stringmaster

I want to put bar end shifters on my 1983 Team Fuji with Suntour ARX derailleurs.
Do recently made index bar end shifters (like Shimano Dura Ace 7700 series) have a friction mode and will they otherwise work? I have not been able to find this info on the Shimano manual site.
Thanks
Jim R

fietsbob

Shimano 8 & 9 speed, I can say, yes.

dsbrantjr

Microshift BS-T08, BS-T09, BS-T10 switch from index to friction right side, left is friction only. Rivbike Silver Shifters have PowerRatchet mechanism full-time. Velo Orange sell Dia-Compe ENE MicroRatchet.

ThermionicScott 

I Googled it and found out right away that 7700 does have a friction mode: Shimano Dura-Ace 7700 9 Speed Bar End Shifters | Chain Reaction Cycles

Tim_Iowa

Shimano 10 and 11 speed bar-end shifters (7900 and 9000) DO NOT have a friction mode.

All previous ones do.

bikemig 

That's a good reason not to use Shimano 10 and 11 speed bar ends on a touring bike.

Tim_Iowa

I know that's the conventional wisdom.

But, why? Honest question.

What situation would be fatal to indexed bar-ends and fine for friction bar-ends?

Internal shifter damage? Yes, but that's really really rare. Bar-ends are damn near bulletproof.
Bent derailleur hanger? I feel like I could re-adjust it and the RD cable tension on the side of the road.

bikemig 

If building a bike (as opposed to buying a complete bike), I prefer friction on the left as it gives you more choices when it comes to cranks and you can fine tune the trim better. It certainly wouldn't be a deal killer on a new touring bike anymore than brifters would be but it is my preference when building a touring bike for these reasons. Click shifting on the left is, I think, a somewhat inferior design.

Tim_Iowa

I totally agree with you there, at least for triples. I vastly prefer a friction bar-end shifter for triple cranks because you can trim them so easily. Indexed triple shifting is always lazy, and hard to trim.

In fact, my favorite setup is a Shimano friction/index bar-end for the right/rear, and a Rivendell Silver friction bar end for the left/front.
The Silver front shifter seems to move more cable (for the same shift lever travel) than the Shimanos, resulting in a more authoritative shift feel.
Also, I find the dog-leg shape of the Shimano shifter annoying, especially since it's way up past 90 degrees when shifted to the big ring. The straight-arm Silver shift lever never passes 90 degrees.

I'm ok with brifters for a double crank, but I still prefer bar-end shifters for long tours.

However, some folks don't like bar-ends simply because they don't like riding in the drops. On many modern bikes, it can be a challenge to get the bars high enough to make riding in the drops comfortable.

ThermionicScott 

I don't get it -- even the 10/11-speed bar ends I looked at online appear to be friction in the front. Am I missing something?

well biked 

I'm pretty sure even the latest bar end shifters still use friction shifting for the front (left shifter). As mentioned earlier, the Shimano 10 and 11 speed (right) bar ends no longer allow friction for rear shifting, they're index only.

bikemig 

Then I misread a previous post and have no issue with shimano 10/11. It's only the brifters that index on the left then. That would make sense.

rccardr 

Shimano BR78 (7800 series) 10 speed bar end shifters are both friction and indexed. Later ones are index only.

JohnDThompson 

Broken derailleur for which no pull-ratio compatible replacement is readily available at the hardware store in Bumfark, WY.

cale

Right because who could ever use an extra gear while on tour?

Tim_Iowa

Nice catch. You are correct, 7800 bar ends are 10 speed SIS and have both friction and index mode. I need to keep an eye out for used ones of that model.

Tim_Iowa

Are you suggesting that you could replace the broken derailleur with something non-compatible, and attempting to shift it in friction mode? A Bumfark special!

That may work, but probably would not shift the entire cassette due to cable travel limits. Still, it could give you 4-5 speeds and get you back on the road. A valid point.

My similar experience: Last year, my '88 KOM managed to pick up one of those little wire power line flags with the chain. It jammed the chain at the rear derailleur (XT M730), which then rotated forward and snapped clear through the cast upper knuckle! I was a couple blocks from the bike shop, where I purchased a newish Acera RD. I was running 6 speeds with friction bar ends (Suntour Accushifts) already, so it was easy to replace the RD and keep on going home.

The old and new RDs were both SIS compatible, so no serious issues.

bikemig 

Look above that's not what i said and in any case it was based on a mistake. The point was whether those indexed on the left or not and I was mistaken.

HillRider

No bar end or downtube shifters have "click shifting" for the left (front) shifter. All, no matter what the number of rear cogs the right shifter can handle, are friction for the front shifter.

bikemig 

See above. I pointed out that I was mistaken or read an earlier post incorrectly on the 10s and 11s. In fact, that's exactly what I said in post no. 18 right above your post.

HillRider

Yeah, I missed your posting. We do agree on that point.

bikemig 

Thanks buddy; I knew you'd agree, .