JanMM

About 25-30 years too late to complain about that newfangled S.I.S..

Cougrrcj

To those Modernistas that say that they need nine-ten-11-speed clusters, I have to ask 'Why?' Do you really have more gear choices than a 3x6(-7)??? Since I've never been a racer and am more of a sport-tourer, my preferred cadence/gear is more like a 81 inch-gear. So the more gears I have near that ratio, the better.

Tony Marley

Yes, you probably are. But it is your bike; your ride. As long as you are riding, who cares?

osco53

I never have had a problem adjusting those shifters,,odd

BluesDawg

Several mentions of not "needing" this or that. Unless you are one of the invisible cyclists who ride bikes out of necessity because you can't afford a car and no public transportation is available where you are, what the heck does "need" have to do with anything?

qcpmsame 

+1 BD, ride what you want to ride, equipped the way you want the bicycle to be set up, and no on has any business criticizing your choices, about anything about your cycling choices.

Bill

choteau

+1 Ride what you want. Bicycles are as personal as underwear, one size/type does NOT fit all.

big john

Nobody said they needed anything, some stuff is just cool to have, or at least try. I have Chorus 10 speed on a ti bike with a carbon fork. It's cool and I like it a lot, but I don't actually "need" it.
Like BD said, "What does need have to do with it"?
Oh, wtf is a "modernista"?

BlazingPedals

I've always been happy with the 3x9 systems on my bents. The only thing that would get me to change would be if the new 10/11 speed systems got a bit more durable so I could consider going to a 36/52 front and 11-36 rear, which would give me the same range as my current triples.

Needles

Every time I try to adjust indexed shifters, they simply do not work. I've read the procedures, I've gotten instructions from a bike mechanic, I've read all the setup instructions I can get my hands on. Whenever I set them up, I can either get all but the lowest or all but the highest gear. The deraileur arm just does not go far enough. And I don't mean on SOME of them--- it's ALL of them. Every one I have tried. Oddly, trigger shifters on geared hubs don't give me any problems. Friction shifters may not be as precise--- I may not always know the gear I'm in--- but they always work, and I can always get all the cogs. I've rebuilt many motorcycles, and many bikes, so I really do not think My procedures or precision is at fault. They (indexed) always fail. Friction has always worked. If they work for you all, fine, go for it. I'm not crtical; they just do not meet my expectations for reliability.

JohnJ80

How old is this system? The last time this was a problem for me was in the Shimano 600/DA SIS system (6 speed) circa 1985/6. Every system since then on both road and MTB has been pretty much bulletproof. The current stuff is so easy to adjust that when I change wheels, if there is a problem, I just do it while I'm riding. Di2 is even easier while riding and because there is no cable stretch, it's even less of a factor.

J.

Needles

Last time was on a new bike maybe three years ago. It was a Shimano system, but I don't remember what exactly. It belonged to a friend of mine, and would not shift to the low gear cog. He took it back to the shop where he bought it, and they ended up swapping the rear deraileur. A couple of months later, it still would not go into low gear. Like I said, if it works for you, great. A pet peeve of mine is mechanical crap that does not do what I bought it to do. Any more, I just do not waste time on it.

JohnJ80

Then it's just an adjustment - probably just a couple of clicks on the adjustment barrel. Either that, or your friend is damaging RD's somehow. This stuff has been bulletproof for at about 25 years based on bikes I own or, if you will, the millions of bikes sold to others.

Incidentally, cable stretch on a friction shifter can also prevent you from being able to shift all the way to the largest sprocket on the rear. That's not unique to indexed shifting.

J.

Biker395 

Or really crappy equipment. Some of the department store-quality stuff has finicky shifting, although the lowest quality Shimano stuff is still pretty darn good.

OP ... if you're using decent quality index-shifting (and I mean only decent ... not great), you should have none of the problems you're mentioning. Index shifting is pretty much bulletproof at this point.

qcpmsame 

I think the problem the BSO stuff the big-box stores offer is the lack of a set up, its pretty much non-existent, as far as any indexing is concerned. And, you are correct, Vic, the stuff offered is Shimano's bargain basement hall of shame. The twist grip so many of these have should be outlawed, or put on the bikes for executives at WalMart, to be forced to ride.

Bill

trackhub

Nothing wrong with your thinking here. Me:

-I like steel frames. Reynolds, columbus, True Temper, and what they used to make the higher end Bridgestones. All good.
-No computer.
-Toe clips, straps.
-I ride a fixie. (Say it with me: "At your age!?!?" Yes, people actually say this. )

I am in the market to buy a high end steel road bike, from the 70s, early to mid 80s. BEFORE the advent of indexed shifting, preferably.
I just do not like all this "new stuff", and I like your philosophy: It answers questions that were never asked.

Likes: All the new lighting technology. Headlights we can actually use. Anyone who rode in the 70s know what am
talking about here.

Anyway, I guess I can qualify for a Luddite hat too.

rydabent

IMO The real luddites in cycling are members of the UCI. They stubborngly cling the to "safety bike" of the 19th century. Their failure to recognize all types of bikes including bents, and host bent and trike races, makes them the leading luddites of the cycling community.

SammyJ 

I would think NOT a liddite, as you are using a computer, on the internet, in a social media setting. We all have preferences.

peterws

I just ditched my smartphone. Just bought a flip phone. . . NO internet!

Dave Cutter

A Luddite..... posting in the 50+ forum... not likely. Ned Ludd was a youth when he opposed the new machinery of the time. Being older and refusing to adapt to change... is mere stubbornness... which is a virtue.

OldsCOOL

Leddite? Doing the Bron-y-Aur Stomp when you should be spinning??

ltxi

Bar end friction shifters on my newly restored, 34 y/o Fuji road bike. Gonna be keeping this ride around forever just to remind me what the bad old days were really like. It works as well as ever and I actually enjoy it for the occasional nostalgia outing but no way for daily use anymore. Kinda like an old Chevy with 2-spd PowerGlide. Wife's ancient Nishiki has stem shifters. That/them be even more amusing.

Bandera

Are you looking for an "Atta-Boy" and validation as a "Luddite" for an obsolescence preference or a technical argument that was settled in the '80's by competitive cyclists and recreational riders since for decades? It takes a deep and abiding mechanical incompetence to make a post 1984 indexed shifting system not click reliably along through 6/7/8/9/10 cogs with DT, barcon or brifter controls.

Luddite? Use what you prefer but you need a competent mechanic instead of seeking to be cycling's Ned Ludd.
Unless riding a proper FG on the road Ludd_Lite is the best one can hope for with all those silly temperamental gears and freewheeling.




-Bandera

StanSeven

^ Great post!

The only thing that goes wrong with indexed shifters is the initial "stretch" with new cables. After a couple hundred miles, the slack needs taken out. It's very simple but if someone can't for it, it takes only a few minutes at a bike shop. After that there isn't anything else to do.

What surspries me is how non-indexed doesn't cause problems but indexed does. Ask a bike store mechanic go explain it - one click is one gear shift.

rydabent

What about the luddites mentioned on other threads that dont want to go to disc brakes?

OTOH while I love the idea and mechanics of disc brakes, I think hydraulics disc brakes are needless complication.