bsear

I found my Voyageur (1981 model i believe) at a local bike shop in near brand new condition, save a few scratches on the frame. It's great to ride but the only thing I don't love about it are the downtube friction shifters (shimano altus i believe). I have been looking online for replacement indexed shifters but can't seem to find any 12 speed shifters out there. I don't have an endless budget and am looking for a set of indexed shifters. I am a biking novice and was just hoping someone could help me out here. Thanks.

Grim

Friction shift is fine once you get use to it. Where you may run into problems is the Derailleurs may not be compatible with indexed shifters.
Generally 5-7speed indexed have the same gear spacing. a 7 speed should work fine on a 5 speed if the derailleur has the correct fulcrum points to work with them.

Are you wanting to move the shifters or are you ok with the location? Moving the shifters I would look bar end shifters 7 speed on ebay. You can probably get a set to your door for $40. Get the Shimano and if there is a problem with the indexing you can switch to friction mode till you sore out the derailleur issue.

Also upgrading to a 7speed free hub with ramped gears is an option as well.
https://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...oducts_id=6178

Now going to STI Brifters...that gets expensive fast. A used 7 speed set of brifter on ebay will ALWAYS bring $125 or better. I'm searching for a set my self and I am to the point of buying a $300 bike to get the shifters and resell it with down tubes.

bsear

So let me get this straight (keep in mind i am just recently getting into cycling): in order to get indexed shifting, whether downtube or brifter, i would need a new set of derailleurs as well as the shifter. the bike can use 7 speed shifters, although it would probably be worth the 20 bucks to get a new 7 speed freewheel. would it be wise to keep with shimano for all of these parts?

dedhed

Check the side of the rear shifter - it may be switchable from friction to index. Derailler doesn't care if it's index or friction. Fronts will be friction unless it's a triple. If you really want indexed look here.

https://www.thefind.com/sports/info-downtube-shifters

remember you're looking for six speed not 12.

Grim

That sums it up for the lest expense.

Shimano and their index shifting is what put Suntour out of business. Shimano is pretty well your only choice for 7 speed on Brifters and it was limited to mid 90's before they went to the 8speed. 8speed went to tighter spacing between the gears. You can make it work I am told and I may give it a try soon.

There was some Suntour down tube and bar end index in the late 80's but they are going to be less common.

You might need the derailleur for indexed. Just going to be a try it and see if it works.

The ramped freewheel will shift a little bit easier and if there is any problem with the original freewheel it would be the cheap way to fix it (although looking at the catalogs the Voyager came with nice parts).

If you look on there is a big thread of vintage bikes with STI conversions. Little more info there.

prof2k

Nice find. Those voyageur 11.8 frames ride super nice.

It would be wise to keep with shimano. Shifters and rear derailleurs are always mated together, so different brands will not usually work together. Front derailleurs are all the same, you will not need to change it.

The amount of speeds indexed is completely determined by the shifters. Any shimano rear derailleur will work with any set of shimano indexed shifters.

All you really need to change is the rear derailleur and the shifters. If you found 6 speed indexed shimano shifters and pretty much any modern or vintage S.I.S. compatible rear derailleur you would be set. The difference between 6 and 7 speeds isn't anything special.

P.S. As a side note the one exception to this is the dura-ace 7400 series. The shifter and derailleurs are only compatible with each other and not other shimano models

bsear

Thanks for so many responses. i am seeing considerable price differences between rear derailleurs. is there a huge difference in performance between a $40 and a $100 derailleur? i am stuck between getting a new pair of brifters or downtubes. what are opinions on a good set of each? so far i have found https://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...ucts_id=403053 and https://www.airbomb.com/ItemMatrix.as...R3%B6EAW%B6003.

wrk101

Say after me, donor bike. Otherwise, you will spend a lot buying retail parts to build up a bike. If you are looking for a super deal on a new modern rear derailleur, Cambria has been selling Ultegra RDs for $39, you will not find a better deal than that anywhere! https://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.a...EAR+DERAILLEUR

Decent brifters are particularly expensive, can cost about what that Voyageur is worth. The ones you have pictured from Niagara are equivalent to SORA, which is bottom end (still decent, but not great).

If you are looking for a more modern shifting system, and more speeds, best bet is to move up to a mid 1990s or newer bike with a modern drivetrain (including brifters). I recently picked up a good 1995 bike, lugged steel frame, Shimano 7 speed brifter drivetrain, for less than $200.

Myself, I believe in N+1, so I have a couple of brifter bikes, and enjoy them thoroughly. I also have a touring bike with bar end shifters, indexed. I also have a vintage downtube friction shifter bike. As much as I really like vintage bikes, I still ride the two brifter bikes the most.

prof2k

If you want to use 8 speed shifters, you are going to need a new set of wheels to accommodate the 8 speed rear cassette.

bsear

would that ultegra RD work with a 7 speed? i see its rated for 9/10 speed, but was thinking i could get a new 7 speed set of gears and a shimano downtube indexed shifter. i am not necessarily looking for a brifter, i just want to have indexed gears.

mrmw

Your '81 Schwinn Voyageur 11.8 has a first generation Shimano Uniglide rear hub.

It is compatible with neither standard Shimano Uniglide nor freewheels.

First generation Uniglide is an evolutionary dead end.

To change the rear cluster you will need a new rear wheel. Once you do that--infinite shifting vistas are allayed before you.

Either 700c or 27" rims will fit with your curent brakes.

theschwinnman

Any chance you can pot some pics? I have a 11.8 as well, but the condition of the paint is rather poor.

johnknappcc

Mine is a little newer than yours (1986) and I did all the upgrades mentioned above. New 700C wheelset (Mavic OP/Ultegra 6500), cassette, crankset, RD, FD, brifters, etc. It's currently a 10speed running a compact double in front. Looking back, I should have purchased a used groupset, however, I could only afford the piece by piece when I started.

The whole drivetrain is Ultegra, with the exception being the cranks, R700 (supposed to be at the Ultegra level).

It's a great bike (it's my only bike) and I got a sportier setup (for group rides) with the same comfortable geometry of the original touring frame. The brifters were the final piece, but you can save a lot if you go for barends (which it had right before the brifters). Still gets your shifting off the downtube and closer to your hands, but without the added cost of the brifters. However, now that the bike has brifters, I'm not sure I could ever go back. It's sooooo nice.



Along the way . . . https://gallery.a-symmetric.com/main.php?g2_itemId=101