WNG

^Jagwire makes a set of bar-end mounts for DT shifters. I think VO does too (or perhaps theirs comes with those new DT shifter).

WNG

These type of index shifters are more thumb than stem shifter. I refer to them as drop bar thumb shifters, as you shift by pressing the paddles with your thumb. Very similar to Suntour command shifters except for the location of mounting.

RaleighSport

ermmm does this have any major advantage over the DIY hack for turning DT's/Stem shifters into thumbies?

Sixty Fiver

I have no problem with STI's/ brifters and always like to see new products that I can having a practical purpose... believe the Tektro lever was just the basis for the prototype and that production levers will be unique.

I have been holding on to some Command shifters for some time and plan to use those on some upcoming build... I am excessively fond of my bar ends be they vintage Suntours or modern indexed models.

If was to upgrade my Ron Cooper to something like Ultegra I'd use indexed bar ends instead of brifters because of their ruggedness, simplicity, and lower price / weight.

xB_Nutt

I like them and can see practical applications for there use. Plus they have the unique factor going for them. Like someone said above, if it helps keep dt shifters in production, then I am a fan!

cudak888 

They're probably the best adaptation yet, but - at the $140 price point, not including the rest of the hardware necessary - they're little more than a solution (and not an entirely perfect one either, given the position limitations for shifting) looking for a problem.

-Kurt

Barchettaman

Robbie, the pods you are thinking of are indeed Jagwire, they work beautifully. I have them on my tri bike (not C&V, apologies)

Barchettaman

It seems to me that from a C&V standpoint the Retroshift system would be particularly useful for 7-speed upgradins, as 7-speed STI shifters are pretty tricky to find.
For 8-speed and up there seems to be much better parts availability.

Obviously I wish the guys at Retroshift well, always good to see blokes Making Stuff.

Someone needs to get a set PDQ and see what they are like.

top506

I like the cables exiting the tops of the levers.
Just like old times......

Top

20grit

Once the tooling is in place and paid off for mass production rather than one-offs, the cost should go down a bit.
I have no want for them, but it's pretty cool seeing people come up with stuff like this.

jrecoi

I wonder if they'll do a service where one sends in their brake levers for conversion.

This reminds me of a prototype made by Joel Evett in the 1970s.

Campyonly did a brief mention of his version: https://www.campyonly.com/rumors.html (scroll down to March 6, 2007)

frantik

[img]********************************data/media/44/notsureifwantdog.jpg[/img]

mtnbke

I use Kelly Take-Offs, and I'm not seeing anything with Retroshift that will work for C&V bits. Kelly Take-Offs allow me to use Suntour Superbe Pro levers with the Superbe Pro 6/7 speed Indexed shifters mounted just in-board for "poor man's ERGO/STI." I can do the same with my Mavic SSC 8 speed indexing shifters. Why, would anyone who loves C&V components want Tektro levers? That is exactly why I use Kelly Take-Offs, they allow me to use vintage levers and get reasonable ergonomic indexed shifting with vintage shifters.

For anyone not C&V, this look neat, but the price point is way off. I'd consider $140 for carbon levers/mounts. Heck, $140 gets you Campy Carbon levers (non-ERGO).

For those that don't like the looks of Kelly Take-Offs get 'em powdercoated to match your bike!

I can see the BOBish cult inculcating this into their dogmatic builds though.

Barchettaman

I thought there was quite a lot of love on the C&V forum for Tektro brake levers as the hood position was so comfortable. I´m pretty sure it´s a common update.

jsharr

When I saw these on another site, I really liked the thought of being able to install new brake levers, move my shifters from the DT to the bars and still be able to return the bike to original condition easily. Could be moved from bike to bike, etc. I like the form follows function aesthetic of them. I have seen and ridden Kelly TakeOffs and to me this system is cleaner and has more appeal. I find the servicability of them to be very nice, something that brifters do not offer.

Their site is up, but they do not show any info other than a Dec. 12th debut date. Time will tell. If they price drops to sub $100 they would move way up on my want list. At $140 they are expensive and I probably would not get them.

https://retroshift.com/

20grit

Having recently fixed a set of 10 speed Record Ergos, I can say working on them isn't terribly difficult. That said, these things would be far easier.

WNG

[mtnbike]
Lighten up the rhetoric. You are beginning to sound like a TV evangelist. If you don't advocate it, it must be the work of the Devil (GP, LOL!).
You slam the BOBish cult, but you are only cultivating your own cult.

This is a cleverly thought out and original prototype. It's a neat idea. It's the innovative tinkering that I'm applauding. Doesn't mean most of us are rushing out to buy into it. The video shows its ergonomic shortcomings with the wide throws. Personally, they won't work for me. Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm still C&V.

Not everyone likes or fits vintages levers. Some vintage levers you just can't get replacement parts for. And unless you are trying to do a restoration, the cost of NOS parts for a daily rider makeover breaks the bank.
The Tektro levers were evolutionary cousins to C&V levers. Their ergonomics are superior, their construction is quite good, hoods in black or gum are available, they come in two lever sizes, and just as important, they are reasonably priced, just like how C&V levers used to be....still affordable for the everyday biker. Their wide adoption and praise are evidence enough. I have 4 pairs, two for daily riders, one to go with a set of Campy Chorus monoplaners, and one as upgrade to a Cannondale with RX100 levers.

As you stated: 'reasonable ergonomics'...people aren't settling for that and trying to improve the ergonomics. If there wasn't any room for improvement, we wouldn't have brifters, Command Shifters, Kelly Take-Offs, or these Retroshifts.

Drakonchik

One cool mod is to mount Suntour Command Shifters on your aerobars, such they sit adjacent to your brake levers, and face the outboard direction. I've done this with STI (Sora) on drop bars, and also with old-school Dia-compe AD-290 batwing brake levers mounted on bull horn bars.

mtnbke

The reason we have the progression from 8 to 9, then 10, and now 11 speeds, and the reason we have brifters instead of downtube shifters mounted ingenuously "near" the levers, and the reason we transitioned from 630 rims/wheels all the way down to 622, and the reason for so many other changes in cycling has nothing to do with anything that can be confused with improvement.

It has to do with needing to sell new bikes and components to customers that, for the most part, already have components and bikes already. Cycling, at least road cycling, is not exactly a growing sport in the US.

I love the Retroshift concept, then again I love the Kelly Take-Offs. However, I just don't think they work with C&V stuff. I guess it depends on what C&V means to each of us. One guy might have a '70s era Chrysler and think it is collectible, the fellow with the bathtub Porsche might have a different opinion. I like my Cannondale ST touring Suntour alpha-3000 bike, but not just for its components, but also because of the frame its on. I love my Cannondale ST touring bike with Superbe Pro. I'd just as soon go modern instead of the alpha-3000, probably, maybe. Components have to do something for me, besides just work, for me to love them. I don't just simply like older stuff 'cause its old. For me, the Retroshift doesn't make sense in any build of my C&V bikes. For my C&V bikes I want Superbe Pro or Mavic SSC levers, not Tektro's. For anything more modern (and I won't go forward past 8 speed) I'd rather just have ERGO or STI levers. If I'm going to have a Campy or a Dura Ace/Ultegra bike that's what I want, not Tektro. That being said I sure the hell would buy these if Campy licensed it for touring builds and branded it. That may be vain, but part of our attraction to cycling isn't just about the utility of the thing.

KonAaron Snake 

Absolutely fantastic post. One of the dumbest things I've ever done was replacing a set of uber-comfortable Tektro levers that came on a bike with period correct Campy aero levers that mangle my hand.

I'd love to give these levers a try...and probably will at some point. Once you're in a school of thought regarding parts or builds, you're missing out on a lot of neat and interesting options. Variety is the spice of love.

Any chance we could see a photo?

Puget Pounder

Still there. Fabricated.

PDXaero

suntour command /ergo

Sixty Fiver

Are those Suntour thumbies ?

Have had a few friends mount these up on drop bars as a poor man's bar con.

thirdgenbird

if you are looking for the one that bolted to the center of a 1pc aero bar i used to have one. i gave the 105 shifters to khatful but ive got no idea where the mount ended up. it is doubtful, but if i find it it is yours.

if you are looking for the ones that stick in the ends of the bar then as described above jagwire is your best bet.

Drakonchik

First draft, with Command 7 long wings. Since greatly improved with Command 8 (short wings) and Dia-Compe AD-290 brake levers which form a kind of pommel allowing your hand to swivel around.