msvphoto

My wife has taken a liking to one of my road bikes I got a few years ago for me to ride. The bike is a (Chris King) Cielo frame from the early 1980s built all Dura-Ace from the era. The cassette is 6spd, Uniglide I'm pretty sure. Currently downtube friction shifters. Assuming I make this bike more "hers" (Do I have a choice? No.) and she wants/needs "brifters" (I still haven't warmed up to that word) because she has a hard time safely reaching the downtube friction shifters.

My understanding from reading the Sheldon Brown Dura-Ace compatibility page is that old 6-7-8 spd Dura Ace all index the same. Being friction I suspect the derailleur is probably pre-STI (which began in 1984 and the bike was built in more like 1982). So, my question is, is it safe to assume if I get a set of used Dura-Ace STI shifters for 8 spd that it may index correctly?

oldskoolwrench

The other thing to take into consideration is that the old Dura Ace R. derailleur wasn't index capable, for it didn't have a Centeron floating upper pulley. That being said, the only way to see if it will work is to hook everything up and give it a try.

dsbrantjr

Would your wife be amenable to some nice bar end shifters?

msvphoto

I thought about that too. Perhaps. Sure would be a simpler idea wouldn't it? Cheaper too.

@oldskoolwrench, thanks for the advice, the RD was the component I wasn't sure about and it sounds like an expensive slippery slope. I think there is no mid-point. Keep the bike vintage as-is (perhaps with bar end shifters) or cold set the rear triangle and go for a full "upgrade" (which to me is a really bad idea because this bike is such a sweet vintage ride as-is and for the cost of the upgrade components I could find her a suitable bike on CL). "Her" bike is slightly newer, a Kestrel 4000, that at least has indexed shifting (downtube shifters still) so it could easily be converted. Hmmm...

Thanks again for your thoughts on this!