chasem

First of all, this isn't something I've started yet, so no pictures at this point.

I'm thinking about building one up as a bit of a commuter/beater bike - doesn't have to be put together from amazing parts or anything. And let's be honest - I may use this as an opportunity for upgrading parts of my main road bike - wheels, handlebars, saddle... whatever.

My biggest question here is where does one find a decent selection of friction shifters online? The one LBS around here doesn't have much to offer in that respect.

The frame I'm looking at getting is Nashbar's road frame. Price and quality seem okay (again, I'm not looking to build an amazing bike here).

Also, from what I've found/read, the impression I get is that friction DT shifters will pretty much work with whatever derailleurs one uses. Is that correct - that I could pick up sram 9 spd rear derailleur or shimano 8 spd and either will work?

Is there a limit to the number of gears on the cassette here?

KevinF

https://loosescrews.com/index.cgi?c=S...id=88563012666

mazdaspeed

Just make sure to get a good set of shifters like simplex retrofriction, shimano 600, etc...

I_like_cereal

Or Sachs or Sachs Huret.
Yes you can Frankenbike your project with DTs. DTs are "dumb" shifters. They just pull the spring taught and release it. No worries about index 2:1 crap.

Puget Pounder

That's the beauty with friction. Keep in mind that the more gears you have on your cassette, the more sensitive friction shifting is (which I like). I had friction on a 9 speed set up and I liked it way more than 6 speed. If you wanted to go 7s Shimano index, I have a few of those. They can switch to friction too.

rschleicher

If you are using a steel frame (with typical steel-frame tubing dimensions), you will find decent amounts of old vintage parts on ebay. Old Suntour stuff works pretty well. Some downtube shifters are made for mounting on braised-on bosses, but some are just clamp-on. (But the clamps are usually assuming steel tubing.)

I had an old 1980 Raleigh that had originally come with stem-shifters, and I was able to find multiple examples of correct-year Suntour downtube shifters (straight friction, as well as "ratcheting" friction) on ebay for pretty cheap. I ended up buying some NOS parts (with clamp, and new cables) that were still in the original packaging - they must have been sitting in a bike shop someplace, all these years!

tborner

I would look into getting a Shimano 600 Ultegra. I run mine with eight speed downtube shifters, and the shifting is great. I mainly using indexing, but the shifters can be switched to friction, which also works very well. Plus, the derailleurs are dirt cheap. I bought one on eBay for $15, and another off of a guy at a swap meet for $5, which was practically new.