All the pieces for my CX / hybrid / thing are slowly coming together but I'm still very much undecided on shifters. STI is out, so it's looking like either thumbies or bar end. As an aside, I'm surprised that no one makes a mount for attaching downtube shifters to the steering stem ... it could take the form of a headset spacer. Maybe I should knock one up?

While bar end shifters would seem to be the obvious choice, part of me is drawn towards thumb shifters ... but I wonder whether that's partly because I've never (for more than a few minutes) ridden with bar end shifters.

So ... are you happy with your B/E shifters? Did you struggle getting used to them? Should I just shut up and buy something?

Opinions, experiences and observations welcome.

Why no STI's Stu??

Having had the Fargo a year I'm used to them now, particularly once I'd got into the frame of mind that the clicks were a rough approximation rather than an exact representation of shifting (microshift w. Shimano 9-spd)

A niggle, most apparent when loaded and solo (and I think I mentioned to you after WRT), was when the bars spun round when opening a gate or hefting the bike and you get jabbed in the ribs or groin with a shifter.

Also when laying the bike down (intentially or otherwise) your shifters will take the brunt of the fall :? or clobber your toptube.

(These two are probably less of an issue if you aren't using flared drops like my woodchippers)

Finally, on WRT one of them came loose and took a far bit of disassembly to tighten, it also needed a longer allenkey for the expanding wedge than my multi-tool had. A chance encounter with a fellow WRT'er at a supply stop sorted that thankfully!

I found them 'ok' but not ideal if you are going fast or decide you want to change gear grinding up a hill. I liked the nice click action and the simplicity.

I swapped to Microshift brifters as they were much cheaper than shimano and i actually prefer the action, 2 gear levers instead of a rotating brake levers. You can even trim the front mech. Hopefully they will last ok.

I had a kelly take off on a bike before and that was better than bar ends and shifted well from the hood, might be another option if you can get a set.

I swear I've seen someone in singletrack mount their rohloff shifter into one of those bar extender thingies that are designed for lights/computers etc.

The chap was riding an on one with drops but that's about as helpful as I can be :( It did look very neat though

These are winning me over at the moment, just seems like the neatest solution.



No STI Ben due to mis-match of road and mountain bike bits ... and they're waaay too expensive

s8tannorm wrote:
No STI Ben due to mis-match of road and mountain bike bits ... and they're waaay too expensive

Are you using 10 speed?
And how about mounting rapidfire shifters like this? http://www.ecovelo.info/2008/11/12/alfi ... drop-bars/

Are you using 10 speed?

9 spd.

That's truly fugly

http://www.tweekscycles.com/Product.do? ... tAodCDoA7w
How about these, they will work with 9 speed mtb rear mechs, if the cable is routed like this,
and would probs work out cheaper than a set of drop levers and the above thumbie things?

s8tannorm wrote:These are winning me over at the moment, just seems like the neatest solution.

I like those. Thats what I'd go for with flat bars.
I want a 10 speed one, but only a RH. Cant seem to get one on its own though :(

With drops I'd go STI or downtube mounts.

http://bricklanebikesshop.co.uk/product ... fter-mount

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... -prod13670

I wonder if those MicroShift thumbies could be persuaded to fit onto the 26.0 diameter of a road drop bar...? :idea:

I like those. Thats what I'd go for with flat bars.

I'll be running drops, I reckon they could be either mounted on top of the centre section or spun so the levers are underneath the bar.

I want a 10 speed one, but only a RH. Cant seem to get one on its own though

I know it's out of stock but would this be any good?

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/dia-compe-en ... prod32085/

I wonder if those MicroShift thumbies could be persuaded to fit onto the 26.0 diameter of a road drop bar...?

Don't know but Paul does a 26mm thumbie mount.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/paul-road-th ... prod20973/

I wonder if those MicroShift thumbies could be persuaded to fit onto the 26.0 diameter of a road drop bar...?

Don't know but Paul does a 26mm thumbie mount.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/paul-road-th ... prod20973/

Aha! Thanks for that link

Retroshift (http://www.retroshift.com/) if you are running drops

Retroshift (http://www.retroshift.com/) if you are running drops

If they were available in the UK I'd have some. I'm not running the risk of getting stung for duty and none of the European sites listed actually seem to have any mention of them ... or they didn't when I looked a couple of weeks ago.

I will be in the US in December if you still want some then :)

paul78 wrote:I will be in the US in December if you still want some then :)

How much would they turn out at?

£120 ish for CX2v's

Bar end shifters I really rate.

I've used them, and my boy has a set on his bike after breaking a set of STis.

Virtually indestructable, I prefer using the non indexing shifting.

I've just made the switch to downtube shifters after a 6 day tour to Wales. I'd been using bar end shifters for about 8 months for commuting (on a Dawes Galaxy) and found them fine for shorter distances. Unfortunately using them for long days in the saddle highlighted a few draw backs. I found there was a balance between aesthetic cable routing and avoiding excess friction when shifting. I opted to run the cable tight to my bars so that they emerged from the bar tape just before my stem (opposed to the cable leaving the bar tape half-way up the bar as I've seen other people do). This resulted in tonnes of friction and also made finding a rear gear cable a real struggle as most weren't long enough to accommodate for the extra length needed to run the cable around the bars.

I also found that changing gears out of the saddle was a bit awkward. Although it's manageable on road I think off roaring would be made much harder especially if your descending on a rough surface at the same time or breaking on the loose stuff.

Finally my shifters did come loose which I can see being a more frequent problem if your roughing it. On the plus side if your into riding on the drops then you can break, steer and change gear all from the same position.

no one makes a mount for attaching downtube shifters to the steering stem

Funnily enough I saw some of those exact mounts yesterday. In Taiwan at the mo and a company here makes them - will post a pic. I have some thumbie mounts from the same company with MTB and road bar shims. Thumbies near the stem would get my vote for access and lack of general interferance with bags, at the cost of a bit of bar space.

Here it is - could be a bar-roll snagger .. reversed mounting may put the cables in the way of the top tube? On top of the stem would be better.

The cable guides kind of look like they're adjustable though? maybe?

Here it is - could be a bar-roll snagger .. reversed mounting may put the cables in the way of the top tube? On top of the stem would be better.

Last night, I started to draw out a steering stem spacer that has integral shifter mounts ... I think it can be done so the shifters sit just to the side of the stem, one each side.

If you want to put your shifters anywhere, Di2 is the one to play with