Bicycle Mechanics - stem to downtube shifters

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spindle
10-03-04, 11:43 AM
i've got an old road bike with shifters mounted on the stem. the cables and housing need replacing anyway, and i was wondering if while i did that if i could change to downtube shifters. can you put downtube shifters on any bike or do there need to be braze-ons of some kind?
thanks.

sydney
10-03-04, 02:46 PM
i've got an old road bike with shifters mounted on the stem. the cables and housing need replacing anyway, and i was wondering if while i did that if i could change to downtube shifters. can you put downtube shifters on any bike or do there need to be braze-ons of some kind?
thanks.There were plenty of clamp on downtube shifters. Some may still be listed in the QBP catalogue that can be found on the harriscyclery site or at LBS. You'll need to consier downtube diameter,but on most older bikes with stem shifters, it isn't an issue.
John E
10-04-04, 08:18 AM
eBay is also a good source of classic downtube shift levers. You can either match the brand of your derailleurs or go for an upgrade.

operator
10-04-04, 09:13 AM
Is there a good/bad side to switching from headset to downtube shifters?
sydney
10-04-04, 09:17 AM
Is there a good/bad side to switching from headset to downtube shifters?Personal preference.
jlin453
10-04-04, 09:18 AM
Is there a good/bad side to switching from headset to downtube shifters?

Personally, if I'm in the drops and want to shift gears, reaching for the headset shifters is already pretty low. I wouldn't want to have to reach even lower and farther back for the downtube shifters.
sydney
10-04-04, 09:36 AM
Personally, if I'm in the drops and want to shift gears, reaching for the headset shifters is already pretty low. I wouldn't want to have to reach even lower and farther back for the downtube shifters.Actually,downtubes in that situation are more convenient.
walterk46
10-04-04, 10:02 AM
I just switched from stem shifters to downtube on Sunday. The new (used) clamp-on downtube shifters came from e-bay. It was a no-hassle job, about fifteen minutes altogether.

Walter
jimhens714
10-04-04, 11:34 PM
I did this conversion on an old road bike a couple of years ago. It was a 12 speed with friction shifters on the stem. I changed to a 7 speed freewheel and found a set of Shimano 7 speed clamp on downtube shifters and incidentally the rear one is indexed. It works great. I also changed to a triple and the front shifter worked fine with this too. Makes for a nice 21 speed index shifting commuter.