Seanywonton

I'm putting together a bike. I'm using a 7-speed thread-on casette and a shimano 105 deraileur. I don't know what year the deraileur was from, I'd guess mid-90's

What kind of shifters can I use to get the proper indexing for the back casette? I'd like to go with Shimano STI levers if possible. Would it be possible to make a new pair of Sora 8-spd shifters work?

Thanks,
Sean

tellyho

You can get 7 spd. Soras still. You'd want those.

moxfyre

Just so you know, a "thread-on" cog cluster is called a freewheel, not a cassette. Just wanted to point that out to avoid future confusion, since the ways of installing/removing/repairing them are completely different

You can get 7-speed Soras. But if haven't bought the parts yet, it's probably a lot more cost-effective and future-proof to replace the rear hub with a cassette hub and get an 8/9/10 speed cassette instead. Also, cassette hubs have stronger axles, so they're less likely to break.

Seanywonton

I'm looking to low-ball this bike and I already had a new 7-speed freewheel. I know cassettes are better, but that's just the way it is. plus it's an old bike with 126 mm spacing in back. I bought a new pair of 126mm wheels, so that's a done deal.

What I need is a cost effective shifter to go with this setup. Thanks for any suggestions!

nuovorecord

If you really want to go cheap, find a set of 7-spd indexed Shimano downtube shifters.

moxfyre

Better yet, go with bar-end shifters! They hardly cost any more than downtube, but they're a whole lot more comfortable and easy to access. I prefer them to STIs for commuting use!

HillRider 

Good advice with one problem. 7-speed bar-ends are hard to find and command a premium price when you do. I just did a quick search on e-Bay for "7-speed shifters" and got about 60 hits but not one set of bar-end shifters. There were several sets of indexed downtube shifters and many MTB shifters but no bar-ends.

2372ighost

or RSX100 STI shifters

Pig_Chaser

Many bar end shifters can be used in 'friction' mode.

moxfyre

Well, I personally use Suntour Bar-con *friction* shifters. Some consider them the best bar-ends ever made, $10 at a swap meet

If you have a good cassette and derailers, friction shifting is easy as pie, and no adjustments ever.

Also, Sheldon Brown sez that 8-speed bar-ends work pretty well with 7-speed: http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/shifters.html (makes sense since the cog spacing is very close, 5.0 mm for 7-speed vs. 4.8 mm for 8-speed).

HillRider 

Another possibility is to use the adapters Rivendell sells that let you mount downtube shifters as bar-ends.

WNG

If you want brifters, then no, the 8-spd won't index your 7-spd freewheel. Verify your 105 RD too. Late 80s 105 only indexed up to 7-spd.

As stated, cheapest route is Shimano 7-spd SIS downtube shifters. I bought a new pair for $6 at Nashbar.

moxfyre

+1

For $25 you can convert your downtube shifters to bar-ends: http://www.rivbike.com/products/list...product=17-068

Seanywonton

OK thanks for all the input. I think I'll probably go with bar-ends set to friction unless I find a friend with an old set of 7 speed STI's. I'm not all about the downtube shifters, but we could always start with that for $6 and upgrade later.

2372ighost

check these out

http://cgi.ebay.com/Shimano-STI-Shif...QQcmdZViewItem