So I'm wondering. I have an old Raleigh road bike. It's around early "80s. The guy at the bike shop asked me if I had considered puting on indexed shifters on it and upgrading.

I kind of like the friction. It takes a little getting used to. Have any of you changed out your old friction shifers for indexed on your vintage? Just curious.

No way! Friction shifting is is a important part of the vintage bike experience.

Don't do it. You have several advantages with friction shifting, not the least of which is almost all drivetrain parts will work with it, where index systems require a dedicated system-- not only will you need new shifters, but new mechs, new chain, new cassette/freewheel. You can trim shifting with friction. Many index systems develop problems where they need to re-adjusted to shift properly; in practice, not hard, but a PITA when a problem develops in the midst of a ride. If you're used to friction, keep it.

The shop is likely going to charge you beaucoup l'argent. You want a shifting up grade, get some simplex retrofriction shifters, about forty bucks on ebay.

Note: re-edited after my overworked and underpaid editor, USAZorro, noticed a number of major Faux Pas. Oops! Thank, Z!

Everyplace where a dire consequence was mentioned in the above post - replace the work indexed for friction.

Granted, the only indexed systems I've used are cheap ones on cheap MTB's, but I despise them. Friction all the way for me.

Argh! That's what I get for typing to fast, my poor brain can't keep up. I'll edit it so I don't look like the total idiot I am.

My new bike has an Ultegra (indexed) drivetrain and I really enjoy it... BUT the entire bike is designed to handle an indexed system. However, I would never dream of modifying my old Schwinn in that way. It just wouldn't seem right.

For me, it's not a matter of liking one system and hating the other. Instead, I think that each system has it's place. Having said that, I do feel more "connected" the the bike and the road when I'm on a friction-shifting bike.

Index...Upgrade ?
Huh ? Sort of oxymoronic to me.

Indexed shifting is a costly, inflexible, self-obsoleting, unreliable, overly complex technical solution to a nonexistent problem. Shimano and the bike shops are laughing all the way to the bank. [I am no luddite; I design integrated circuits for high-speed wireless communication systems, and I believe that advanced technology can solve many of today's pressing environmental problems. I also believe, however, that "less" sometimes is indeed "more," and there are places that minimalist engineering makes sense.]

Gene C and I have been discussing planned obsolescence and the throwaway society. Every time I ride my 24-year-old Bianchi, with its original derailleurs and shifters, or any of my bikes for that matter, I strike a blow for the freedom which comes from frugality, and I have a delightful time enjoying the aesthetics of the machine. (Over the years, my Bianchi, my Schwinn, and my Capo have gotten sincere compliments and admiring glances from mechanics and folks who really know classic bicycles and/or sports cars.)

This is the sort of thing I tell my daughter - "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should".

I like indexed shifting, in its' proper place. I enjoy it thoroughly on my late 80's Miyata, which came with friction FD and indexed RD. It is a reliable, well integrated system. But I have no problem with the friction shifting on my older Mondia.

The bigger issue for me would be the placement/type of shifters. Stem shifters are right out - I don't like 'em there. DT shifters are what I'm most comfortable with, as that is what I've been using all my like. I have a newer Trek 2100 that has STI, and while I freely admit they are convenient, they take something away from the experience for me. Also, I constantly worry about all the cheap little bits inside, and fret endlessly about whether the next shift will be the last.

John D.

friction all the way! My main bike has friction shifting, and lemme tell you I wouldn't consider going indexed on that thing. Besides, I have it down so well that it is basically indexed... in a friction sort of way

count another vote for the friction shifters.
I feel way more connected to my 1986 Schwinn WorldSport then my 2004 Jamis Crosscountry.

Why don't you tell us how you really feel?

OK, indexed FRONT shifting is even worse; it's a major step backward, because it compromises or eliminates feathering of the front mech to compensate for chain angle across the cogset.

true that...

You're right, I never thought of that. I went for a quick spin tonight and had never noticed before that I make little adjustments to the front derailler.

Of my three bikes with index shifting I have now completed converting two of them to friction shift, using bar-ends.

Much better than they way they were.

The tird I will probably leave as an index shifter simply because I don't find the campy hoods too uncomfortable and there is "some" ability to trim the front der.

The shimano ones had to be converted - driven by the front der. issues. But all in all - much better now that they are simply friction shifters.

I prefer friction, as well. The only real major improvement to a bike's drivetrain, in my opinion, is cassettes over freewheels. Guess what? You can still use friction on cassettes, and upgrade while the rest is pretty much untouched. I've ridden brand-new Ultegra STI, and it's very nice, but I just don't see getting rid of my downtube friction unless I was racing, which I'm not. That's a whole lot of money for not much improvement.

Stem shifters are especially dangerous in a crash (the echoing voice of experience...)

I converted my Bridgestone MB-2 from six speed friction to seven speed indexed. The RD is a new Ultegra long cage and the rest of the drive train is XT. The shifters are rapid fire STI. The entire system performs flawlessly. The front shifter allows for trimming, so that's not a problem.

The cost is the only down side so far. It would have been worse if I hade gone with nine speed. There's less demand for seven speed parts, so you can generally get them much cheaper.

I've got a Peugeot PX-10 and a Gitane TdF that I haven't been riding at all. I'm sure I'll go back to them when the novelty of the index shifting wears off.

How do you move shifters from the stem to the down tube? is there a special part to buy or do people just rig one?

Before I stick my foot in my mouth with non-applicable advice, what kind of bike and what kind of components are you talking about? Is a picture possible?

Okay, now I can stick my foot in my mouth.

Some stem shifters have smaller holes to accommodate the smaller bosses on the shifter clamp, but usually the stem and downtube shifters are the same casting, with extra parts to make 'em work on the downtube (of course, you need either bosses down there or a downtube clamp...) The shifters will usually work with the proper mix of parts, but a set of clamp-on campy shifters for the downtube usually goes pretty cheap on eBay (like $15...suntour power shifters are better and cheaper yet). After the shifters are installed on the bike all you need to do is shorten the derailleur cables.

It's a Schwinn, 86WorldSport. I don't have a way to get pictures but I assume everything is stock.

I'm of a mixed mind here.
My Serotta (89) is campy 8 speed ergo. I like it, I can feather the font derailleur
and it is very easy to shift. I could see how someone not used to downtube
shifting would feel safer shifting without taking their hands off the bars. One
of the things I like about the campy is it is rebuildable, small bit breaks (index gear)?
take it to LBS for repair (I ain't gonna mess with Brifters!).
The de Reus I bought (94) will be either Super record of C-Record
(maybe Croce d'Aune if I can find a gruppo). I wouldn't think of putting ergo/sti on it,
it just would not fit the bike.
Everything else I own is downtube friction shifting, it's what I learned on,
it's what I'm comfortable with.
Like everything else its personal choice, and personally I don't think it
would be worth it.

Marty

I know that this is a dumbish question since it's my bike I don't have a proper way to measure.
Anyone know what the diameter of the downtube is on a 1986 world Sport? A german bike shop repairguy is selling Shimano golden Arrow downtube clamp-ons shifters on E-Bay and he says the tube needs to be a diameter of 28.6mm. $8.00 current bid + $6 shipping, is this a good buy.
Can you tell I'm new to this?

Wrap a piece of paper around your downtube, mark the point of overlap, unroll it, and measure your circumference, preferably in mm. Divide by pi, and you have your diameter. Multiply by 25.4 if you measured the circumference in inches.