gaucho777 

The Anti-Brifter Club is seeking new members! Do you currently own a bike with brifters--STIs, Ergos and such? If yes...sorry. You are not welcome. Does the 1' reach from the drops to the down tube seem a trivial distance? Do you appreciate the beauty of an unencumbered brake lever? Do you have to take your hands off the hoods to shift? Yes, yes, yes? Good. You are not alone. Come ride with us.

The Rules:
1. In order to be eligible to join the Anti-Brifter Club (hereafter "ABC"), you must not currently own a bike equipped with brifters, a.k.a. integrated shift levers, including but not limited to Campagnolo Ergo, STI, SRAM Double Tap, Kelley Take-Off Shifters, etc. Ownership of a bike equipped with bar-end shifters does not constitute ineligibility.

2. ABC Members agree to use best efforts to not be excessively haughty, derisive to the point of being antagonistic, unduly insulting, or blatantly condescending toward those wayward C&V brethren who are willing to besmirch their bikes with offensive gadgetry.

3. Current ABC members who subsequently purchase a brifter-equipped bike must report in this thread to announce their ineligibility and immediate termination of membership, to be followed by great public shame and wringing of hands.

4. Any ABC member found in possession of a brifter-equipped bike, shall have his/her membership immediately revoked.

5. All disputes pertaining to membership eligibility shall be decided by a majority vote open to all ABC members. The decision shall be based on replies received within 48 hours of a motion by an ABC member to dispute said eligibility.

6. Rules subject to change.

7. Membership is free. Benefits are priceless.

8. To gain membership in the Anti-Brifter Club, simply reply in this thread and claim to your eligibility. Introductions and descriptions of your bike collection encouraged.

gaucho777 

I'll get the ball rolling...

Greetings. My name is Randy. I currently own 8 bikes and none are equipped with brifters. Nor have I ever owned a bike for myself with brifters. I have one rigid MTB with thumb shifters, and one touring bike with bar-end shifters. The remaining bikes are all equipped with downtube shifters. It works for me.

squirtdad

Do I get points for the sun race thumbies on the Nishiki and the campy downtube on the torpado...both not indexed to compensate for the ultegra 9 sti on the Miyata?

2 outta 3 ain't bad

gaucho777 

^Sorry. This is an exclusive club. Disqualified!

squirtdad

well then

I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.

Groucho Marx

icepick_trotsky 

My name is Ben, and I'd like to apply for membership. I currently have 3 bikes with downtube friction shifting -- a C-Record group, a Cyclone group, and a crummy Sachs-Huret group. I'm currently building up a commuter using a modern steel frame, but I'll be using a Suntour barcon for that, too.

My wife once owned a brifter-equipped bike, but we sold it. Good riddance.

oddjob2

Where's @auchencrow?


Are you admitting IGH aficionados? How about drewers?

rhm

I don't know how many bikes I have, but I know I have two sets of brifters, both sitting in the parts bins. One Shimano, one Campy. Tried them, didn't like them. Gimme down tube shifters, sturmey archer trigger on the handlebar, quadrant shifter on the top tube, bar end shifters, twist grip shifters. Or no shifters at all. I'm easy.

When's our first meeting?

fietsbob

Bar end 3, thumbies 2, friction all, >> Sturmey 3 speed 1, Rohloff grip Shifter 2.

is the meeting Open Bar?

Still no cassette rear wheels either (unless you consider the driver for 1 cog of a 3 speed one)

crank_addict

No brifters. I've got the DT's, some even below that or combination of (same bike).

crank_addict

No brifters. ( I even held off a lil' devil at a recent bike swap meet. Was tapping my shoulder to buy a brand new in the box Shim. Tourney brifters for $40.)

My newest bike MY2010, drop bar ends, look closely.... no brifters

gaucho777 

Welcome new members!

IGH, Cambio Corsa, Single Speed, chain-stay mounted Cyclos, even drewers are elegible. Just as long as you do not own a bike equipped with brifters.

Chombi

I have these ugly, hideous and heavy monsters in my component stash,.....

I hope I'm not disqualified from membership, as I swear, they have never been mounted on any of my bikes!
Can I throw them into the annual club bonfire to make up??
Otherwise, every shifter on my bikes are DT Simplex/Mavic Retros except for one with old campy DTs plus one set of Simplex bar end retros in my stash.

icepick_trotsky 

Question to the members -- are you drawn to the older technology because you grew up with it and have always loved it, or is it an aesthetic connection, or something else?

I was born in 1985, roughly the time that SIS came out. By the time I was old enough to ride a real road bike, brifters were already the norm. Part of my rejection of them is my total apathy toward modern racing/roadie culture. I was first attracted to older bikes for the beauty of the frames, not the components, after all. But I think the main attraction to friction for me is the tactile connection to the machine. It's the same feeling I get when typing on an old typewriter, another technology I like that predates my birth. It's as if I have to physically engage with the machinery, and feel it's feedback to make it work correctly. Old components, like many old machines, require the user to become a part of the machine himself. Brifters/indexing in general remove the user from that connection.

In short, and to risk a potential "that's what she said" joke, friction just feels good.

Chombi

Good analogy with the old manual typewriters....
I do remember in high school and college when I get on a good fast rhythm when I typed reports for classes. There was that feeling of "bounce" at the tips of the fingers coming from the mechanism for each key on the typewriter that felt really good. Same with the quick flick mechanical feel on the carriage return lever and how the carriage hits the stop when you return it.

gaucho777 

@Chombi, yes, you are most welcome. Having un-used brifters in the parts bin is not grounds for disqualification.

justin10054

I'm currently in possession of 4 bikes cached at various locations across the country. All of which are older than me and equipped with downtube shifters and only one of which is indexed.

My two main bikes are:

1972 Raleigh International


1986-ish Rossin



Will I be disqualified for admitting that I've currently been daydreaming about getting a carbon fiber racing bike?

northbend 

This mongrel doesn't qualify. I'd not hold it against you and will gladly buy you a beer if we ever have the chance to meet..

justin10054

I'm pretty much the same. I'm in my 20s and have only been riding road bikes for a few years, but I love the old stuff. Mainly because it's so cool. I love riding the old bikes the way they would have been back in the day.

I can appreciate the modern stuff and I'm sure I'll get a new bike someday, but I'll want to put a Campy groupset on there and build some fancy wheels. I just don't have the budget for that right now. Vintage road bikes are a relatively inexpensive hobby.

mikemowbz

I'm working on it. Just un-Ergo'd my Miyata 912 this winter (now fitted with Suntour Superbe friction DT's).

Even my modern 7700 DA-equipped Ti bike runs bar ends.

However, my application will have to be held as I contemplate a reasonable alternative to 10sp STI for my Ritchey cross bike...too 'modern' to have DT stops (as is the Ti bike), and bar-ends would risk undue jostling in rough-terrain use. Thumbies? How do y'all feel about 'brifter-like' kludge solutions like the Retroshift brake-lever mounted DT shifter setup?

The other 5 of mine in the house (all DT), and my girlfriend's 3 (DT/DT/trigger), are all brifter-free.

squirtdad

I am sure there is a supreme court ruling against this degree of prejudice. accepting gripshifts but not brifters? How can this be justified other than hate.

I think if you are going to do this you should be much more picky and keep the club exclusive.... only friction shifting period.

but then I am not the grand poobah of a club that does not want me or my rounds of beer

Cougrrcj

I don't have a bike new enough to have come with brifters, and I'm not about to start now. I don't ride on the hoods anyway.

Heck, I have 2-1/2 road bikes and only the much-too-tall '90 Nishiki that I bought for parts has downtube shifters. The '75 Fuji S-10S and '84 Univega that I actually ride have old-school SunTour barcons because I prefer those, and each were converted shortly after I got the bikes. I got the Wife an 80s Sears women's three-speed that of course has a trigger shifter. The '90 Schwinn Woodlands has the stock thumb shifters, and the Mutt has SunTour thumb shifters.

OldsCOOL

Sign me up, I'm all in.



When I want to go fast and hard, I have to have the DT's:

Chombi

Kewhl! sign me up!!
So, when do we get the official mug, water bottle, jersey, toeclip straps and bar tape with the "BRIFTERS SUUUUCKS!!" logo printed on them??

iab

If I have a bike that predates downtube shifters, would that cancel out the one bike I have with ergo? You know, call it even.