Originally Posted by
Ravencyclist
Is it possible for my vitus 979 to have an Italian bottom bracket? Can I have a 7 speed ultegra with ergo shifters or do I need down tube shifters? Any help would be great.
I have a 1988 979 with a 7 speed free wheel. So you can get a 7 speed mechanism for it, as long as you have a 126mm rear hub. You should not cold set or spring a 979 for a 130mm hub - the stresses on the rear triangle may not be healthy.
The frame is designed for bare cable routing from the down tubes. There are adapters that will allow shifter housing to be routed to the down tubes, and the bare cables run as usual. At the time, tri bar bar-end shifters were routed this way. Unless there is something unusual about the Ultegra shifter, they should work on the frame with adapters.
~Monkey~