one) off the bars while balancing a touring bike, and for this the bar end shifters are better.
2- That you should have the best control over your gearing possible, and that favors downtube shifting.
I see and respect the rightness of either view. I currently have downtube shifting, both indexed and friction.
1- That you should never take your hands (either one) off the bars while balancing a touring bike, and for this the bar end shifters are better.
2- That you should have the best control over your gearing possible, and that favors downtube shifting.
I see and respect the rightness of either view. I currently have downtube shifting, both indexed and friction.
asterix
Comrade Member
- Location
- Limoges or York
DT shifters are fine, so are bar-end. I put them on my latest build-up and also went back to a double chainset with a 9-speed cassette. I did find 8 spd was the max for non-indexed DT shifters.
My favourites are campag ergo altho TBH I don't really care what shifters I have if they work.
My favourites are campag ergo altho TBH I don't really care what shifters I have if they work.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
With Shimano bar end shifters you can switch the indexing on or off unlike clunky campags (I have both types and the campy ones are always drifting out of index, spose that's why they adjust in 3 places)
biggs682
Touch it up and ride it
- Location
- Northamptonshire
i have just fitted some Dia Compe bar end levers on my latest bike as i cant get on with Sti's , my advice would be to go for indexed ones .
i still prefer down tube levers no matter what they are indexed or not , i even have one road bike set up with trigger shifters fitted on the top of the drops and they work well
i still prefer down tube levers no matter what they are indexed or not , i even have one road bike set up with trigger shifters fitted on the top of the drops and they work well
thegravestoneman
three wheels on my wagon
- Location
- Castleford, Yorkshire
Why not convert to a 7 speed block whilst you are at it, they are readily available and give you many options on levers I run my 83 Sara on a 7 block until recently. You may have to redish the wheel slightly though.
Tony Smith
Active Member
- Location
- Rural Staffordshire
What youngoldbloke says. Its almost as far from the hoods to the end tubes as it is to the downtube. I'm doing a couple of builds and my LBS has splayed my rear dropouts ready for whatever I decide to go with, but the complexity of bar shifters make me lean towards the plain old fashioned down tube. Just don't change gear as often !!!
Tony Smith
Active Member
- Location
- Rural Staffordshire
...also, isn't there a strange feeling with the leverage one gets on tube ends ? I seem to recall from my youth having a set that my hands used to always seem to push too far..
biggs682
Touch it up and ride it
- Location
- Northamptonshire
I vote with the downtube shifter people. Don't bother with indexing a five speed, you can get the right position every time with very little practice. Everything that followed was a mess untill the very latest generation of combined brakes and shifters with fully concealed cables for both. Actually, the very best changers of all are (indexed) mountain bike shifters for flat bars, but maybe you don't want flat bars.
I upgraded from seven to eight speed and got rid of the index shifters. I don't find it a problem selecting the right gear.
Kamakazerider
Member
- Location
- Canterbury Kent
Down tubes every time, it is worth persevering it looks right,feels right and is so much easier to set up. Bar ends are ok if you ride on the drops most of the time but all othe methods seem a little over complicated, However as always it's what feels right for you, It would be worth buying a few cheap types of e-bay to try them out
craigwend
Grimpeur des terrains plats
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/tourney-a070-2-x-7-speed-sti-shifter-set-ec046455
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7 speed cassette may work on your bike (new wheel?)
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7 speed cassette may work on your bike (new wheel?)
Here is what I said yesterday on the adjacent thread about an 86 Raleigh. Some of it is relevant to this query too, though not the bit about removing the freewheel:
Rear dropouts will prob be 126mm if it is a 6 speed. You can squeeze a 7 speed freewheel on without adjusting the frame, although the wheel will need an extra 2mm spacer on the axle, on the side of the freewheel and it would then be best to re-dish the wheel to keep it on the centre-line. I ride 7 speed bikes with freewheels from 14 to 32 in even steps, if you want something that you can ride up steep hills with. If you want to fit modern 10 speed stuff, better get the frame (ends) widened at a shop, needs doing on a jig to avoid distorting it. If existing 6 speed seems difficult to remove it is because it is the type where the last (smallest) cog tightens up against the next one, so you need to take it off anticlockwise while you hold the other one still, two chainwhips working in opposite directions.
