old's'cool

Hi C&Vers,

I just won an auction on Ebay for a Ross Gran Tour that I am planning to use as a mainstay commuting bike. Here is a link to the listing.
It will be replacing a 1987 Miyata 312 that is a little small for me. Before zeroing in on the Ross as a replacement, I was thinking of moving all the components of the Miyata on to what ever larger frame or bicycle I acquired. However, one of the flies in that ointment is the Miyata has shifter braze-ons, while the Ross has cable stops on the downtube. So I figure, maybe it's time for me to branch out and try brifters for the first time. Here is my thought process for the conversion:

1. I will keep existing Mallaird hub & rear wheelset
2. my choice of readily available brifters is limited to minimum 8 speed rear shifter
3. therefore my freewheel options are 8 speed, 7 speed, or 6 speed ultra,
4. however I do not want to run 130 OLD with a freewheel due to the bending moment (or spread the frame that far), but I see no need to sacrifice 2 gears and go with 6 speed, so I will go with a 7 speed freewheel, which is widely available new from Shimano and Sunrace
5. I will change to a longer axle to accomodate 7 spd freewheel OLD, and corresponding skewer
6. I will use the Light Action rear derailleur from the Miyata, that has indexed 6spd SIS shifting.

So, I think I have the rear end of the conversion figured out. What I'm looking for help with is recommended 3x8 brifters that are compatible with my scheme, and are neither too expensive, or goofy looking. For instance, I'm looking at a set of 3x8 Sora brifters, whose appearance I don't mind compared to some of the very modern ones, but how are they functionally?

I should point out here that I ride 90% of the time on the drops, and downtube shifters are great for me; so any shifter option other than downtube should ideally be accessible without having to lift my body up to the tops, for instance. SIS indexed bar-ends would probably suit me, but I fear they are rare and expensive, if not unobtainium.

I supposed I could be talked into a non-Shimano solution, if it is cost-effective and not in the hens teeth category. But I don't want to give up indexing, which takes out some of the stress of commuting in traffic.

I realize this topic is related to those of many earlier threads [that I did not read when they were current as I had no interest at the time], so if the guidance I'm seeking is in one of those threads, I'd be very grateful for links or search hints to find such threads.

Many thanks!

neo_pop_71

Hey old's'cool,

I'm sure you'll have plenty of input on various brifter options, so I'll spare you any of that. I can speak specifically to the 3x8 Sora brifters, I ran those for some time on a commuter and I can tell you confidently that they performed flawlessly. I never had an issue but you will want to pick up some inline cable adjusters for the shifting and/or braking because the Soras have no barrel adjusters (at least my older set didn't have any). I like the Soras enough to recycle them onto the road bike I'm building for my 9 year old, it'll be her first road bike so I figure that she might as well learn on brifters since they are here to stay.

Good luck!
-
-D-

p.s There is a really cool thread with with C&V bikes outfitted with brifters, some great inspiration on those pages.

jeirvine 

7-speed SIS DT shifter on a bar-end pod. I could hook you up. 8-speed brifters would not shift a 7-sp cluster correctly. Wrong spacing.

OTS 

Not trying to talk you out of brifters
Not my auction and am not associated with this but Bikewagon on fleabay has:
[h=1]Shimano Ultegra 8-Speed Bar End Shift Levers
Item #370900906529[/h]for $78

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old's'cool

OK, I'm here to be sch'ool'd, so tell me more. I always thought the spacing was the same for ultra 6, conventional 7sp, and conventional 8sp, so the shifters could interchange, at least in a downward compatible direction.
I am interested in the 7-speed SIS DT shifter on a bar-end pod. PM if desired.

jeirvine 

Campy 8-speed is indeed the same as Shimano 7-speed (5mm cog spacing). That's the magic of 'Shimergo" (Campy brifters shifting a Campy RD and 7-speed Shimano freewheel.) But Shimano 8-speed cogs are 4.8mm. Here's a classic crib sheet: Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Frame and Cassette Spacing Crib Sheet. I have quite a few odd 7-sp SIS DT shifters and some bar-end pods. I'll PM you w/details.
-John

ddeand 

Earlier this summer, I did a brifter conversion to my bike. I went from a 6-speed downtube index shifter to a 2x7 brake/shifter (I think 8-speed wouldn't work because of the cog spacing). At that time, I felt the best option was to go with a modern Shimano setup, so I used the Tourney brifters. They are certainly at the lower end of the shifter food chain, but they work very well - pretty smooth and quite accurate. But they use the thumb lever for down-shifting which I really don't care for (check out this post). I basically changed the freewheel, swapped in a new chain (7/8 speed), added the Tourney brake/shifters, installed new cables all around, and adjusted everything. The bike works flawlessly. I had no issues going to a 7-speed freewheel (126mm spacing) and have seen no issues with the shifting range of the Tourney. I didn't need to add a longer axle, but I did have to recenter the hub and freewheel on the original axle. Having said that, I might swap out the Tourney for personal and aesthetic reasons. I got a lot of my info online in terms of replacing the old downtube shifters with cable stops and the basic set-up of the bike. I also got a lot of help here!

I think there are some early brifters that are 3x7 (Shimano RSX STI shifters) and 2x7 (Shimano RX100) that might work.

Have fun with your project.

Dean

dedhed

You do know they make cable stops that fit over DT shifter braze ons.

https://www.cambriabike.com/Shimano-S...-Y67D98010.asp

bikemig 

Shimano 3 x 7 brifters, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...%207%20brifter,
would be a good choice.

old's'cool

I have the opposite issue... the frame has cable stops; I would rather have DT shifter braze-ons, but I'm considering brifters or indexed bar-ends to make use of the cable stops.

Ex Pres 

I was going to suggest the Shimano 7s Tourney shifters bikemig linked to above. He beat me to it.

Although those are shown as out, I did see Harris has them for $112, Bikeman has 2x7 for $92, but currently out of 3x7

Velocivixen

I find some of the responses here interesting. Recently I asked about this in my "mountain bike conversion" thread and had a few suggest that indexed 8 speed brifters/shifters would work "good enough" with 7 speed cassette. So...not the case?

09box

I would try and seek out a set of 7 spd bar end shifters. I use them and have no issues.

wrk101

I don't find the responses unusual. All are opinions, including mine. Part of it depends on your definition of "good enough". Using 8 speed for 7 speed works OK, are tricky to set up. And with the new 7 speed Tourney STI, I no longer recommend kludging 8 speed shifters. And of course, you need a road front derailleur, not a MTB front derailleur.

Why get "good enough" when you can get ideal?

+10 Tuning a front derailleur for STI operation, particularly a triple, can be a PITA. Meanwhile, bar ends with friction front are near bulletproof.

ksryder

My 2 cents -- I had 3x8 Sora (3300) that came on my 07 Trek 1000 that I ran for years. Awful. Never could get them tuned right, especially the FD. Plus the thumb levers are awkward and there's way too much reach on the other levers. Supposedly the new Sora is great but it's 9 speed so that won't help.

FWIW, on a different bike with a 7 speed I just installed ultegra 8 speed bar ends and they work fantastic. Roughly the same price as the Shimano Tourney brifters and much more attractive.

Bianchigirll 

Why? Is there some special about this frame I don't know about? Does it have a ChroMo frame or fork?

Unless you have all the parts on the shelf sounds like an expensive project. You could find a decent brifter equipped bike?

bikemig 

+ 1. This will like end up being the cheaper way to go.

Velocivixen

@wrk101- ok, helpful answer. You're right about what is "good enough" for each person. Thanks.

rhm

I don't want to complicate things unnecessarily, but even Shimano has used two or more different spacings for 7 speed freewheels / cassettes, no? I tried to change out a 14-28 7sp freewheel in favor of a mega-range one, also 7sp, and the latter was several mm wider. No go.

noglider 

This is news to me!

dedhed

Yep read that wrong. it won't help you.

Mishmash issues was one of the reasons when I converted my '87 Trek commuter to brifters I skipped all that stuff in between and went right to 10 S Ultegra triple and new wheels. I wasn't trying to use a bunch of stuff I had or go as cheap as I could, my goal was to have a full Ultegra commuter on a classic frame for less than the cost of a similar equiped new bike.

likebike23

I'm with WRK101 on this one. The front shifting with brifters will be a pain without the shift aids of modern chainrings. If it were me, I would get a pair of these:Origin8 Shifter Mount Downtube Adaptor 31.8/28 and just move everything over from the Miyata. BTW, I have a soft spot for those Ross Grand Tours, my dad bought me one when I was 14, my first road bike.

old's'cool

Hey, thanks for the suggestion and the link. Unfortunately:
[h=1]Shimano Tourney ST-A070 3 x 7-Speed STI Lever Set[/h]

by Shimano

4.2 out of 5 stars 11 customer ratings | 9 customer reviews



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Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.


Other than that, with their modern day entry level styling, they would look a little out of place an 80's touring bike, but I could probably get over that if the price was right. I'll look around and see if I can find them anywhere.

old's'cool

Hey thanks everyone for all the inputs.
Based on what I'm reading, I'm kinda keen on SIS compatible bar-ends (indexed rear, of course, friction front). So what specific models should I be seeking?

Regarding the choice of frame, don't get me wrong... I didn't start out desiring a brifter bike and I'm rapidly getting talked out of considering brifters for this project.
The choice of bike was dictated by a rugged, not high-end, touring style frame in my size to supplant the undersized Miyata 312 (modded to 318) currently in my stable serving as a damp weather commuter. When my search netted a complete bike in the same price range as a bare frameset, the project morphed from moving all the components from the Miyata onto a replacement bare frameset, to just modding the Ross to suit my preferences. It currently has 5 speed friction with stem shifters and cable stops; Goal is 6 or 7 speed indexed. Rear axle mod is already sorted, in my head at least. Shifting options (all SIS-compatible rear) on the table are/were:

1. DT shifters (from my parts bin) with a downtube clamp to be acquired;
2. 3x7 brifters, if I can find any at a reasonable price (not $100 range)
3. 3x8 brifters (probably going take this idea to the edge of a cliff and push it off)
4. bar-ends (again, SIS-compatible rear, or forget it)

I was kind of Jonesing to make proper use of the cable stops, since they're there, but obviously the cheapest easiest option is #1 . So it will probably end up being option 1, or else option 4, if I luck out scoring an original SIS (not kludged) bar-end shifter set.

bikemig 

Cheap is good on a commuter so (1) and (4) are probably your best options. Still brifters aren't crazy for commuting with. The 3 x 7s are available, Shimano Tourney St A070 2 x 7 Speed STI Lever Set Front and Rear Shifter Brake | eBay.