stringmaster

I plan to change my 1984 Fuji Team Fuji Suntour Cyclone friction shift 12 speed from down tube to bar end friction shifters. Any tips and tricks? Preferred cable and housing? Best cable path from handle bar to down tube cable stops? Anything else?
Thanks
Jim

Tim_Iowa

Tips:

1) Cross the shift cables; it keeps the cable housings from rubbing on the sides of the head tube. Run the cable housing from the right (rear) bar-end to the LEFT downtube cable stop, and run the left (front) cable housing to the RIGHT downtube cable stop. Cross the cables along the downtube and run them to their correct guides on the bottom bracket.

2) Cable housing under the bar wrap, or exposed? Your choice. Some folks leave the entire housing run exposed. Some wrap the first six inches, and then let the cable protrude and run exposed. Some wrap the cable up the entire bar, and have it protrude at the stem next to the brake cables.

I used to wrap just the first six inches, but I changed to fully-wrapped once I started using a front bag. The exposed cable gets in the way of a front bag.

3) You can use any good-quality shift cable and housing. If you decide to fully enclose the housing in the bar wrap, you may need to purchase extra long housing and cable. Extra long shift cables are available for tandems, for example.

4) Since you'll be shifting from the drops, you may want to raise your stem a bit, if reaching the drops is a stretch for you.

Which bar-end shifters do you plan to use?

fietsbob

shimano's 8 & 9 speed indexed bar cons come with cables housing and the widget you put over the down tube shift boss to make the lower housing stop..

6 speed friction or like SunTour's power ratchet bar end shifters are less fussy and regular brake housing is adequate.

Personally I wrap the housing under the tape and have it exit at the brake lever mounting band, towards the inside of the bar.

it gives clear routing around any handle bar bag and at that point the bar wrap is already discontinuous at the brake lever anyhow..

Eric S.

I leave my cables exposed. Changing out cables is not a frequent task, but I don't want bar wrapping to be a part of the job.

RubeRad

Don't forget you probably need to buy cable stops to screw onto the bosses you take the shifters off, as a place to hold (stop) the shifter cable housing coming from the bar ends.

If you're not 100% set on bar-ends, consider also Retroshift aka Gevenalle shifters. You would have to buy the special brake levers, but if you already have DT shift levers you would probably be able to keep using them (vs maybe needing to buy different bar-end levers with 'pods')

fietsbob

You can change the cables But leave the Housing in Place, and the Bar tape job intact..

mstateglfr 

Let the handlebar shape determine if you try to run the cables all the way under the tape. I have barends on 2 bikes- one with Nitto Randonneur bars where the cables exit at the stem and one with some dirt drop bars with a lot of flare on the drops so the cables exit about 7 wraps at the point when the drops start to hook up. The dirt drop bars have bends that are too severe to wrap cabling under the tape. Both bikes shift perfectly fine, and both are friction. There is no lag/stick either way.

mconlonx

By the time I need to replace cables and housing, I can usually use new bar tape as well...

I prefer to wrap the whole length of the bar, but if you do so, the cable run will be longer and you may find standard shifter cables too short, requiring a tandem length cable to reach the rear der.

Wilfred Laurier

I run my cable housing under the first two inches or so of tape then loop it back to the cable stop on the same side of the frame. I wrap my bars from the bar end up, and you have to pay attention when transitioning from cable-housing-under-the-tape to cable-housing-outside-of-the-tape to get the wrap as close as possible. Otherwise it is a very straightforward job.

agobel

Have you decided what shifters you're going to use?

Shimano & Shimano-y downtube stops are widely available on eBay and Amazon, as well as from Rivendell. Velo Orange sells nice $10 stops. VO cables, which are excellent quality and nicely priced, come in an array of fun colors if you're into that sort of thing (which you should be).

Install tip: Before tightening the rear shifter cable in place, note the angle of the lever relative to the handlebar end. Instead of simply pushing it all the way down to max loose (potentially 90'), you can stop the lever short if you have smallish hands-- another nice little benefit of going with friction.

HillRider

+1 If you expect barend shifters to be much more convenient than downtube you are likely to be disappointed. The Gevenalle brake lever mounted shifters are much more accessable than either downtube or barend shifters. They are much less costly and complex and more durable than brifters. They are available in a friction-only format which will allow you to use your current 6-speed freewheel or can be used with your current shift levers.

I have barend shifters on one bike and Retroshift/Gevenalle shifters on three others and have ridden downtube shifters extensively. The Gevenalle's have the others beaten hands-down.

otg 

Not the best picture, but this is my Trek 600, converted to a 9 speed drivetrain. I use the bar ends in index mode and they work flawlessly.

stringmaster

Thanks for the excellent info.
I got used Dura Ace 7800 bar ends from eBay. Have aero brake handles and will try to run housing under bar tape. I remain concerned about cable friction. Any housing/cable product distinguished in this regard?
Thanks
Jim

cale

Cable friction shouldn't be a problem. FWIW, Jagwire Mountain Pro brake housing is compressionless (kevlar reinforced) and would make for "extra crispy" shifts. But I think it's overkill to use anything other than what's on hand.

dabac

All DT cable stops and all DT shifter mount bosses aren't created equal. I ended up using a Dremel to create some extra clearance inside mine to get the base to sit flush with the downtube.
Not a big deal since I had the tool, and not a functional issue.
But it'd have annoyed the heck out of me if I'd have had to ride around with that ugly gap.