Originally Posted by
mtnbke
If you don't mind me asking, why wouldn't you mount indexing 6 speed downtube shifters on the Kelly Take-Offs instead of the friction? Matching the shifters to freewheels can be a pain, but you can always change the spacers on the freewheel. 6-speed was weird in that everyone seems to have had a bit of a different standard. It didn't matter if from freewheel to freewheel the cogs were spaced differently when everyone was friction shifting.
According to Sheldon Brown there were three different spacing c-c for cogs on 6-speed freewheels:
Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Frame and Cassette Spacing Crib Sheet
Love that other people are finding the Kelly Take-Offs love. If anyone tries them and doesn't like them, PM me. I'll always want more.
I'm glad to see some support of the idea! It's good that KTOs are that well liked. =)
To be honest, I didn't know that index shifters were an option! I'd love the idea of index instead, but was under the impression that it wasn't an option with the 6 speed freewheel the 614 has (being different than the other 6 speed options.) So if I understand correctly, I'd be able to put indexing 7 speed shifters on it? And they'll be compatible with the derailleurs?
And then another question that's about the bike, how hard would pacing be with the stock gearing on the bike? Obviously on my lonesome wouldn't be an issue, but would I be able to manage group rides with the larger gear spreads, and smaller top gear?