Bob Dopolina 

Threads like this are like flames to a moth for the obtuse.

rpenmanparker 

Untrue. Soigneur translates perfectly well as gofer or perhaps flunky. There is not much more pretentious than calling a cycling team servant a soigneur. Reminds me of the servants on Masterpiece Theater, "Downton Abbey" worrying about whether they are footmen or valets. (That's valetttt. No French pretension there.) A better example might be peloton.

Actually that reminds me that no one can take pretense out of using foreign words like the British who insist on pronouncing them (all of them) as if they were now and always English words. E.g. Beaulieu = Bewley. Now that is unpretentious.

canam73

It's good to be realistic about who you are.

canam73

So UCI pro riders get there physical therapy from flunkys? Yeah, that makes sense.

But regardless, you agree with my point that in some cases there is a reason to use a foreign word. Not in others.

Looigi

"Brifter" twerks for me.

iamtim

Except for the guy who thought I meant downtube shifters. Or the shifters at the end of my time trial bars, because that wasn't specified either. Or, hell, maybe it was a C&V reader checking out my post who thought I had stem-mounted shifters. So no, we all don't understand that it includes a brake lever.

What's unnecessary is brow-beating others for a term you don't like. if you don't like the term, don't use it. Don't try to control other people's use of it, though, you don't have that right.

rpenmanparker 

Massage yes. Physical therapy, I don't know about that. Are they licensed PT's? Hey, just keeding!

canam73

No problem, but you may find this interesting:

"One thing that’s different in France is that any soigneur who practices a massage has to be certified and registered with the French state as a physiotherapist."

From: https://inrng.com/2010/06/soigneurs-in-france/

Bob Dopolina 

Yes, I am the flame.

canam73

So you are a thread? Who lives in a small world?

Bob Dopolina 

@iamtim

First, you need to go back a read the last few pages. You are bringing up points that have already been addressed. Poor form.

Just say shifter and everyone will understand you because it is the norm, the rule, what the vast majority of bikes are equipped with. If you mean something other than those 99% of bikes and you really mean DT shifters or barcons then just say so. It's not rocket surgery.

Second, you do understand that this is humour, non? Keeding? Joking? A little tongue in check levity?

"Brifter" is one of the dumbest words ever created by the slack jawed but I sure a heck ain't gonna get my panties in a twist over it (but I might have a laugh dragging out a heated debate about it with some oh so serious Freds who seem strangely invested in this abomination).

Bob Dopolina 

You try so hard sometimes. It's really adorable.

canam73

25 posts = panties twisted.

RJM

I think you could maybe get by with "road shifter" or "road bike shifter," but just shifter is too vague.

And come to think of it, just calling it a shifter is really only giving the component half praise. I mean, it is also a brake lever.

Brifter just makes a bunch of sense. Instead of Brifter, we could call it something like "Shrake" or "shrake lever."

Bob Dopolina 

Seriously? Did you actually count?

If so, you may want to check your drawers. That uncomfortable feeling you have just might be from a little crumpled cotton.

canam73

Commando.

Bob Dopolina 

+1 brother.


Oh, and by the way, I'm not a pretentious bike shop dude, I'm a pretentious bike parts company owner.

iamtim

So once the high-and-mighty has spoken, no further clarification is needed? You have declared from on high that the term is dumbassed and created by slack-jaws, so therefore it must be, regardless of who wishes to take you to task or when? You, sir, think far too much of yourself and your opinions.

But there are people here, in this very thread, who have spoken to the contrary. That term exists as a testament to the inaccuracy of your opinion. Were you correct, the term would have never been created or used in the first place.

Of course, I rarely take anything on BF seriously. Especially debates over silliness such as this one. But I've got a bit of downtime between projects at work, so I have to keep myself busy.

Humor or no, I concur with the other poster above; with the amount of posts you have in this thread defending your inaccuracy, I think your panties are a bit in a twist. You're very well spoken with a good command of the language; "brifter" is an abomination to you, and I'm sure it makes you cringe every time you see it. If you had your way, you'd strike that word from the very internet itself. It's easy to hide such... prejudice behind a veneer of humor.

Hater.

(Now that was humor.)

canam73

Ok, and by the way, I am not monolingual, I speak two languages fluently and 3 others well enough to have gotten by traveling in countries they are spoken in. And this may not break me out of a small world in your opinion, but I have traveled on four continents and competed internationally.

bigfred 

But, if he simply used "shifter" we would have no idea if he was installing downtube shifters, Gripshifts, STI mtb shifters, barcons, stem mounted or Schwinn Stingray style. Then we would end up with a completely sidetracked thread as everybody interested in how or why iamtim actually cut his finger would be obliged to enquire, "What type of shifter were you intsalling?"

Can you imagine the degree to which your suggestion would lead to meaningless thread bloat?

3alarmer 

...there's probably a shorter word for that, too, huh ?

bigfred 

You sir, have absolutely no idea just how seriously I'm taking this. :-)

RollCNY

If one goes to ebay, and enters "brifter", they get 6 results. If one does "brifter bicycle", they get 4.

If one then does "shift lever bicycle", they get 959 results. So I am assuming that 953 of these must be downtube shifters, TT levers, and barend shifters.

RollCNY

I did not check for "Sheilas", but I'd wager I'll get more than 6.

canam73

Use a google image search, it will be much more entertaining.