mjmorley

I just bought my first road bike last weekend. It's a 6 speed Peugeot from the 80s with down tube friction shifters and drop handle bars. I'd like to convert to bar end shifters as I'm more comfortable using those.

I'm not a mechanic by any means, but the shop I bought the bike from will install bar end shifters free of labor costs; I've just gotta find the shifters.

So, I've been looking around for a good pair of used bar end shifters, preferably Suntour or Shimano as I've heard those are good brands. I don't like the newer looking Shimanos as they have a lot of plastic components, which makes me wary.

I found a pair of old school Shimano bar end shifters on Ebay and they seem good to me, but I wanted to get more experienced advice on how much they're worth and whether they'll work for my bike.

Here's the ebay link: https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:B:WNA:US:1123

Is $40 + shipping (~$5) too much to pay for these? Would they work for my bike?

BlankCrows

The SunTour bar end shifters (Barcon is the model name) have a ratcheting function and perform better than the Shimano and Campagnolo bar end shifters from that era. They are less likely to slip. The SunTour bar end shifters were sold with the Schwinn name on them as well.

Here is a link to the most common SunTour bar end shifters over at velobase.com

Note: It is more common to find them without the slotted, smooth finishing nuts on them.

GV27

Those will work fine - $40 is too much but right now they're ~$16 with 2.5 hours to go. Bid $25 for them.

divineAndbright

I use shimano ones like that, only mine still have the rubbery plastic covers on them (not sure if the ones in the auction are actually missing them or they are meant to be like that), I typically see them go between 30-40$ used. I've used some suntour ones before too and dont really notice any difference in performance, but if they are indeed better I havent noticed why. The suntour variety makes annoying (or cool, depending who you are) ratcheting noises while you're shifting. I hear the campagnolo bar ends of the era were the worst of the 3.

CMC SanDiego

I personally have installed two sets of Suntour Barcons and love them. If I couldn't find any of those I'd probably try the "silver shifter bar-ends" from Rivendell https://www.rivbike.com/products/list...product=17-089
They come as a kit which includes all the cables, housing, end caps, and downtube cable stops (basically everything you would need). They're reputed to work as well as the Suntours.

sced

I've installed two sets Ultegra 8spd barcons, which ratchet in friction mode, and they are excellent.

beech333

I have a set of Suntour barcons that I recently put on my daily rider. I love them so much that I bought two more sets off craigslist with the intention of adding a pair to my S10-S and I'll have a pair for whatever bike I might come across.

mjmorley

Thanks for all of the advice! I need some help again, though. I wasn't able to get those shifters as someone outbid me.

After that I decided I would just have Refried Cycles (the store I bought my bike from) order some shifters since they said they could find some for $40.

Unfortunately, when I called last, their supplier didn't have anymore of the $40 ones, which I think were Shimano 8 speed. They said they could order $90 9-speed shifters, but those ended up being unavailable as well.

Now I'm looking to buy something online again, but I need help deciphering what's the best deal.

I'm thinking 8-speed would be sufficient since I have 6-speed friction down tube shifters right now. I don't need the highest end item, just something that's reliable and works well.

Any suggestions?

And is this a good deal? https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...+Shifters.aspx

Gonzo Bob

If you are running them in friction mode, it doesn't matter what 'speed' they. All of Shimano's indexed bar-end shifters have friction mode *except* the SL-BS79 (10-speed).

I have SL-BS50 (7-speed) on one bike and SL-BS77 on another and I like them a lot. I picked up the SL-BS50 NOS on eBay about 5 years ago for $40 but I seem to remember searching for months before I found some. The SL-BS50-8 at Jenson's sounds like a good deal.

Rabid Koala

I prefer the Shimano barcons to the SunTour ones. They have the counter springs like Simplex Retrofriction shifters do.

$40 for that pair without the covers is high. That one surprised me.

tmh657

I got some Shimano 9 speed bar end shifters, (SL-BS77) on the bay 3 months ago for $48.03 so they are out there.
I put them on a Trek 660 w/ a new 9 speed cassette. It purrs.
It's hard to go back to 7 speeds on my other bike but I will somehow manage.

unworthy1

mjmorley: I might have a pair of the old Shimanos (coil spring, no click, no ratchet, friction only) and I'm in SF...PM me and we'll talk.