I thought I saw an ad for Command shifters the other day. I think it was a new remake of the old Suntour command shifters. Anyone use command shifters ? If so how do you like them ? An upgrade from down tube shifters ?

Command shifters work great and are reliable, but are really only optimized to work with Suntour Accushift derailers (and Suntour Alpha freewheels for the 7s levers).

The rare 8s variant can be used with an otherwise Dura-Ace 8s setup.

The Command levers having the cast alloy mounting pod are considerably more rigid and were the higher-end offering.

I run them on my touring/do-it-all bike and I love them. The old-school levers can be converted to full friction by disassembling them and removing a ball bearing. I followed the instructions here. Dia-Compe has released a modern version, the ENE Wing shifter, which is friction only. They look nice but are very expensive and only available in silver. Are those the ones you've seen? If there's another version I'd be interested to see them!

I've run them in friction mode. Instructions are to mount them below the brake lever, but I prefer them right above. if you ride in the drops a lot, mounting below the brake lever would be optimal. One of the issues with mounting them above the brake lever is difficulty in routing with aero levers.

Thanks for the info. Beautiful bike. I love the bar wrap.

I've got the old style Command Shifters on 3 bikes right now- one is 6 speed Accushift, one is 10 speed SIS and another is in the process of being changed over to 10 speed. I've been intrigued by the ENE Wing Shifters, there was talk about them for a LONG time before I saw them for sale anywhere. I love the idea of the ultra fine Sprint ratcheting on both shifters and running friction. I don't know of anyone actually getting them yet (I haven't seen anyone's pix here yet).

IMG_0063 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

IMG_2402 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

IMG_0616 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

1985 Trek 620 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


1985 Trek 620 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

1986 Trek 400 Elance by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr


I just ran the housing over the clamp and wrapped 'em together. I put one wrap behind the extension, then the rest under the wrap.

Rough Fit 720 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

Rough Fit 720 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

If I were to die and wake up on a bike on that trail, I'm pretty sure I'd know I was in heaven.
Thanks for that pic! Gives me confidence to try it next time I go Command shifter.

I had set up a set of Command levers on a modern short reach bar once. The lack of length on the ramps meant a tighter bend than the housing liked. I ended up using a pair of V noodles to handle the 90degree bend of the handlebars.

Thank you and Thank you! With all the amazing things I've seen you fabricate- I can't imagine this would have even been a speed bump for you!

I'm hoping to get out to that stretch of trail tomorrow!

I had them on a couple of bikes I sold. I found that the shifters were okay if used when riding with hands on the top of the handlebar. However when riding on the hoods or in the drops I found they were a LOT more awkward to use than downtube shifters were.

Cheers

Yesterday I was riding a bike with bar-ends. It's interesting how less often I shifted, and how often I kept reaching forward with my fingers to shift. Then deciding it wasn't worth the effort to reach down to the bar-ends.