Jim from Boston

I can't answer why, but I had downtube shifters on my circa 1980 Bridgestone RB-1, totalled in an accident in 2012, and replaced by a road bike with brifters. I still occasionally reach down to shift, kind of like a scratching a "phantom" itch on an amputated limb, as was my RB-1 amputated from me.

Dave Cutter

Back in 1964 those DT shifters (making all those gears available) was just awesome. Moving around on the bike... or moving a hand a fraction of a second from the brake didn't seem like a big deal at all. After all... some people used to reach down to tighten the straps on the toe clips anyway. We even used the style of riding known as "with no hands" from time to time.... like when putting on or taking off a sweater or jacket. Or lighting a cigarette.

BTW... although I mostly ride modern bikes I always keep at least one steel 10 speed with down tube shifters. More often than not the old classics just hang on the wall waiting for a summer an ice cream ride with the wife. Those great vintage bikes have a simple, functional, beauty.

andr0id

As crazy as it sounds, I have a friend who will only take a drink when we're stopped.
She's too afraid to reach down and grab and replace a bottle while riding.

DT shifters were very reliable, minimal cable run and with decent mid to high end components, worked very well for the time. Also my first indexed shifting was DT mounted Dura Ace 7 speed if I remember right.

Although the Shimano catalog showed an integrated shifter at this time, I don't remember it really catching on until they released the 8 speed version.

ThermionicScott 

Oh yeah, I'm not ashamed to admit that when I bought my first road bike mere weeks before my first RAGBRAI, I was terrified to reach down and shift, or to grab the water bottle while riding. It does take some time to become comfortable with all that stuff, but my thrust was that one can. And then in time, it'll seem like no big deal. Now I relish the added challenge of taking a hand off the bars to shift.

joeyduck

My first real race bike had DTs. They worked well and were so easy to operate and maintain. I enjoy the simplicity.

On my lht I opted for brifters just for ease in traffic and hauling kids. I'm glad I made the choice. But odds are if one breaks I'll be liable to replace it with DTS, especially the front.

My newest road bike has ultegra brifters from the late 90s. My first few rides I kept thinking it has dts and reached for them. On one reach for my water bottle I actually grabbed my tire! Whoops for thrown off with different geometries between bikes.

Keith99

It wasn't until 1984 that indexed shifters worked.

Shifter (bicycle part) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I don't think I'd want to fool with Friction shifters anywhere besides the downtube.

fietsbob

I thought Suicide shifters were On Old Harley Flat Heads with a Foot Clutch and the shifter, a Knob along side the Gas tank..

Looigi

With the the nomenclature I'm familiar with, suicide shifters are shift levers mounted on the stem, not the down tube. They were a later "innovation" which riders used to downtube shifters considered less safe due to a feeling they might be more likely to impale you in a crash.

DaveLeeNC

When I was a kid my bike was a 'Western Flyer', no shifting, must have weighed 35 pounds, coaster brakes, and climbing 'West Main St.' (maybe 3/4 mile and 5% grade) was something of an achievement.

And didn't 'racing bikes' (as owned by kids) have 3 speed shifters mounted on the handlebar at that time? Have no idea what 'real racing bikes' looked like in the 50's.

dave

MRT2

I remember when I first got back into riding making that adjustment. It is a skill most eventually master, but I can still remember those early rides, back in the 90s, stopping for water breaks.

Stucky

No. Suicide shifters were a rod attached to the front derailer, which stuck-up a ways from the FD on the seat post. To shift the FD, you had to reach down and move that rod- which was a direct connection to the FD.

FarHorizon

Having used them all, my preferences for shifters are:

1. bar-end
2. down-tube
3. brifters
4. stem-mount

YMMV.

delcrossv

Hmm. Well if my 8 y.o. daughter can figure them out on her 70's Viner Junior, she must be awesome too.

cale

My dog could figure out downtube shifters but were she to ride, she'd probably get eaten by Mountain Lions in need of a rechargeable LED light to see their bike-mounted phone.

Phil_gretz

Yup. My '82 Fuji Team. Functional, smooth, swift, elegant...it's all of these. A joy to ride, and shifting is no problem at all under any circumstances except when climbing out of the saddle, where shifting takes a bit more balance and control. Anyway, Dave's right. I really like riding a DT-shifting bike on occasion.

cale

Climbing out of the saddle was one place where racers of your bike's generation were mistrustful of downtube shifters. I remember bowing the steel frame of many a bike when sprinting and having it auto shift to my disgust.

Dave Cutter

Well put!

Stucky

Wouldn't that be caused by the bowing of the frame, and happen with any shifter set-up?

Bandera

"Ghost Shifting" was usually a combination of a flexible frameset, crankset and/or rear wheel, friction shifters of any flavor (Suntour and Simplex resisted best), and a big gear max effort. Shimano's indexed DT controls helped manage one variable.
When banging up through the gears for a sprint finish 'click' gave confidence that one was firmly In a gear w/ no surprises to follow.

edit: PS
Note that the OP has disappeared mysteriously. Trolling?

-Bandera

cale

I don't get to take a break without being accused of trolling? Your response over 2 hours later! I'll be sure to wait with baited breath for your next comment. Haha.

joeyduck

He wasn't saying you were trolling. That the op was since they haven't posted since starting the thread.

joeyduck

With regards to ghost shifts I experience shifting differences regularly based on load on my bike. Kid versus no kid; it'll take half a click more or a half adjustment knob turn after dropping him off to shift proper. I rarely but it has happened have had a ghost shift with my lht and brifters.

Bandera

Sorry dude, I meant that the Original Poster might very well be trolling since Buffalo Buff has not re-appeared in over 3 pages of responses.
Should have started a fresh response for that thought while correcting a typo.
Now you can go back on break-time.

-Bandera

cale

American Sniper... don't ask... Rather depressing.

I had a number of steel bikes back in the day. They were all rather flexible but I was a lot stronger too. I doubt I could whip them as I used to. Cannondale and Klein (too pricey for me) make the stiffest bikes and had a ride to match. No carbon forks that I remember to soften the front end.

Anyway, just sold my Casati Special (SL tubed) with the original 7-speed Dura Ace kit, freewheel and down tube shifters. It was a nice bike but there's no recovering the past and I like the newer stuff so I've moved on.

STI was a huge development for racers and Dura Ace was leading the pack. I had a choice of that or Chorus. There was no comparison as far as shifting performance goes though the Chorus group sure was a looker.

See ya.

Stucky

Ah, yes, I had forgotten about friction shifters! Now that you mention it, I did used to experience ghost shifts back in the day- and I doubt I was flexing my frame, because I was a weaker rider back then than I am now. I just attributed it to the cheap crappy bikes i used to ride; and the fact that back then, I didn't have a clue as to how to adjust a derailer- I'd just give the screws a few turns and hope for the best; and repeat until I could at least get into most of the gears...

Nah, Buffalo Bu[STRIKE]tt[/STRIKE]ff isn't a troll. He was participating in a couple of other threads right along. Maybe he just got busy, with it being a weekday and all after along weekend. Hey, at least he started a good thread for us!