Do I have some weird kind of downtube shifter?
06-27-23, 09:20 PM
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Do I have some weird kind of downtube shifter?
I was wondering why the labels on these downtube shifter washers/plates are upside down? Are they supposed to be attached in a different orientation?
06-27-23, 09:33 PM
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Are they swapped right for left? (It has never once occurred to me to look to see my washer plate orientation and I've been riding SunTour down tube shifters since the later days of the dinosaurs.)
06-27-23, 09:38 PM
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Nah, they’re both exactly the same in regard to vertical symmetry and can’t be rotated without compromising functionality. So my only guess was that the entire assembly would have to be oriented in a different fashion. Who knows!
06-27-23, 09:49 PM
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There's a whole thread here somewhere on misprints; I know non-fixie has some Campy toe clips with the logo upside down, there's a Trek with a letter missing from the seat stay cap cartouche, upside down hub labels...happens all the time.
06-27-23, 09:55 PM
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Good golly, those are almost 50 years old.
IIRC, those plates were used on a couple different shifters. The type orientation would look correct on a handlebar-mounted shifter, I think.
IIRC, those plates were used on a couple different shifters. The type orientation would look correct on a handlebar-mounted shifter, I think.
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06-27-23, 10:19 PM
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I thought that may be true as well. However, the diameter of the clamp fits the down tube perfectly. They wouldn’t have been able to fit a stem properly, correct?
06-27-23, 10:20 PM
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There's a whole thread here somewhere on misprints; I know non-fixie has some Campy toe clips with the logo upside down, there's a Trek with a letter missing from the seat stay cap cartouche, upside down hub labels...happens all the time.
06-27-23, 10:44 PM
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Those shifters look to be in excellent condition.
06-27-23, 10:55 PM
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Yea that would make sense as well. Only question that raises in my mind is “why?”. Downtube shifters seem to be the majority in regards to the ratio of the number of dowtube to stem shifters in existence. So why in that case would they manufacture parts oriented for the minority?
Also they were nos. According to the person who sold them to me that is.
Also they were nos. According to the person who sold them to me that is.
06-28-23, 06:38 PM
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BITD of stem shifters and brake “safety” levers, they were used on the least expensive and highest volume seller bike models. Far more stem shifter bikes sold than bikes that would have used low end derailleurs with DT levers. Further up the food chain, better quality gear trains all had DT levers.
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06-28-23, 06:50 PM
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With the popularity of 1X drives some years ago, VO built an updated single. Never seen one in the wild.
06-28-23, 06:52 PM
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Gad! You know you’re old when your cranial hard (head) drive contains history!*#%!
Sad to say, but back in the 70’s bike boom days an entry level drop bar bike HAD to have those latest “convenience features” to sell to inexperienced and/or uninformed buyers.
Sad to say, but back in the 70’s bike boom days an entry level drop bar bike HAD to have those latest “convenience features” to sell to inexperienced and/or uninformed buyers.
06-28-23, 07:14 PM
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Also have a look at this restoration site, a couple of beauties.
I may even try this someday. I once thought this was heresy.
I may even try this someday. I once thought this was heresy.
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