Shimano Unishift Retrofriction shifters: What's the deal?
04-20-23, 10:20 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Southern California
Posts: 1,467
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 801 Post(s)
Liked 754 Times
in
411 Posts
Shimano Unishift Retrofriction shifters: What's the deal?
What's the deal with these guys. I assume that if they worked as well as the other true Retrofriction (i.e. *not* simply ratcheting, like Suntour powershift) and could be adapted to downtube bosses they'd be all the rage. But they're not...
I was planning on purchasing a pair just to try them out, based on the component diagram I see no reason why I couldn't just get rid of the clamp and bolt the shifter onto the frame. As I understand it I might need to swap out the mounting bolt for an m5, but it seems perfectly adaptable.
Anyone already tried them out?
More reading on Kuromori's blog: https://kuromori.home.blog/clutched-one-way-shifters/
I was planning on purchasing a pair just to try them out, based on the component diagram I see no reason why I couldn't just get rid of the clamp and bolt the shifter onto the frame. As I understand it I might need to swap out the mounting bolt for an m5, but it seems perfectly adaptable.
Anyone already tried them out?
More reading on Kuromori's blog: https://kuromori.home.blog/clutched-one-way-shifters/
04-20-23, 11:42 AM
#2
Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 9,194
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
Mentioned: 132 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1565 Post(s)
Liked 1,296 Times
in
866 Posts
Unishift levers might only work on old Shimano DT bosses, not "Campagnolo" bosses.
The marketing page mentions a cam, not sure what that does but it seems likely to be part of only the left lever shown, not the UniShift lever on the right side.
The screw/spring ratcheting elements of the bigger lever appear to engage actual teeth inside of the lever itself, and the ratchet ring is somehow friction-clutched to the lever.
The UniShift lever on the right shows the spring-wrap one-way clutch parts.
The marketing page mentions a cam, not sure what that does but it seems likely to be part of only the left lever shown, not the UniShift lever on the right side.
The screw/spring ratcheting elements of the bigger lever appear to engage actual teeth inside of the lever itself, and the ratchet ring is somehow friction-clutched to the lever.
The UniShift lever on the right shows the spring-wrap one-way clutch parts.
04-20-23, 12:26 PM
#3
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Southern California
Posts: 1,467
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 801 Post(s)
Liked 754 Times
in
411 Posts
Unishift levers might only work on old Shimano DT bosses, not "Campagnolo" bosses.
The marketing page mentions a cam, not sure what that does but it seems likely to be part of only the left lever shown, not the UniShift lever on the right side.
The screw/spring ratcheting elements of the bigger lever appear to engage actual teeth inside of the lever itself, and the ratchet ring is somehow friction-clutched to the lever.
The UniShift lever on the right shows the spring-wrap one-way clutch parts.
The marketing page mentions a cam, not sure what that does but it seems likely to be part of only the left lever shown, not the UniShift lever on the right side.
The screw/spring ratcheting elements of the bigger lever appear to engage actual teeth inside of the lever itself, and the ratchet ring is somehow friction-clutched to the lever.
The UniShift lever on the right shows the spring-wrap one-way clutch parts.
And I was thinking that the little bracket with the square just might fit a regular campagnolo shifter boss, rather than shimano's b-type. I think it might, because Shimano's proprietary shifters have a little bump built into the shift lever that keeps the lever from rotating due to cable tension. The unishift uses a metal bracket with a stop just like a campagnolo style downtube shifter.
