dveenhuis

I'm just getting started and have been looking at EBay and CL for a bike. I would like to find a decent road or hybrid bike for less than $500. It seems that most of the bikes I see in this price range are older bikes with downtube shifters or stem shifters and my question is, do any of you ride a bike regularly with downtube or stem shifters and how do you like it? I'm concerned about moving my hands off the bars to shift.

zoste

I don't have downtube or stem shifters, but I can't imagine that the learning curve is too, too steep...I managed to figure out how to grab my water bottle while pedaling.

bcoppola

Downtube and stem shifters are less convenient to be sure, but the safety aspect is negligible, IMO. Just something to get used to. Us 50+ers who rode bikes back then all used them and we're still here!

Stem shifters were mainly found on lower-end bikes, so that might be a consideration. But don't rule out all bikes with stem shifters. The Schwinn World Sport in my signature had stem shifters and was in the "lower middle" of the product line then. But the 4130 cro-mo frame,while not "high end" is a nice ride. And although it is now a fixed gear the low-to middle of the road components worked well. And it was a steal too -- about $12 at a thrift shop!

If you think you will be buying an older bike you might want to hang out on the Classic and Vintage forum as well. A good quality steel frame will be a nice ride. Look for chrome moly a.k.a 'cro-mo' steel at a minimum - butted tubing preferred. Look for alloy rims, not steel.

Also, it will help if you can do your own mechanical work if you're going the "vintage" route.

However, you might also be able to find a deal at your LBS on last year's models if they have any in your size in stock. I haven't been new bike shopping lately but with the recession there might be bargains to be had with some looking.

Happy hunting and riding!

tntyz

I see plenty of hybrids available in that price range that have some form of handlebar-mounted shifter.

Cone Wrench

Either way you're going to have to take your hands off the bars to shift. My preference would be for downtube shifters if you are getting a road bike. They are certainly easier to work when you are in the drops. And I feel that reaching down for the shifter keeps the rider in a more stable position. If you get a hybrid, you will want the shifters on the handle bars or the stem.
However, if you're just getting started, there's no way to tell what your preference might be a year from now. Think of this first bike as a learning experience, ride a lot and you will discover what you really want for your second bike. Don't overthink this first purchase. Get something that fits and ride the dickens out of it.
Of course, much depends on your previous cycling experience, age, fitness level and financial siuation.

Pat

Downtube shifters were what you did back in the old days. I rode a number of bikes with downtube shifters. They have a small disadvantage in the you have to reach down to shift. Of course, they have an advantage in being very simple and lasting virtually forever. The more modern shifters up in the hoods wear out after about 20000 miles.

Doohickie

I had a bike with downtube shifters for 20+ years. It never felt normal or natural, and when I was shifting at high speeds my handlebars always felt unstable. I loved the bike, it felt great otherwise, but I never really got used to them, and they did feel less safe to me. Also, since I ride out in traffic, it was difficult to shift downtubes when I was up on the bars. Downshifting while approaching a light and braking at the same time was always a dicey proposition.

Last December I picked up (literally, out of a dumpster) a similar bike, except this one has stem shifters. They are perfect for me- they are easy to shift whether I am up or in the drops. The only downside has been that I've knocked my knee against them once or twice during hard climbs and inadvertently shifted the bike (and ended up walking it the rest of the way up the hill!) Now that I'm conscious of that I've adjusted my riding style while climbing and it's not a problem.

Downtube shifters are sexier, and probably better if you're actually doing road racing, but if you're riding around on the streets I think stem shifters are more versatile.

bjjoondo 

Welcome, Although the bike I have now has the "dreaded click shifters, (arrrrrrugh), I've had both the downtube and the stem shifters, personally I liked the "downtube" shifter better, just seemed easier to get to in a hurry and seemed to shift better too, jmho. Now the one's I like best are the "bar-end" shifters but these usually only come on serious touring road bicycles. Any way, none are hard to master so don't let that be a "Con" in your decision on a bikes choice!

stapfam

First ride I did on a Road bike- In about 95 I think- Had downtube shifters. Changing gear was not a problem- it just seemed to be natural. What did stop me though was the 10% hill for a mile with a lowest gear of 42/23.

Took me another 11 years before I did another Road Bike ride though and by that time it was brifters.

StanSeven

I've probably got double that, or 40,000 miles, out of DA shifters and there's no sign of their wearing out.

I wouldn't doubt some of the lower wear that quickly but I think someone can easily get 50,000, 60,000 or more out of Ultegra or DA

bcoppola

C&V habitue Doohickie's post brings up, indirectly as with the rest of ours, that there's a big subjective aspect to this. Only your experience will tell for sure. But another point to consider is: with a bare minimum of work it's easy and cheap to switch from one to the other. Or, less cheaply, to bar-end shifters if you want to try those. (Or, expensively, to modern brifters) You can get clamp-on downtube shifters to replace stem shifters, and vice-versa, on eBay. Requires only a little work and maybe new cables (if you go from downtube to stem or barends).

I only ask that, if you get a bike with downtube shifters on braze-on frame bosses, please oh please don't hack off the braze-ons if you switch to other shifters!

howsteepisit

I ride DT shifter and like them, But I have ridden with them for 35 years so I am kind of used to them. Never liked stem shifters, fear of crashing and getting skewered by them. A also ride a bike with Brifters, and I like them just fine. THe reason for the DT is I like to use a handlebar bag and am too lazy to rig up cable rerouting.

robtown

I prefer down tube; stem shifters are more common on lower end bikes. I've also hit stem shifters with my knee when standing for a hill climb. I have one bike with downtube shifters, but I've converted most to bar end shifters. Stem shifters are slightly easier to convert because the cable routing is already in place.
I found bar end shifters much more convenient than either down tube or stem shifters.

BengeBoy 

I have down-tube shifters on two of my bikes, including the Univega commuter I ride every day. I grew up on down-tube shifters.

I associate stem shifters with low-end bikes and envision getting skewered on them.

I love bar end shifters - it's about a $100 worth of parts to change from drop bar shifters ($60 or $70 for the shifters; additional money for new cables, bar wrap, and little cable stop thingys that go in the downtube where the shifter braze-ons were).

As much as I like bar end shifters -- and even though I said I would change over my commuter immediately -- I can't quite bring myself to spend the $ to do it. The downtube shifters are working fine. Mine are some old Suntour shifters from the 80's and they have a beautiful, smooth machine finish that always feels *just right* when I use them - I hate to discard something that works so well.

George

I've only had barend shifters for a few days and I've had no problems shifting them or reaching for them so far.

wrk101

+1 Stem mounted shifters were almost always mounted on lower end bikes. Look at the vintage Schwinn catalogs. Work your way up to about the half way mark, and you will see the stem shifters go away and DT shifters start.

Its kind of a dead giveaway that you are looking at a lower end (but still maybe decent) bike. But no way should it be in the $500 range. The most I have sold a stem shifter bike for was $175.

oilman_15106

If it is good enough for Lance it ought to be ok for you. Had a downtube shifter for the front on a bike he used in the TDF.

Used down tube shifters on my Centurion for years. If doing it again I would look for a bike with indexed shifting. Only issue I ever had was getting in the right gear prior to a big hill cilmb. Still see guys riding with them, so they must work.

Not a fan of stem mounted down tube style shifters. Kind of like 2 daggers pointed at you when you crash.

BluesDawg

I learned to use stem shifters when I was 12 y/o and downtube shifters a couple of years later. Of course, we were less addicted to convenience back then. My three most ridden road bikes now have bar end shifters, two of them are friction only. It is much easier than most people think.

cyclezen

just getting started?
then
neither

bikes with either of those will likely have numerous 'issues' if they're not higher end 'iron'.
There seem to be plenty of newer hybrid and regular road machines on CL, in my locale. At least half or more are unreasonably high priced.
Buying on CL or ebay means you have some considerable knowledge of what you want, and have an eye to determining that the bike is worth the price.
If you aren't confident that you can discern a good deal from salvage, then it might be best to avoid CL or ebay, and go to a LBS and haggle a decent deal.
If you don;t mind 'surprises' and learning the craft of bike repair quickly, then, by all means, dive right in.
But, I;d still say, stay away from Downtube or Stem shifters until you have a real understanding of what that vintage entails in having a running, worthwhile machine and keeping it that way.

John E

Stem shifters would be a distant last choice in my book. Good old nonindexed downtube levers are light, responsive, adaptable, durable, and easy to master, even for a total klutz such as myself. If you do not like taking a hand off the bars to change gears, I strongly recommend friction or ratchet-friction barcons -- I put a set of old SunTours on my Peugeot commuter and like them so well that I am tempted to do the same on one of the downtube shift bikes. With straight or upright handlebars, I strongly favor old school mountain bike thumb levers, which are easy to operate from the grips.

BigBlueToe

I had downtube shifters on my first "serous" bike - a 10-speed I got in the 70s. They were fine. Taking a hand off the bars to shift never really was a problem. If you don't want to take a hand off while negotiating something like a pothole, just wait a few seconds.

My next road bike, bought 20 years later, was a tourer with bar-end shifters. They felt weird at first, but I gradually grew to like them. You can shift with your palm while keeping your fingers on the bar. I think that's why tourers favor them - because the front wheel is often loaded and requires more leverage on the bars at slower speeds. However, you can't shift both levers at once like you can with downtube shifters.

My most recent purchase has brifters. They're nice too, although I sometimes forget where the shifters are, since I still have a tourer with barends.

My opinion is that all three setups work fine, and you'll get used to any of them. There are reasons to choose one over another on a new bike, but none of the reasons are overwhelming, in my opinion. If I bought a bike that had one of the three setups, I might not feel it was worth it to switch.

Dchiefransom

I had some kind of threaded mount for the downtube shifters on my Trek 420. When I switched to brifters they had a part they mounted there that has a barrel adjuster for the cable.

Pista Largo

I have never seen stem shifters on a decent bike.

StanSeven

I'm wondering if some people don't understand what stem shifters are. They are levers attached with a ring/strip that goes around the stem. I haven't seen these are any bikes sold over the last ten years.

I also haven't seen downtube shifters sold in the last 30 years.

Most decent bikes have brifters (combination shifters and barkes) mounted on the top of the bars or hybrid/mountain bike "twist" type shifters at the end of straight bars.

Retro Grouch 

The short answer to your question is that I havn't ridden a bike with either for a very long time.

Having said that, my decision would be based upon my riding position on the bike. I think that the more upright you picture yourself riding your new bicycle the more you will like stem shifters. The more you lean your body forward, the less you'll like having to raise your torso upright so you can use stem shifters and the more you'll appreciate having the shifters on the downtube. I like to ride with my torso about 45 degrees from horizontal so I'd definitely want down tube shifters.

Back when I rode a downtube shifter bike I learned to operate either shifter with my right hand so I never had to remove my left hand from the handlebar.