The Making of 6/7 Speed Bar-End Shifters
I discovered that it IS possible to piece together some nicely functioning 6 or 7 speed indexed bar-end shifters using Sunrace clamp-on shifters and the Shimano pods. You can go here for more detail. I know it's a little nerdy, but this is a nice retrofit for older bikes and something I've been looking for since I've become slightly index-dependent. :o
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...g?t=1311294863 |
those look pretty dang nice! good to know that it can be done.
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Very cool. I too love C&V but appreciate the merits of indexed shifting.
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Those don't look nerdy at all, I like them.
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Very nice! I've mostly avoided indexing, but recently put 8-speed indexed Shimano bar ends on my go-fast bike, and I have to say I really, really like the performance. I'm not going to switch everything in the fleet over, but I'd definitely consider it on something that gets ridden a lot.
Brian, in your blog you note that "I mill down the boss that slides through the bar-end pod so that it will fit the clamp-on style shifters." Could you describe that step a bit more? And what's the whole system you're running in terms of rear derailleur, freewheel, chain? Thanks! Neal |
Originally Posted by nlerner
(Post 12879663)
Very nice! I've mostly avoided indexing, but recently put 8-speed indexed Shimano bar ends on my go-fast bike, and I have to say I really, really like the performance. I'm not going to switch everything in the fleet over, but I'd definitely consider it on something that gets ridden a lot.
Brian, in your blog you note that "I mill down the boss that slides through the bar-end pod so that it will fit the clamp-on style shifters." Could you describe that step a bit more? And what's the whole system you're running in terms of rear derailleur, freewheel, chain? Thanks! Neal Well, as I mentioned in the blog, the milling process was pretty primitive. I have a guy down the street that is very skilled machinist, but he’s not around this week, so I was left to my own devices. Anyway, I cut an old QR skewer – which has the same threading as the boss – and put it in the drill press chuck with just a little of the threaded end protruding. Then I threaded the boss onto the skewer and basically used a file to remove material from the boss as it spun in the press. I used bosses that came from old Shimano thumb shifters and fit the holes on the pods. They’re carbon steel. I’m not sure if the original Shimano bosses were/are stainless. If so, this process wouldn’t work well, obviously I used older (late 80s – early 90s) Deore XT derailleurs, a Shimano HG freewheel, and a basic KMC (brown) 6 speed chain. The 180mm crankset came in a trade from balindamood. http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...g?t=1311294975 http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/e...g?t=1311294950 |
Cool! Thanks and great bike (and bags, of course).
Neal |
Brian, that seems like a nice trick! I've been toying with the idea of somehow migrating my Trek's stock 6-speed Shimano indexed downtube shifters to bar-ends, and this might be the ticket.
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Originally Posted by southpawboston
(Post 12880460)
Brian, that seems like a nice trick! I've been toying with the idea of somehow migrating my Trek's stock 6-speed Shimano indexed downtube shifters to bar-ends, and this might be the ticket.
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Originally Posted by Primitive Don
(Post 12879487)
Very cool. I too love C&V but appreciate the merits of indexed shifting.
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Great job of converting the shifters. I really dislike down tube shifters on any of my bikes and opt for Barcons, from time to time. That said, I too would like to find a way to convert indexed shifters to handlebar mounts of some style that blends into the vintage theme. We'll see...
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Very nice looking. I think I would've waited for some indexed Shimano 6 speeds so I wouldn't have to fudge with anything. Good to see that it can be done though.
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Isn't it possible to just use Shimano 6 or 7 sp. indexed down tube shifters with the pods, avoiding the need to mill anything to fit?
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Originally Posted by Ciufalon
(Post 12882902)
Isn't it possible to just use Shimano 6 or 7 sp. indexed down tube shifters with the pods, avoiding the need to mill anything to fit?
Neal |
Originally Posted by nlerner
(Post 12883100)
I've tried matching up old 6-speed indexed downtube shifters hanging in my parts bin with the bar-end pods, but the problem was as Noah Scape pointed out: the cable exit point on the levers didn't match up with the cable entry point on the pods. That's probably not true for all 6-speed shifters (and I can't tell you what I tried--some sort of "accushift" perhaps?), but it's kind of trial and error at this point.
Neal |
Originally Posted by Puget Pounder
(Post 12883164)
Maybe I've just been lucky. The few 7s/6s DT shifters I've tested onto some pods match up perfectly.
Neal |
I've only bothered with Shimano ones. 105 6 speed, RX100 7 speed, and Light action 7 speed have worked fine with the flat washer that I have.
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If you have a set of braze-on indexed 6 speed shifters, I'd try those first. It's just that they're hard to find, and getting harder every year.
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I bought a set of the Sun Race shifters to experiment with. Lots on eBay for roughly $15 shipped.
Neal |
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