Down Tube Shifters On the Top Tube?
Bruce Matthews
latest STI or Ergo equiped bikes. I do, however, detest down tube
shifters as being too long a reach from the bars to the shifters and
back especially when running at a good pace (for me). I got around this
for my commuting touring bike by modifying a set of mtb rapid fire
shifters to slip onto road bars up near the stem. This works but it is
quite kludgey looking and I would never think of doing this to my nice
road bike.
Thinking about this today it occured to me that the top tube is not a
long reach and it should be possible to have the standard shifter braze
ons located about 3 inches or so behind the steering stem. The cables
would then run along the top tube, turn around the seat tube and run
down the seat stay to the rear and the seat tube to the front a la many
mtb's. This would be a lot simpler than the old stem mounted shifters
as you would not need all the extra cable housing. Also it should be a
tiny bit more aero as the cables now run horizontally along the top tube
and down the rear of the seat stay and seat tube. And there would be no
plastic thingy at the bottom bracket to catch dirt and wear the cable.
I know the racers are not going to adopt this as they all have combo
levers. Touring bikes, on the other hand, may find this of some
benefit. It would simplify the cable housing arrangements to the
handlebars by removing half of them. The shifters would be quite
accessable. And, importantly to many, the shifters would be mounted in
a protected area safe from crashes.
OK all you out there, what am I missing here?
Bruce (big light over my head) Matthews
alex wetmore
news:38DFDFA9...@smartt.com...
> OK all you out there, what am I missing here?
The existance of barend shifters? They cost hardly more then downtube
shifters, have been around a long time, and are more convienent to reach
then a top-tube mounted shifter.
alex
sco...@lasal.net
on the top tube.
From experience, I have one word for why you don't want to do this:
Gonads.
Bruce Matthews wrote:
> OK all you out there, what am I missing here?
>
sco...@lasal.net
sco...@lasal.net
sco...@lasal.net
sco...@lasal.net
Bruce Matthews
about here though was how to keep the mechanical simplicity of the DT
shifters but make them more accessable. And then there is the two extra
cables that are needed for the bar ends and the cable stops. I was
thinking of ways to avoid that extra visual clutter and, albeit very
little, air drag on what is a very simple and clean looking Italian Road
Rocket I gather that many people still like to use the DT shifters for
this reason. No plans to start brazing up my frame (yet), just a little
dreaming. And as for cost I got a couple of handfuls of 7 sp Shimano DT
shifters a while back for about $2 each. A little less than bar cons I
suspect :=) And as for catching myself on the shifters in an accident I
suspect that it would just be a little minor incident on my way to the
"7" stem!!!! At least the shifters would be nice enough to rotate out
of the way.
Bruce Matthews
alex wetmore wrote:
>
> "Bruce Matthews" <matt...@smartt.com> wrote in message
> news:38DFDFA9...@smartt.com...
> > OK all you out there, what am I missing here?
>
jeffslotkin
clamping them on to the top tube (if they clamp, if not that can be
found in a junk drawer at your LBS) as far forward as possible, and
running the wires down to the same guide he's been using, somewhere
around or under his bottom bracket. If you are lucky the wires, now
stretching through the open space of your front triangle, will clear
your water bottle and cage. And thanks to Scott for telling us four
times about his gonads. Jeff "Loves His Bar Cons" Slotkin
alex wetmore <al...@phred.org> wrote in message
news:8bos15$ocm$0...@216.39.149.189...
Jon Isaacs
>about here though was how to keep the mechanical simplicity of the DT
>shifters but make them more accessable.
I would suggest that for many riding positions DT shifters would be more
accessible that placing them on the top tube.
In my experience DT shifters require little or no movement of the body, just
swinging your arm down in an arc naturally puts my hand on the shifter. This
is especially true when riding in the drops, DT's are close and require no
change in position.
Putting the shifters on the top tube would make shifting from the drops rather
awkward and from other positions might require taking your gaze off the road.
I imagine when riding on the tops of the bars they would easy to shift but from
more aggressive positions I would suspect DT shifters would be easier.
I think that the trend toward smaller frames is partly caused by STI. In the
old days, with shorter stems and lower seats, the DT shifters were closer than
they now are.
Jon Isaacs
George S. Hugh
--
George S. Hugh
254 Hudson Annex
hug...@duke.edu
(919)660-5125
"jeffslotkin" <jeffs...@home.com> wrote in message
news:sYWD4.71774$8S2.9...@news1.rdc1.tn.home.com...
alex wetmore
> I agree that the bar ends are better in many ways. What I was thinking
> about here though was how to keep the mechanical simplicity of the DT
> cables that are needed for the bar ends and the cable stops. I was
> thinking of ways to avoid that extra visual clutter and, albeit very
> little, air drag on what is a very simple and clean looking Italian Road
> Rocket I gather that many people still like to use the DT shifters for
> this reason. No plans to start brazing up my frame (yet), just a little
> dreaming. And as for cost I got a couple of handfuls of 7 sp Shimano DT
> shifters a while back for about $2 each. A little less than bar cons I
> suspect :=) And as for catching myself on the shifters in an accident I
> suspect that it would just be a little minor incident on my way to the
> "7" stem!!!! At least the shifters would be nice enough to rotate out
> of the way.
I personally find the visual clutter of running cables along the top tube to
be worse then the visual clutter of the cable housing going from the
handlebars to the downtube cable housing stops, but that might just be me.
As far as pricing goes, I would find it more valuable to compare the retail
prices of the two types of shifters. Lucky people can always find deals,
but that doesn't mean that the deal is the going rate. Last time I looked
the retail price on 8sp downtube shifters was about $40, while the retail
price on barcons is about $60. Not a huge difference.
Clamp on cable housing stops are readily available, so I would suggest that
you give this system a try and see how you like it.
alex
John Forrest Tomlinson
> I personally find the visual clutter of running cables along the top tube
to
> be worse then the visual clutter of the cable housing going from the
> handlebars to the downtube cable housing stops, but that might just be me.
Oh my, visual clutter!
JT
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Richard H. Kokemoor
Why not just get the old Schwinn (or other brand) stem mounted shifters, or
substitute your shifters on such a mount (surely rattling around in a LBS
drawer)?
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"Bruce Matthews" <matt...@smartt.com> wrote in message
news:38DFDFA9...@smartt.com...
> Being basically cheap I have managed to resist the urge to buy the
> latest STI or Ergo equiped bikes. I do, however, detest down tube
> shifters as being too long a reach from the bars to the shifters and
> back especially when running at a good pace (for me). I got around this
> for my commuting touring bike by modifying a set of mtb rapid fire
> shifters to slip onto road bars up near the stem. This works but it is
> quite kludgey looking and I would never think of doing this to my nice
> road bike.
>
> Thinking about this today it occured to me that the top tube is not a
> long reach and it should be possible to have the standard shifter braze
> ons located about 3 inches or so behind the steering stem. The cables
> would then run along the top tube, turn around the seat tube and run
> down the seat stay to the rear and the seat tube to the front a la many
> mtb's. This would be a lot simpler than the old stem mounted shifters
> as you would not need all the extra cable housing. Also it should be a
> tiny bit more aero as the cables now run horizontally along the top tube
> and down the rear of the seat stay and seat tube. And there would be no
> plastic thingy at the bottom bracket to catch dirt and wear the cable.
>
> I know the racers are not going to adopt this as they all have combo
> levers. Touring bikes, on the other hand, may find this of some
> benefit. It would simplify the cable housing arrangements to the
> handlebars by removing half of them. The shifters would be quite
> accessable. And, importantly to many, the shifters would be mounted in
> a protected area safe from crashes.
>
> OK all you out there, what am I missing here?
>
Roger
A couple of things to bear in mind:
1) The shifters must be brazed onto a butted section of the tube.
2) Watch your wedding tackle in a crash situation.
--
Roger
Web: http://freespace.virgin.net/roger.cantwell
ICQ: 40038278
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NEWSGROUPS
obvious joke being how many kids do you have and do you plan to have any
more? Or, would you like a new pair of nostrils between your nipples? If
memory serves, the CPSC threw these things out for safety reasons. You have
obviously never ridden a Schwinn Varsity.
Try bar ends ( no removing your hands from the bar), Old MTB above the
bar thumb shifters (Mavic or Sun Tour) . Down tube shifters were designed
to be used in one comfortable motion and be out of the way of flailing body
parts during a fall. Don't try to reinvent the bicycle, its all been tried
before.
--
Synergy Cycling Technical Services
syn...@tstar.net
Richard H. Kokemoor
Your last comment is right, of course. I have a stem shifter on my old
Schwinn Suburban, and I don't recommend it. I have bar end shifters on my
road bike because I didn't like removing one hand from the bars in a rapid
descent to shift to a lower gear in preparation for the coming climb. My
point was, the stem shifter is as convenient as (and has the same
disadvantages as) the proposed top tube shifters, without alterations to the
frame or especial cable routing difficulty.
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"NEWSGROUPS" <jla...@tstar.net> wrote in message
news:RSdE4.93201$Pa1.2...@news6.giganews.com...
bryan
and my first year at college (until it was stolen--flippin'
Eugene, OR) was a Schwin World with Suntour shifters on the
stem. In my experience, ramming my crotch into a stem equipped
with these shifters (unless one of the arms was pointed straight
back towards me) was not significantly worse than ramming my
crotch into the forged steel elbow of the stem itself. Besides,
the only time your hips get that far forward on a bike is when
you're about to endo, in which case groin trauma pales in
comparison to the injuries you will likely suffer to the rest of
your body when you go tumbling forward from your suddenly
stationary frame.
After years on such a bike, it was natural for me to reach in-
and-up (from the drops) to shift, rather than in-and-down to the
downtube. Even now, I occasionally feel awkward shifting this
way. Eventually, I'm sure I'll make the switch to STI and never
have to move my hands from the drops ever again--all hail market
forces.
Thanks, --Bryan
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Alex Rodriguez
>
>Being basically cheap I have managed to resist the urge to buy the
>latest STI or Ergo equiped bikes. I do, however, detest down tube
>shifters as being too long a reach from the bars to the shifters and
>back especially when running at a good pace (for me). I got around this
>for my commuting touring bike by modifying a set of mtb rapid fire
>shifters to slip onto road bars up near the stem. This works but it is
>quite kludgey looking and I would never think of doing this to my nice
>road bike.
>
>Thinking about this today it occured to me that the top tube is not a
>long reach and it should be possible to have the standard shifter braze
>ons located about 3 inches or so behind the steering stem. The cables
>would then run along the top tube, turn around the seat tube and run
>down the seat stay to the rear and the seat tube to the front a la many
>mtb's. This would be a lot simpler than the old stem mounted shifters
>as you would not need all the extra cable housing. Also it should be a
>tiny bit more aero as the cables now run horizontally along the top tube
>and down the rear of the seat stay and seat tube. And there would be no
>plastic thingy at the bottom bracket to catch dirt and wear the cable.
>
>I know the racers are not going to adopt this as they all have combo
>levers. Touring bikes, on the other hand, may find this of some
>benefit. It would simplify the cable housing arrangements to the
>handlebars by removing half of them. The shifters would be quite
>accessable. And, importantly to many, the shifters would be mounted in
>a protected area safe from crashes.
>
ACtually, you might not be missing something. Specifially your crotch
area when you need to make a speedy dismount. Stem mounted shifters or
barcons, as others have pointed out, would be a better choice.
-----------------
Alex __O
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