Originally Posted by
Again
Hey, we used to have our shifters screwed onto any part of the frame. And those shifters did not have stops, like they all do nowadays. You had to work them from memory, the way a string musician used his grip hand. It all works though, when you LIVE on your bike.
My daily rider is a 1975-76 J.C.Penny's Foremost with friction down tube shifters. Over 35 years old (and definitely not the oldest bike a BF member uses as a daily rider) and everything works just fine. The aluminium rims are the only thing on the Denali that I may have to regard as an improvement (assuming the quality is decent, not all the Denalis are speced the same, but the wheels don't seem to be a common problem).
The Shimano Lark RD on my Foremost may be heavy, but it's very durable and works very well.