Bar end shifters are classic. Brifters are not. If you are rarely in the drops, then go ahead and hate bar ends and DT shifters is the only way to go.

Yup. What feels good after a couple miles is not necessarily what's going to feel good after a hundred miles.

I've test ridden bikes with brifters, and I like them. They seem instantly comfortable. But after ten hours in the saddle, they're murder on my hands. Part of that's the poor ergonomics, which may be a function of the ones I've used (105 eight speed, Dura-Ace eight speed, 105 nine speed, Mirage 9 speed). Brifters are a kind of "attractive nuisance." They're comfortable, so you're likely to plant your hands and leave them there, which is going to cause pain all over your upper body if you stay in that position too long.

My current setup --one shifter on the down tube, the other on the bar end-- forces me to move my hands around constantly. This makes me much more comfortable in the long run, if not in the short run.

Put me in the category -like bar end shifters. User of Suntour for a Trek touring rig and early Santana tandem, both bikes with triples and ultra wide range gearing. Both bikes have the shift cable wrapped fully along the handlebars. Dependable, have never failed and provide smooth positive feel shifts. To me and riding heavy laden bikes, by having both hands on the lower bars, body points to the wide triangulation while shifting feels most secure.


I agree with RHM on brifters, though some are greatly better than others and require an ergonomically compatible handlebar.

Since this thread is drifting, might as well pipe in my feelings on the latest electronic shifting. Don't personally own but have had time with them borrowing bikes from a friend / LBS owner. I'm most impressed and like them. Only minor complaint is not having that direct feel of mechanical shift, especially wearing full fingered gloves / cold weather. They work exceptional and almost seamless that close ratios make me want to look down at the rear derailleur.

No fair judgment on longevity or obsoleteness, though think this stuff is like modern automotive parts -short production timeline and if lucky to find replacements later on, they'll be super expensive.

I just finished.....as in a 15 minutes ago.....removing the bar end shifters from my '77 Schwinn Volare in favor of the 1st gen Dura-Ace downtube shifters that these bikes came with. My sole purpose was to remove the extra cables that, to me, detract from the appearance of a vintage ride. I was planning to do this project sometime this winter. This thread pushed it to the top of the list!

Dean

I was infatuated with them until having them for a while. They are very cool and helped further define an era of riding for me back in the 70s. The only thing I didnt care for much was the cabling but really, that’s petty. Had to sell the bike and shifters with it on a deal for that Colnago 2 years ago. I’d have another bike with them.

i like bar end shifters.
I like ergo's and sti's as well.

i don't know why the conversation has to turn to which one we think is better. The only thing that is a given is that riding a bike is good. however you achieve that is your own personal preference.

as far as the OP's bike, I wouldn't clamp anything on that DT either. I'd change the bars to a nitto b115 or something similar and put some ergo's on there.

Oh yeah, there was an OP about a bike or something... ;)

Yeah, handlebars, worth thinking about a swap. Those are the wrong bars if joesch wants the tops flat. Something with a more Maes type bend is going to work better. I'd also consider randonneur bars. The angled drops will help put the bar ends more out of the way of the knees. I'd imagine a wide-ish (44?) 'modern' bar would also help with potential knee bump issues. In old days, all bars were 38 or 40.

thanks for the update.

Anecdotally , word on the street is that you're an excellent driver.

Yeah, most of my experience was with the seven speed that have a "frictiony soft index" setting. Its reassuring to read that they never worked well even when new, cause I can get them to seem to work, but are to finicky. I can shift faster and more reliably with strait friction. Not sure if the set of bar ends I have has a true friction or not. Thing is, when I got them there was also a NIB 34 tooth six speed freewheel and accushift derailleurs. So If I ever use them it will be as a set. Though I keep seeing how much that freewheel brings on ebay when its unused and start thinking about how it could help fund something else. Things are only NIB once.

I've always been OK with just about anything, but as has been previously stated, friction shifters are a "set and forget" system. Plus, the cool factor of dumping an entire cassette worth of gears in one quiet move is worth it. There are merits to whatever system you choose. Just get out and ride your bike.