guy1138

I picked up a "project" tandem over a year ago and just recently dragged it out of the shed to get started on it, but I've reached an impasse.

Bottom line: Barcons or integrated shifters? It has a 7 speed freewheel. I was originally going to get barcons, but the cost for those plus quality brake levers would actually be MORE expensive than new Claris 8 speed brifters, and way more expensive than Microshift.

It also turns out that the stroker position is too tall for my girlfriend, so I want to do a couple of day tours with some buddies just for laughs, maybe put it up on Spinlister, and sell it next year.

So, if you were going to rent or buy a tandem, what would you rather see: bar ends or brifters?

Here are the details:

*I believe* that it's a late 80's Kuwahara Adventure tandem. I bought it as an unfinished project from a guy with a "divor-cycle" situation on his hands (He was building it to ride with his girlfriend, but they broke up before he finished). He was setting it up with a pretty wonky trekking bar and Acera MTB shifters. I think I was the only one who called, so he offered a pretty good deal just to take it off his hands.

The good: All the consumables: brake pads, cables, housing, chains and Panaracer Pacela tires - are brand new. Frame has fresh powdercoat (they even color-matched the Arai drum brake housing), aluminum wheels (Araya rim, Raleigh hub front; Ukai/Suntour rear). Dia-Compe Nuevo Gran Sport canti brakes. The headset, hubs and bottom brackets are all in good shape; I hooked up the drum brake to a stem-mounted friction shifter and took it around the block and it felt fantastic. So far, I've only added drop bars, a saddle, and air in the tires.

The bad: Mountain bike drivetrain - an Alvino rear mech, 14-34 freewheel, and I can't tell what the front derailleur is, but I'm assuming mountain bike. I don't know if it will be compatible with brifters.

Anyway, tandem gurus, what is the consensus? Picture below if it makes any difference.

Alcanbrad

Looks like a good project bike. My personal preference is for brifters. Primarily for convenience and you don't have to take a hand off the bars during a dicey maneuver to shift. Though, bar end shifters may offer better clearance if you plan on using a handlebar bag.

As for compatibility, as long as you have a shifter that matches the # of gears and a derailleur of the same range, it shouldn't be a problem.

One thing I don't know is if the parallelogram on a derailleur is of a different geometry for different #'s of gears - i.e. an 8 speed vs a 10 speed cluster. This is the question you are asking.

Choose your shifters that also have compatible derailleurs available so you can swap if needed. Be sure and check the max cog size and capacity ratings when you make your choice.

DCwom

I find bar-end shifters to be much simpler to use and hence easier for a novice or occasional rider, but its all preference in the end.

Standalone 

I tried and failed to put Brifters together with my MTB drivetrain on my folding 26" commuter. FD pull ratio is just plain different. Older rear mechs from '80's - ??? are the same, AFAIK and IME.

Anyway, I then switched out for a road FD/ road double and things worked -- but there were problems with the BB shell width that made the modern crankset a no-go. I went back to an MTB triple and some bar ends and am happy enough. Much as commuting can be like riding a Crit, it's not. So I don't really need the performance of brifters.

The upshot: bar ends. Cheap, and won't really deter an interested buyer, who can fiddle with drivetrain upgrades later. They're also easier to install and set up at home.

guy1138

I should have clarified, while the previous guy put on a MTB cassette and rear mech, the crank is still the original road triple. I'm OK with switching out the front derailleur if brifters are the way to go.

oldacura

We have had only bar-end shifters with drop bar brake levers on our bike. They are simple & work well. Can you find bar end shifters on eBay?

Standalone 

Then it should work! I'm about to put some old 8 speed Sora brifters on a Burley that I'm re-building.

zonatandem

Bar end shifters!

Have tandemed over 240-thousand miles in the past 40+ years. Have used all kinds of shifting mechanisms.
Downtube, thumb, twist, brifters, Di-2 electronic.
Bar ends have been the best, easiest and the longest lasting system. One set was used on successive tandems and lasted 100,00 miles!
Have hi-tech c/f tandem, and yes, 9 speed Shim. barends.
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

WPH

I would market it as a classic. Might hang around longer but you would get more for it. You would be selling it to a cyclist, not a non-cyclist buying on impulse. Probably a cyclist whose partner is not real confident on the bike, they want to try tandeming and want a quality machine but don't want to spend too much (does that sound like YOU!?). The Arai drum brake is good, those who know what they are looking for will appreciate it.

The basics are good on that bike (frame, forks and cranks), and you said the consumables are all new, this is important. For me, it's gotta be bar-ends on a bike like that. They are easy easy to use - no difference to brifters. They are mechanically much simpler and are durable. You will have to look around tho' for some 7sp bar-ends on ebay or similar, even old well used units should be fine if they aren't wounded. Three weeks back we put Shimano 7sp bar-ends (old but good) with a new SRAM 7sp MTB cassette ($USD15) and a new SRAM chain on Roq's T100 Trek and it all worked beautifully (especially once we junked the old cassette).

I would go with Tektro brake levers - the RL520s are inexpensive and go with v-brakes (XTs are cheap online). The whole shebang works very well plus extremely easy to set up and adjust. But the normal RL340s or the Shimanos are also excellent with cantis - the RL340s have a nice feel, ergonomic design, and QR pins at the lever for wheel change simplicity.

Those front bars are bad I think. To do this properly, buy the Nitto adaptor from Niagra for cheap and set up the front with an ahead stem and new 44cm wide bars (Shimano PRO oversize are not costly and are stiff and tough enough for a tandem plus take bar-ends no sweat).

Have fun riding it, maybe you'll end up keeping such a nice old bike. We have a bunch of bikes at home but my 1993 T200 is my favourite by far.

guy1138

Thanks for your thorough and well thought out reply. I am taking a soda break right now, but I'm building it up as we speak. I decided to go with some new 8spd Ultegra barcons and the Tektro RL340s. I just couldn't find anything used that was local or reasonably priced with shipping. It ended up a good $50 more expensive to go this route than with Microshift 7 spd integrated levers, but I decided to stick with the classic, tried-and-true method after all the feedback here.

I'm on a budget, so I didn't want to upgrade to V-brakes. I was going to switch out to modern bars with a quill-to-threadless adapter; but I realized I needed a spot to mount the lever for the drag brake. I would have to buy a bar mounted thumb lever, instead of going with a banded friction shifter out of my parts box. All in, I'm at about $300. So far I have the rear derailleur indexing good in the stand. As soon as I get the front brake set up, it's time for a shakedown cruise around the block.

Random Tandem

I have a virtually identical tandem - I am guessing mine is a 1981 Kuwahara. I think the later 1980's tended to have more complicated paint jobs. Mine had similarly been mistreated by its prior owner, and I had to put road bars back on.

I put Shimano bar-end shifters (front is friction; right is indexed) on it. It took me an my 15-year-old from 850 miles from Astoria to San Francisco this past summer. The drag brake is great for getting through the mountain passes. I have a second tandem that I am going to try brifters, but the friction front shifter makes trim a lot easier.

-Will

zonatandem

You can mount drum brake shifter lever on stoker bars (bar end or other) and she can do the braking.