Hello. I have converted my 85 Schwinn Voyageur to Albatross style (Soma Oxford) bars as an experiment. I have the option to use bar ends or Sunrace thumbies. I think I'll go the thumb shifter route as I think my knees would hit the bar ends occasionally. Anyway, the Shimano downtube cable stops will not fit because the bosses have a little rectangular protrusion (in about the 2 o'clock position in the photo). What are my alternatives? Do I need a clamp on cable stop like this? Those don't seem to have barrel adjusters but I guess that isn't necessary?

You could file a notch in the cable stops so they will fit. If you are a risk taker and have very good fine motor skills, you could file the bit of the frame. I am not sure I would be willing to risk accidentally ruining my frame if the file hopped.

About 10 posts down.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...able-stop.html

And from that post, from [MENTION=173992]non-fixie[/MENTION]:
https://www.bikeforums.net/12813093-post21.html

I'm considering taking a dremel to the stops. I don't want to mess up the frame. I went for a shakedown ride with the bars set up using downtube shifters. It's a bit of a reach but it's doable. Half step gearing means I'm bending over to shift often though!

Just file the tabs off. Carefully. I had to do the same on my Lotus Classique, which was originally spec'ed with Shimano 600 Arabesque parts. Those cable stops will cover the bare metal, but it would be a good idea to use some touchup paint (nail polish would be the best bet for that metallic color) just so it doesn't rust.

Those are the proprietary shifter mounts Shimano tried to impose on the industry around 1985ish. There are a bunch of threads about how to deal with these.

Be advised the threading on these is 4.5M, as opposed to 5M on standard mounts. Hopefully, you have your original bolts, since this size is almost impossible to source. If you're out of luck, you might have to re-tap the mount threads for 5M.

Since you only want to mount a stop, the easiest option is to modify the cable stops, not the frame mount. I had to do this on a 1985 Centurion Ironman to accommodate bar end shifters.

Doc Cannondale's thread on modifying and re-tapping the mount itself:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...ter-style.html

Some threads & sites on modifying the stops (which basically involves removing material inside the stop to allow the circular mount to fit in and to file out a notch for the keyhole-looking tab):

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...-brazeons.html

https://simplicityvintagecycles.com/...aga-continues/

On my '85 Voyageur I used a Dremmel to notch out the stops. I then used the bolt from the original DT shifters to attach. This came out very nice. I wouldn't grind away the frame.

Stupid Shimano B boss...

FYI, you can get a type of file with a safe edge, used specifically for something like this, where you want to remove material from a surface with no chance of damaging the adjacent surface. They are typically available from a place like Grainger/McMaster Carr (or Amazon, I'm assuming).

Good call!

I'd put a piece of tape under the "safe" edge as well, even smooth metal will scratch the paint.

Man, my internet sleuthing skills suck today, I can't believe I missed all this information!

Same bike, same plan. I think this is the way I will go. I'll post exciting pictures when I'm finished.

Thanks everyone!

Did you read this thread. Besides notching the cable stop, it needs to be reamed out to a 1/2".

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...-brazeons.html

I did. I was thinking the round base looked bigger than the circular hole in the cable stop. That thread confirmed my suspicions. I do not have a drill press, so I might just try to widen the hole with a dremel tool.

+1 so much misery!

Would love to see some shots of your Voyageur. I might do the same with my 88 V if I decide to go with Barcons instead of shifters. Thankfully the braze ones are standard.

If you have a drill and a 1/2" bit, that will work. Just tightly screw the stops upside down onto a piece of scrap wood, clamp it in a vise and freehand it with the drill.

Absolutely! I'll post up some pictures when I drag it back out from the basement. Truthfully, I'm not sure where this bike will fit in with my riding. Frankly it rides like a truck and is rather harsh over rough stuff. I suppose that, like a pick up truck, its natural element is hauling stuff and it probably handles that admirably. Unfortunately I don't do a lot of loaded touring, although I'd like to change that someday. This bar swap experiment was to see how much I'd like riding it for shorter lightweight trips. We're heading up to Yellow Springs Ohio (around 70ish miles) for Memorial Day weekend so that will be a good test. I plan to wrap the bends with the bar tape I had on the drops for an extra hand position. If I end up not liking this setup, I think the bars will end up on my daily commuter and I'll switch back to the drops.

Here's an action shot from the shakedown ride though.

That's a good idea.

Nice.

I didn't get around to notching the stops yet, but here's a shot of the current setup on the way back from Yellow Springs Ohio. The bars were great! I didn't get numb hands much at all and wrapping the hooks gave me a slightly more aero position. They're definitely not awesome riding into a headwind as we did on the entire way back, but so far I'm digging them overall. I need to get a proper front rack. I passed a woman on a Rivendell Atlantis set up similarly to mine which is really the bike I'm trying to approximate within reason. Maybe some day...

Yes, modify the stops, not the bosses.....
Stops are much easier to replace if you botch up doing the modifications.......and there might be Shimano shifter fans in the bike's future who could use those bosses........