Jeff Neese

I finally finished the rebuild on this 1997 Specialized Sirrus. It came with 3x7 RX100 brifters which I knew were going to be replaced when I bought the bike, I just didn't know with what.



I got everything else done but still hadn't determined a good solution for braking and shifting. So I decided to make use of what I already had laying around, just to get it on the road and see how it felt. I assumed it would be temporary, and it still may be, but for now this is the setup I landed on and I couldn't be happier. I'm going to ride it this way for the rest of the season and may end up keeping it this way. I actually love this setup.




I could have used downtube shifters that I also have kicking around, but with the more upright position of these Soma Oxford bars (Nitto Albatross clone) the placement of these stem shifters are extremely convenient. Naturally they shift great. Go ahead and roast me for using stem-mounted shifters, but in this case they're perfect. And I really like the multiple hand positions of the Soma Oxfords. The bike itself handles great, as I expected it would with the frame that it has.

By the way, I'd like to thank kansascity for the shifters. Last year he offered a box of stem shifters for just the cost of shipping, and I grabbed them for a "just in case" scenario. Hopefully he'll see this and be glad to know they were put to good use.

merziac

We need a full on big pic of this.

GCBM

Love it! Stem shifters are the first I recall using. Why fix what ain't broke?

Murray Missile 

I built a beater bike a few years ago out of a Schwinn World Sport. I used a 3 X 7 Shimano SIS drivetrain with indexed stem shifters. I loved being able to shift with just my thumbs when riding the top of the Schwinn Approved randonneur bars I salvaged from a flat bar conversion. I even stooped so low as to keep the turkey levers that came with them. I liked the arrangement so well that when I decommisioned it I kept the bar setup and shifters for future use.

Bianchigirll 

Cool. I’ve been considering those Suntour PowerRatchet stem shifters if I need to replace the Ergos on Samantha.

jethin

Well I, for one, have lost all respect for you. Harumph!

noglider 

As bike lovers in the 1970s and 1980s, we looked down our noses at bikes with stem shifters. And there is nothing wrong with them. Snobbery proves to be less useful than I thought. I even had stem shifters on my Raleigh International briefly in 2015.

droppedandlost 

Yes

Aubergine 

As I recall, it was the combination of stem shifters and turkey levers that generated the criticism, for a practical reason. They encouraged riders to hold the bars too close to the stem, leaving the rider with insufficient leverage to control the bike over bumps etc.

79pmooney

The dark side. At the bike shop I worked in my '70s racing days, we would try to convince male buyers to upgrade to DTs or bar ends if we thought they might be open to it. (We had in mind the "what if your crotch comes in contact with the stem in as crash".) At my last race, I was staying at the once grand hotel of an old NH city. Wheeling my bike and bag in, an old man, resident there, approached me in the lobby to tell me he had done just that. Sobering.

Fredo76

Not sure if I'd have stayed at that hotel. Too many weirdos.

alcjphil

When I bought my Peugeot UO8 in 1972, it came with stem mounted shifters which I thought would be great. I found out that I really disliked them. I mostly rode with my hands on the brake hoods so that reaching the shifters was awkward. I also found that the force needed to shift made me wobble from the torque of the shift on the steer tube. Before that summer was out, I converted to downtube shifters which I found more manageable as I didn't have to sit up to shift, I just reached down to the shifter on the downtube
I still own a bike with downtube shifters and wouldn't try to change anything about it

AdventureManCO 

Jus sayin’…


see the 00:12 mark

Jeff Neese

Here's the obligatory garage door portrait.

What I learned about these bars is that while they do provide a nice, "beach cruiser" position in the back, the forward position (where I have the brake levers) actually lets you put weight over the front wheel and gives you pretty nice control. Not like drops, but it handles pretty well with your hands in the forward position. And like I said, the position of those shifters is actually perfect for this application.

merziac

Tx!

Looks good from here, not particulaly my jam but a fine looking machine.

Jeff Neese

Not my normal thing either, but I have two other bikes with drop bars that I can ride. This is a fun change of pace. I can see why Albatross-style bars are popular.

I've got a saved search on eBay for some indexed, 7-speed Shimano bar ends. If I find a set (long shot NOS) then I'll buy another set of Nitto 135A Randonneur drop bars, and configure it that way. I really do prefer drops over anything else. But that would be one of next winter's projects. I'll ride it like this for a while.

Jeff Neese

I think the 00:18 mark is what was supposed to get our attention.

jethin

I think bikes with slacker geometry and basic tubesets make better upright riders. Think 70s Raleighs, Schwinns… But hey, y’all can do whatever the hell you want with your old bikes.

delbiker1 

I have 2 bikes with Velo-Orange Porteur handlebar, 1 with bar ends and 1 with brifters. It's similar to the Nitto bar pictured, less rise/drop and narrower. I have issues with using traditionally shaped drop bars, the Porteur is a fine option. I can still get pretty low and aero, but with a more upright overall position. The brake levers and brifters are positioned close to as pictured above, which gives a lot of hand room and positions. And, makes for easy access to braking and shifting from most of the bar area. I have the bar ends, 6400 8 speed, in friction mode, shifting a 12 speed 11-34 cassette. front is 46-34. Both derailleurs are 6500, short rear. On my Lemond Poprad, it is a very capable multi-use bike.

Adding: check out these 9 speed DA bar ends. https://www.ebay.com/itm/285098517840

swampyankee2

I bought a Super Course last week from a 92 year old guy who still had a garage full of bikes. He still rides on a regular basis but was complaining that he was getting a sore neck from being hunched over. The setup on your Specialized would be ideal for him.

merlinextraligh

Because you value your nuts?

Also if you’re taking your hand off the bars to shift anyway, downtube mounted shifters are only a slightly further reach, and have much less cable housing cable run.

Besides do you want your bike to look like a Schwinn Varsity?

smd4

I had stem shifters on two bikes--My BSO Sears Free Spirit and my low-end Centurion Sport DLX.

See the trend?

dddd

Good point about the shorter cabling. Sometimes it can be a chore scaring up the right size/type of ferrules to get modern compressionless cable housing on board using the cable housing stops provided for stem-shifter cabling.

But yeah, I do like that my better-performing Supersport looks about like a Schwinn Varsity, makes it a sleeper.