The other day I was riding one of my old road bikes that has down tube shifters (Motobacane Mirage). One of several old bikes that I’ve restored/maintain, and ride weekly. When I made a turn onto a long straight road, I saw another rider about ½-mile ahead of me and decided to try to catch him. About 2-3 miles later, I rolled up beside him, and I mentioned that I’d been chasing him for a little over two miles. He was around my age, in his mid-60s, but riding a more modern CF road bike. He looked over at my bike and said “That’s a nice looking old classic.” and I thanked him. Then he commented that he got rid of is last bike with down tube shifters a couple years ago. On one of his last rides on that bike, a young 20- or 30-something guy rolled up next to him. After a minute or two, the young guys asked “What are those things on the down tube?” — Dan

I never cared for downtube shifters either. I like to go fast. Especially on twisty turns. And the times I want to shift seem to coincide with the times I should be keeping both hands on the bars.

But yeah, I can see where some today will wonder about what those are. I was watching a very old TV show the other day. And was wondering if some youth will be puzzled by the device sitting on the side table or hanging on the wall with the long curly cord attached. <grin>

I've had the young-uns ask me "why are the frame tubes so skinny?" and pointing to my full-size frame pump "what's that thing for?"

There is a certain aesthetic about riding a classic bike for some of us ....

Would not expect anyone to understand the aesthetics of others .... nor do we need anyone's appreciation.
Roll On. It's a Big cycling Universe.

And...btw...original paint and decals on a patina'd frame is the best bike vibe.



OK, OK ----- I'll stop with 3 that are in the herd. You get the idea .... or maybe not.

Not saying there’s anything wrong with riding more modern bikes. Personally, I Iike riding, and maintaining my older bikes…some that I have personally owned for 40+ years. They seem so much more simpler. But…I also enjoy an occasional ride on a more modern bike. IMO, it’s not a lot unlike classic car ownership. Some people like to drive around in a 2024 Lamborghini Huracan. Some folks prefer a ‘67 Camaro that they restored and maintain themselves. To each their own. — Dan

My vintage KLEIN has downtube shifters. I enjoy riding that bike but am fortunate to deal with flat terrain where I live and ride. Not a lot of shifting.

I rode with down tube shifters back in the day. I don't miss them at all.

I like DT shifters because they remind me of why I enjoy bike riding. Yeah you have to sometimes deal with being out of gear so they not as efficient as brifters. I figure my old technology is not as fast as new technology but then neither am I so it all kind of equals out.

I haven't ridden a bike with DT shifters in years. When I was doing so, shifting was pretty much unconscious and automatic, much like driving a stick shift in a car is now. Brifters were definitely an improvement, but not a huge one for me.

I had considered replacing the 8 speed Dura Ace brifters on my Colnago C96 with downtube shifters, so I could ride it on the Eroica ride. I'm less keen on the idea since I discovered that it still would not qualify .... the frame is not old enough.

As stated elsewhere by many - riding old bikes does not preclude carbon fiber, integrated electronic shifting, disc brake, conventional or ebikes, or such.


But it certainly has a different aesthetic, than a custom frame from a German craftsman - from 65 years ago.

And either can be a wonderful ride.
Horses for courses, it's not always a race.

And if the fast ride isn't too hilly (for an old rider's legs) this one always inspires a "hard man's effort" only slightly behind a modern superbike.

I also quit using DT shifters about five years ago. Back in the day I reckon they seemed ok, since I didn’t know any better.

Because I'm not as flexible as I used to be, and ride a large frame, I ruled out DT shifters as an increased safety risk when I rebuilt my old racing bike, and after trying brifters on another build, changed my Suntour stem shifters to Suntour bar controls.


Rio Grande & NM-502

I was running with a lady on Saturday. I'm 60 and she's 57 years old. An old pickup came past us. I asked her if she'd ever driven a 3 on the tree. She said she'd never seen one. I found that a little odd.

Half my bikes have downtube shifters. The other half have none, Fix gears; though on two of them I carry the tools to flip the wheel, even change cogs for hilly and mountainous rides. And every once in a while I take out one of the fix gears, get to a hill and reach down and find just a bare downtube!

DT shifters - the lightest, cheapest, most responsive and most crash worthy.

Yer gonna get in a fight with a comment like that.

Dan

Most of the folks I know who still ride old bikes, regularly or exclusively, ignore comments that we crash more often = distracted (because of DT shifting issues). .

In the real world, crashes occur for many reasons - DT malfeasance does not even make the list. Cyclists on old road bikes most often have far more experience - we were riding with traffic before bike lanes were invented in USA. And survived. All the break downs and crashes I hear/read of lately occur most frequently on bicycles with far greater technologically advanced equipment than DT friction shifters and rim brakes on wheels with glued-on tires (how ancient? is glue technology). Probably distracted by focusing on power, speed, cadence, HR, distance, location, battery status displays, texts, etc. Or maybe they never learned to hold a straight line with one hand on the bars, or when reaching for a water bottle. .

Clear your handlebars and your mind will follow.

No crashes. Rubber side down.

Not surprising at all to me. The last car I owned with a three speed manual transmission (on the tree) was a '64 Dodge Dart. Even my cheap as dirt '76 Plymouth Volare came with a 4 speed manual and a floor mounted Hurst shifter. I did drive a '53 Studebaker pickup at work in the early '80s that may have had a three on the tree shifter. Every other manual transmission car I ever owned or drove since 1963 was a 4 or 5 speed with a floor shifter. My sister/brother-in-law owned 50's and early 60's Saabs that had 4 on the tree shifters (or maybe the shifter came out of the dashboard like the Renault 2CV, it was a long time ago.)

My old bike is actually going backward in time. It has indexed, bar end shifters that are becoming un-indexed.

I logged 35 seasons before I tried brifters. Instant convert, but not dogmatic. I maintain 3 bikes with DT shifters because they are intended be more or less period original, and my muscle memory is intact. My other bikes have brifters. And I've had to explain what a frame pump is. "What's that extra tube for?"

I remember when DT shifters became indexed in the mid-1980s, with the widespread adoption of systems like Shimano's SIS, then in the early 90s most went to brifters. Clipless pedals in the mid 80s was a bigger improvement IMO, Im fine with DT shifters but my feet dont enjoy clips.

I rode with downtube shifters...Back in 1987.

Wouldn't even think of it now.

Hard to argue about the lightest in that they are as light as any other while having the shortest cables and usually the least cable housing.

Cheaper than up to date brifters, though there are functional friction thumbies for $10.

I agree on the response and also agree that they are the least vulnerable. Not just in crashes but in general use when a bike is parked; bar ends, for example seem particularly vulnerable.

Just my two cents.

Otto

My downtubed Bianchi was converted to an indexed shifting downtube bike. What a world of difference. When Campy Ergo brifters came out, I upgraded again and it was one of the best upgrades I ever made. I still have a downtube shifting bike which is a dedicated rainy day bike, because it also has a small cassette and I don’t do climbs on rainy days. I still enjoy riding the downtube shifter, but when pushing it, the others just work better. I believe it is called progress.

Vintage bike folks, don't let anyone rain on your parade. If you enjoy riding vintage bikes, keep on riding and smiling.
If you don't like them, no reason to throw backhanded insults around. Just go enjoy riding your own bike, whatever it might be.
We're all on the same team after all. The non-cycling public doesn't know the difference. We're all "weirdos in their way" to many non-cyclists.