Originally Posted by
steelbikeguy
As far as VO... does their customer base include a lot of folks using STI and Ergo? I've never used these, but I'm guessing that they benefit from the easier shifting??
In some ways, I think it is good for people to appreciate what shifting is like when using downtube levers and plain chainrings.. "it builds character".
On the other hand... it's sort of like expecting people to grow their own vegetables and raise and butcher their own livestock. It's probably good to know and understand, but it's never going to happen.
Steve in Peoria
My apologies, it looks like I never got back to you
VO certainly seems to expect that their customers who buy their framesets are using modern shifting and braking gear. I believe all of their current frame offerings are of the disc brake and threadless headset flavor, but they seem to be doing a great job of balancing the modern tech with a more vintage flavor. Lots of polished alloy parts in classic shapes, but with tech like pinned and ramped chainrings, thru axle disc brake hubs, etc. I think it's assumed that if you are using STI or Ergo shift levers that the drivetrain should be able to handle shifting out of the saddle under load.
I'm happy that I've had the experience of friction shifting a 10 speed with plain chainrings - I've really had no complaints about how well the chain moves across the drivetrain but I'm also not a competitive rider trying to keep up with someone else. Sometimes, though, you want dead simple operation, which is why my rando bike now has indexed shifting. During a long day in the saddle it's a luxury to not have to think about the mechanics of shifting all that much
