Old or new components
 

Relative newbie question. I have an old Trek 730 multi-track and I'm wanting to swap out the old 3x7 grip shifters for thumb/triggers. Shimano Alivio is the original equipment. Should I go with new 3x7 shifters, like Shimano ef65, or should I get some old Alivio 3x7 triggers on ebay that are from the period of the bike? Purely for performance reasons, not trying to keep it original or anything like that. Thanks in advance

Friction shifting lets you use a lot of different drivetrain parts combinations..

'Performance' is Your Effort, not shopping choices.

Thank you, Bob. What I'm curious about, as a newbie, is, I have no idea of the quality or advancements of the last 15-20 years in the build of components. Would you, or most people go w/ new stuff regardless, or would the old, original equipment be preferable for any reason? Thanks again

As far as I know the Alivios are already index shifters, so replacing them with modern components shouldn't entail a performance loss. My GF from the late '90s had a mountain bike with 7-speed Alivio index thumbshifters--in fact the derailleur is on my Cannondale tourer right now.

Might as well get newer ones. Just make sure thee are for 7 speed and Shimano compatible. I put Sram shifters on a hybrid to replace a broken Shimano, but I think that some Sram models would not work.

The EF65s will work OK. They are pretty chunky so they might get bashed about a bit...
The only downside is that the front shifter can't trim, so it's hard to set the derailleur up for no chain drag on a triple.

I'd go with the new.

I think Shimano Tourney is still 3x7. And cheap. I would go new, unless you want to upgrade the quality of the old.

I run 7 speeds on my mountain bikes. I run an 8 speed trigger shifter with re-spaced cassettes, but that is a different subject. I also am using a thumb shifter for the front (2X) because of a bad left thumb.

I think a lot depends on how you are going to use the bike. I like triggers when riding on trails/single track.

If you are riding on pavement, you can use thumb shifters, and even better, a 7 speed SIS thumb shifter. The left will be friction, but most index thumb shifters are pretty bulletproof, even the cheaper new ones. Especially when compared to cheap triggers. Your only decision is whether you want to get older XT thumbies or newer cheap ones. The older XT's will cost a lot more, and good ones are tougher to find, but in a few years you may be able to sell them for what you paid.

John

I've got a Trek 700 Multitrack. Got really tired of the grip shifters. I always seem to accidentally click into different gear when pulling off at a red light. The hard rubber grips are uncomfortable too. Removed grip shifters. Installed some cheap-o black foam grips & some of these cheap-o thumb shifters:

Sunrace SLM10 Friction Shifter Set

Bike is much more comfortable to ride now. Shifters operate the 3x7 set up just fine. So far so good.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. Just to clarify, I just acquired this bike to fix up as a starter, flat-bar, road bike for my wife. She knows even less than I do about all this, and she doesn't want drop bars. We will be strictly road riders. I was just naturally thinking that integrated brakes and shifters are the way to go. But, after reading all the suggestions about just getting some thumb shifters and leaving the stock brakes, that might be the better route. I just thought that the integrated systems were "higher" end in general and possibly slightly lighter.

It might be wise to get index thumb shifters if the bike is for someone who doesn't want to fine tune with a friction shifter. Friction can be fun and I had friction shifters on my road bike until earlier this year, but there is a reason why Suntour went out of business and it wasn't because of their quality.

Also you don't need to run all 3 chainrings in the front. Depending on the terrain, you can probably just use the middle/big (small/middle if you ride in hills). It makes for real easy front shifting... one way one chainring, the other way the other chainring. Just turn the limit screw on the front derailleur to stop the derailleur from moving the chain into the small chainring.

John

Hey John, Thanks for the info. Is this kind of what you are talking about "old thumbies"?I like the clean look of these, even tho its going to be a road bike. I was wandering why they aren't still around and being produced. Is the travel of the thumb levers extra long or are the new thumb/triggers travel a lot shorter(rapid fire)? That's the only down-side that I could imagine, is if the thumb travel was real long.


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