TXBDan

Hello,

I have an interesting situation. I'm rebuilding an '87 Schwinn which came w/ friction stem shifters (that click) and a 6speed freewheel cassette.

I put on a modern 700c wheel w/ an 8speed mountain cassette and an old Alivio 8speed derailer. Is there any hope that i could use the original friction shifters w/ this rear derailer? I suppose i could feel my way through the gears, but i'm not sure if the shifters will have enough range to cover the 8 cassette cogs.

Any ideas? I'll probably try it in a few days if i don't hear otherwise. Thanks!

SoreFeet

Try it...It will probably work. The clicking is a ratchet mechanism and not index right? If the stem shifters can pull enough cable it should work fine. The most logical upgrade at this point if you have the funds is to get a set of bar end shifters. The 8 speed ultegra shifters should index fine with a little adjustment. I too am a newbie and experimenting with different combinations.

From what I understand it doesnt matter what shifter use if they are in friction. My old shimano stem shifters made licking noises but clearly they were not indexed. Good luck.

supcom

The shifter should work fine in friction mode.

greenwithwheels

if its something like a suntour power ratchet it will work fine all the clicks are for is to the action of the shifter a bit lighter feeling. but that is the beauty, one of the only, of friction is taht you can run any brand in the back if you have a long enough cage on the derailleur

rmfnla

What does cage length have to do with shifter range?

Berre

I have a 6 interval/friction shifter (two modes selectable)

In interval mode the range seems limited to 6 clicks only, maybe it has a wider range in friction mode, but I wouldn't bet on it. The best way to find out is to give it a try.

TXBDan

It works!

I'm using a 9 speed road cassette, an 8 speed mountain long cage deraileur, and the 20 yrd old 6speed friction shifters.

It all works fine and i can engage the full range of gears. cool!

Thanks all

well biked

Good ol' friction shifting. As for the "eight speed" Alivio rear derailleur, it would work even if you were using nine speed Shimano indexed shifters with your nine speed cassette. In fact, it will index just fine with any Shimano or Shimano-compatible index shifter including 6,7,8,9, or 10 speed, as long as the shifters aren't eight speed or earlier Dura-Ace. All index-compatible Shimano rear derailleurs have the same cable pull ratio except pre-nine-speed Dura Ace. Your Alivio derailleur was simply marketed as "eight speed," but in reality the number of "speeds" are in the (indexed) shifter and rear cogs-

caotropheus

I have a 7 speed cassette in a mountain bicycle with a SRAM X7 derrailleur operated by a cheapo TY Shimano thumb friction shifter. A friend has a modern 2007 Shimano XT drivetrain operated by 20 year old friction Shimano XT thumb shifters.