Originally Posted by
Oncoming Storm
The "suicide shifters" I was referring to are stem mounted, I had assumed when someone on my group ride called them that, that it was a common name for them.
I can only assume that the person who made that comment is not comfortable enough to ride without taking one of his/her hands off to shift.
Does you Schwinn Le Tour have down tube shifters now? Is there a reason why you want to change them? I am assuming that if the bike is a 1984 with original parts, then it doesn't have index shifting.
If you don't want to reach down to shift, you can go with bar end shifters or even stem shifters. I think trying to modify the shifters to get them up by the brakes is going to cost you more then it is worth.
John