Bar End Shifters?
#26
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People actually get out of the saddle to pedal? Too much work for me. I'm never in that much of a hurry.
#27
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I enjoyed Bandera's dry wit in answering this question, but perhaps someone should be more direct. Don't do it. People did not shift while standing up in vintage days. It would not have worked, and why would you need to anyway? Shift just before you stand up. Usually you go up a gear to stand. Wind it out. Sit down, and then shift if needed. There's usually a lull in the torque for a fraction of a second just after you sit.
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... and yes, there's no issue shifting while out of the saddle if you do it the way described above.
Back to the OP - I don't see any problem fitting them on a Team Pro, as long as you're not banging your knees on them. I have brifters on my '77.
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Last edited by USAZorro; 07-16-18 at 10:06 AM.
#30
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The comment about not being able to do it when pumping at race effort is basically what I meant when I said it's clumsier than brifters and more disruptive to pedaling. You're not as well-braced by your hands through the shift, so you have to time the whole process a certain way alongside a relativelty low-gas pedal stroke.
With brifters, I can pretty much just lightly let off the tension at the instant the chain wants to move.
Last edited by HTupolev; 07-16-18 at 10:40 AM.
#31
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I wasn't talking about the amount of my brain's attention it requires, but the amount of my hand's attention it requires. Fingers aren't fully independent of each other, and can't always act powerfully in arbitrary different directions.
Your comment about not being able to do it when pumping at race effort is basically what I meant when I said it's clumsier than brifters.
Your comment about not being able to do it when pumping at race effort is basically what I meant when I said it's clumsier than brifters.
IF you are reaching for your bar end levers with your thumb, index, middle, or ring fingers, you are doing it inefficiently, and yes, you will have problems. The technique to employ is to grasp the drop near the end of the bar, and nudge the shifter (up or down) by flexing your wrist. Once your hand is in the proper position for this, the task becomes quite simple.
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#32
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IF you are reaching for your bar end levers with your thumb, index, middle, or ring fingers, you are doing it inefficiently, and yes, you will have problems. The technique to employ is to grasp the drop near the end of the bar, and nudge the shifter (up or down) by flexing your wrist. Once your hand is in the proper position for this, the task becomes quite simple.
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The "most fingers not gripping the bar to any meaningful degree" part had me imagining that something else was going on. I feel no sacrifice of control when shifting them.
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#35
You gonna eat that?
What do you think about bar end shifters? Do you use them on your strict C&V builds?
I've been thinking about how to make my 1978 Team Pro more rideable. One issue I have with the downtube shifters (Simplex retrofrictions) is that I am not coordinated enough to shift when riding out of the saddle. So if I'm, say, pushing hard on a hill and the grade eases so that I want a bigger gear, I have to sit down, shift, and get up again. I've gotten used to simply shifting while staying up, using brifters and Gevenalle shifters.
I do recall from prior bikes with bar ends that sometimes my knee hit them when sprinting or climbing out of the saddle. I don't know if those bikes were perhaps poorly sized for me.
So, the book on the Ti-Raleigh teams shows a few team bikes with bar ends, in races. Apparently a few of the team riders used them, back in 1976-1980, and thus I could try bar ends without losing the "correctness" that is important for this particular bike in the fleet.
I have a suitable set of bar end shifters and some CLB alloy housing that I could install. One thing I wonder is if Benotto tape works well when wrapped over housing. The other is if I should try to adapt the retrofrictions for bar end use, and how.
Comments?
I've been thinking about how to make my 1978 Team Pro more rideable. One issue I have with the downtube shifters (Simplex retrofrictions) is that I am not coordinated enough to shift when riding out of the saddle. So if I'm, say, pushing hard on a hill and the grade eases so that I want a bigger gear, I have to sit down, shift, and get up again. I've gotten used to simply shifting while staying up, using brifters and Gevenalle shifters.
I do recall from prior bikes with bar ends that sometimes my knee hit them when sprinting or climbing out of the saddle. I don't know if those bikes were perhaps poorly sized for me.
So, the book on the Ti-Raleigh teams shows a few team bikes with bar ends, in races. Apparently a few of the team riders used them, back in 1976-1980, and thus I could try bar ends without losing the "correctness" that is important for this particular bike in the fleet.
I have a suitable set of bar end shifters and some CLB alloy housing that I could install. One thing I wonder is if Benotto tape works well when wrapped over housing. The other is if I should try to adapt the retrofrictions for bar end use, and how.
Comments?
#36
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@jyl, I had bar-ends for years, and I think it's a good location for shifters. I can't remember if I shifted them while standing. I do know you can wrap housing with Benotto tape.
I have a pair of Shimano bar-ends you can have. Let me know if you want them.
I have a pair of Shimano bar-ends you can have. Let me know if you want them.
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Please email me rather than PM'ing me. Thanks.
#37
Full Member
I would keep the downtube shifters and develop more strength so you don‘t have to stand up. At the moment i have to stand up i accept defeat, dismount and push.
#38
You gonna eat that?
Some might argue that you're not using good technique.
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Thanks everyone. Tom, I appreciate the offer but I think I will figure out a way to use the Simplex retrofrictions on bar-end mounts. I am trying to stay fairly "correct" on this bike.
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I enjoyed Bandera's dry wit in answering this question, but perhaps someone should be more direct. Don't do it. People did not shift while standing up in vintage days. It would not have worked, and why would you need to anyway? Shift just before you stand up. Usually you go up a gear to stand. Wind it out. Sit down, and then shift if needed. There's usually a lull in the torque for a fraction of a second just after you sit.

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They do. Both Simplex and Shimano made them:

VeloBase.com - Component: Shimano L-600 Fingertip Control Barcons
But as you note finding a set can be a problem, and they tend to be costly when you do find them.

VeloBase.com - Component: Shimano L-600 Fingertip Control Barcons
But as you note finding a set can be a problem, and they tend to be costly when you do find them.
Cheers!