Bicycle Travel > Gear Talk
shifters
driftlessregion:
Don't want bar ends but also leery of STI breaking mid tour (I've seen it and it is ugly)? Check out these http://retroshift.com/.
johnsondasw:
I had STI type Campy shifters partially break on the first day of a 3 week tour on the Pacific Coast. Guess what--no one carries Campy stuff along the route. I rode with this hassle from Olympia WA to Santa Cruz Calif and was able to get them fixed there because we had parts mailed ahead and my partner was a mechanic. I vowed never to go with Campy stuff again. Had it been Shimano, I could have had it up and running in the first town I came to.
DanE:
Why not just use friction shifters on the down tube if you don't want barcons or STI brake shifters.
staehpj1:
--- Quote from: johnsondasw on November 28, 2012, 10:33:08 pm ---I had STI type Campy shifters partially break on the first day of a 3 week tour on the Pacific Coast. Guess what--no one carries Campy stuff along the route. I rode with this hassle from Olympia WA to Santa Cruz Calif and was able to get them fixed there because we had parts mailed ahead and my partner was a mechanic. I vowed never to go with Campy stuff again. Had it been Shimano, I could have had it up and running in the first town I came to.
--- End quote ---
Why didn't you just mount a down tube shifter or even a stem shifter temporarily. If you have a frame that won't accomodate a down tube shifter you could probably mount one somewhere (bar, stem, or even seat post). Most shops would have something cheap that would allow you to get along for the rest of the tour. It could even be something from their junk bin.
DaveB:
--- Quote from: driftlessregion on November 28, 2012, 08:57:51 pm ---Don't want bar ends but also leery of STI breaking mid tour (I've seen it and it is ugly)? Check out these http://retroshift.com/.
--- End quote ---
I have these on my Cross Check using the V-brake lever version and 8-speed Ultegra downtube shift levers shifting an 8-speed Shimano rd and cassette and a 105 triple crank. Highly recommended.
They aren't quite as convenient as brifters since you can only shift from the hoods but, other than that limitation, they are a very good substitute for STI/Ergo brifters. They are vastly more convenient to shift than any downtube or barend lever.
The price is lower than brifters and the versatility unmatched since any "speed" indexed or friction downtube or barend levers can be mounted on them and they are available with brake levers for either caliper/canti brakes or V-brakes. Their durability is as good as any downtube or barend shifter since that's basically what they are.
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