First, I'm a newbie to this forum; been lurking about for about a month. To date, this is my second post. I'm a 52-year-old "retired" road cyclist, having ridden on the roads (just recreational/fitness stuff) for about 20 years. Now, I'm strictly indoor...stationary cycling only for me (lots of reasons).

Recently, however, after about 12 years of "retirement", I've thought about getting a bike again. So, I wandered into one of the many LBSs in the San Diego area and started looking around.

First thing I noticed: No SHIFTERS! Upon further review, I noticed that, yep, there were front and rear derailleurs...but no shifters on the down tube. What's up with that, I thought? Poking around still futher, I also noticed some little lever-like thingys...on the brake levers??? And the breaks themselves... moved side to side**********!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, just how DO you shift? (I was too embarassed to ask the sales person. )

When I rode, my hands were on the brake hoods a LOT; I'd say 70-80% of the time. Since it seems the shifters have now been moved to - of all places! - the brake levers, I would think that sqeezing hard on the brakes the wrong way (i.e., applying some inward pressure)...might cause the gears to shift (when you don't want them to)??!! And what are those little lever-like thingys supposed to be for? I noticed that they, too, were moveable. So, what are you telling me, you now need need two hands to shift!!!???

This is progress??? It sure seemed like it was a lot easier - and safer! - in my day.

P.S. Please register the tongue-in-cheek nature of this thread. However, my question is a serious one; I've never been on a bike where the shift levers were NOT located on the down tube.

Welcome. Those of us who use to ride with downtube shifters will tell you this - just try the STI. While it may appear more complex on the surface it really is far easier and safer. It will take you all of about 5 minutes to master.

Essentially, left is front der right is rear. Pushing in on the brake levers tightens the cable one stop (gear) at a time. The small lever releases the tension thus sending the chain the other way. This is for Shimano systems.

Brakes work the same way as always.

Go take a ride - it will be worth it.

55/Rad

Assuming you are talking about Shimano components.

To shift to a smaller sprocket, you push the little lever that's under the brake lever toward the center of the bike. To shift to a larger sprocket, you push the brake lever toward the middle of the bike. I guess it would be possible to move the brake lever the wrong way and to accidentally shift while brakeing, but I've never had a problem with that happening.

I don't have anything against down tube levers, but the STI shifters on the brake levers are definitely going to get my vote for being both easier to use and safer - and that's coming from a retro-grouch.

I love the downtube b/c it is pure, clean, and cost so much less!

The new stuff works just fine and is just as safe. I shift more now that my shifter are at my brakes and b/c we got +9 speed. The left and right shifter still do the same thing. Shifting depends on the type so tell us the type your looking at and we can give ya better feed back.

By the way you can still get 9 speed dura ace downtube shifter is you want to keep it clean, light, and have that so sexy hard click.

This is a fairly common question from people that haven't ridden since the dawn of the STI shifters. The following is a portion of the e-mail I wrote to a friend who had the same question. He's just getting started, so there may be a bit of info. that's too basic. Also assumes you're using Shimano components. If you've got Campy, it's the same principal with a couple of differences. Hope it helps:

Your left hand controls the front derailleur. This means that it changes the chain from the big (flat road) ring to the small (climbing) ring. I don’t remember if yours has a triple chain ring or a double chain ring. If it’s a triple it just means you have an additional set of gears to work with. When you start in your small chain ring and push the entire shifter to the right the chain moves up to the big ring. When you are in the big ring and push the small lever under the brake handle, you release the chain to the smaller ring or rings.

Your right hand controls the rear derailleur. Think of this as the fine tuning shifter. The left one is for large adjustments in chain length; this one is for small ones. You’ll use this one more often. It works the same way. You have 8 or 9 cogs on your cassette. The size of these cogs works in an inverse relation to the front derailleur. The bigger cogs make it easier to pedal. Push the entire shifter to shift down (make it easier) and the lever to drop into the harder gears. The smaller ones are for flatter roads. You’ll find it hardest to turn the pedals when your front derailleur is in the biggest ring and the rear derailleur is in the smallest ring. The small front ring and large rear cog combination is known as the “granny gear”. Everyone has them and everyone uses them, so don’t avoid it based on the name.

Sorry for the length.

I kind of like the thumb release on Campy components, but I don't want to confuse this gentlemen.

I am finally getting used to mine on my new bike as well. It took about 15 minutes to get over habitually reaching for the down tube, but all is well. Even though, after a few rides, I still catch myself once in a while reaching for the downtube when I don't need too.

Heh, I had this same problem - for about one hour. Once you figure it out you will not be longing for downtube shifters (though I suppose as Patriot says, you may still be reaching for them on occasion).

See if your shop will set you up on a trainer with a bike/set you're interested in and let you loose for a while. If they want your business it doesn't seem like an unreasonable proposition. Bring your checkbook or VISA card

Now armed with this knowledge, you can go into the LBS and ask to have a bike you might be interested in put on a trainer, and you can then try the shifters out. Ask too how to trim the gears--make a minor adjustment via the levers--another little difference between Shimano and Campy.

I have gone back and forth on this. I realize you aren't asking for an opinion on Brifters (Brake/shifters -- Sheldon Brown's term, not mine) but I will give it anyway, because you CAN have a bike the way you are accustomed to it -- ie w/ downtube shifters -- and I personally swithched my bikes back to downtube shifters after a few years with brifters. The technology is great and usually works the way it's supposed to. There's a reason every pro rider uses them. However, after doing some heavy touring with bar end shifters, riding a tri-specific bike with aero-bar shifters and then having adjustment problems and eventually failure of an STI shifter, I gave it up. I just like the feel, the simplicity and the fact that they are dead reliable and super easy to adjust. I also think a bike with downtube shifters looks a lot spiffier. I work on my own bikes and sometimes treat them badly, so ease of replacing/adjusting cables is a big plus.

In my experience, the only real downside to not being able to shift as readily is on unfamiliar terrain. with my downtube shifters i am constantly anticipating/guessing grades, etc. It's a fun challenge at times, but with you aren't in the right gear when you want to be, it can be a bummer, too. But if you know the road, you learn the grade and the delay in shifting makes 0 difference. In the end, the legs do the work and if you don't want to mess with the new-fangled stuff, you ain't gots ta.

Just my $.02.

Kind of like on my bottom-of-the-barrel Sora?

Great info, thanks people! I tend to be a little bit "old school" when it comes to making changes...my daughters accuse me all the time of being an old fuddy duddy. I suppose I should at least TRY the new-fangled "brifters", if for no other reason than for curiosity's sake.

OTOH, if I never try them, it'll be like old times. I'm already used to the downtube shifters, they're familiar, comfortable, old-fuddy-duddy-ish ....if it ain't broke, you know?

This, of course, begs the question: How difficult would it be to get them on a new bike? I didn't look at every bike in the LBS, but I sure didn't see any downtube shifters ("drifters"??) sticking out. Kind of like getting a 5-speed manual transmission on an SUV (good luck). I took my Honda CRV in for maintenance the other day and you would have thought that I was bringing in a Model T, the way the technician reacted ("Gee, you don't see many of THESE anymore!").

I suppose I could have a bike built to order. However, that would be more expensive, I would think. I'd love to spend in the $750.00 range...

BTW "Campy" = Campagnolo (I hate when people use "slang" with us newbies and you go into the LBS sounding you know what you're talking about because you know the lingo and then ask to see a Trek 1000 )

Nothing wrong with that. You'll meet a lot of old schoolers here. As I get older I find myself reverting back and appreciating some of those old, funky, classic components.

you probably won't find a bike with downtube shifters off the shelf. But . . . you could just ask the bike shop to slap on some of the readily available Dura Ace shifters on the downtube and replace the sti's with non-sti brake levers. they should be more than willing to do this at no charge since the value of the brifters easily exceeds the materials and labor involved in the switch. One anecdote -- numerous riders in the pro peloton only use the right brifter. since a front chainring shift is less time sensitive and the weight and reliabilty issues are not insignificant, they do away with the left brifter in favor of a standard lever. this is a pretty specialized setup that I have considered and ultimately rejected (partly because it's the right brifters that fail most often and the left ones you can get for chump change on EBay.)

Yes, thanks Bontrager. There was a time, in my youth, when I knew ALL the lingo. "Campy", of course, has stood the test of time. Since my "retirement" (it was really more a case of burnout, looking back), things have changed SOOOOO much! So many different bike manufactuers now. "Giant"?? That's a football/baseball team. "Felt"?? A soft fabric. Almost TOO much to choose from!

I'm gonna take it slow. No rush to get out there...plus no funds, really. I know this is gonna sound strange, but I actually ENJOY riding my stationary bike (a Schwinn "spinner"; before that, it was a Bodyguard 990 "erg")...I don't have to battle the weather, it's VERY time-efficient - and I haven't fallen off (yet).

Don't sweat it a bit. The world isn't coming to end tomorrow.

Besides, contrary to popular belief, "Old dogs CAN learn new tricks."

I will admit, I still like my old Centurion with downtube shifters.