I bought a bike with downtube shifters from bikesdirect. At first I thought would be fine but due to my lack of coordination and the constant fear of crashing into stationary objects I have decided downtube shifters are not for me. I can return the bike to bikes direct but that would be a $50 shipping fee plus another $100-150 to swap the bike.

Instead I was wondering if changing the shifters would be worth the cost?

And what shifters would be compatible with a MicroShift Triple FD-R538 for 8 speed Front Derailleur and a MicroShift RD-R86 for 8 speed Rear Derailleur. Shimano 3300? Anything else?

This is the Bike
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8x3? Sure 2300/claris will do the job. You could do it with brifters or on the bar. I'd go with brifters and make the bike better to ride.

Learn to use the shifters. DT rocks. I have STI on two bikes and old skool on everything else.

I've dropped chains on my Ultegra and Rival bikes, but I've *NEVER* dropped a chain on a DT or bar end bike.

I think it would be cheaper and easier to swap the bike. Are the rear derailleur and cassette compatible with indexed shifters ?
What is the other bike ?

How does the type of shifter affect dropped chains ? Isn't it a function of front derailleur adjustment ?

Would tiagras work also???

I could try to learn how to use the downtube shifters but I feel like I would want brifters sooner or later. And I live in a sketchy area and want avoid keeping my eyes off the road as much as possible.

Tiagra is 9 speed. Last years Sora would or the 'new' claris which is 8 speed sans the thumb tab.

You could get 8 speed shimano bar end shifters; they'll work fine with your existing set up and will allow you to shift with your hands on the bars.

After a few rides, you should be able to shift without looking down at the shifters.
Are they indexed shifters that "click" with each gear shift ? If so, you could probably just swap to 8 speed levers. I don't think Tiagra comes in 8 speed. You could search Ebay for older models of 8 speed.

Agreed on both points. OP thought he would save money by going with old school DT shifters. Rather than try to turn this bike with brifters, he should just return the bike and get what he should have bought in the first place.

btw, i did exactly the same thing 7 years ago. Got back into biking in a big way riding club rides on my old hybrid. Decided I wanted a road bike. Rather than spending $700 to $1,000 on a new road bike, I bought a vintage Schwinn LeTour with DT shifters for about $225, including the service on the bike plus new parts. It never took. I should have just gone with a bike with brifters.

as for the second point, one person's experience is anecdotal. I have dropped a chain with my old Schwinn LeTour with DT shifters, but never with my Salsa Casserol with brifters.

With indexed dowtube shifters, it takes a fraction of a second to make a shift, and you don't even need to look at the shifter.

You really need to learn to be able to take a hand off the bars long enough to do that. Otherwise, you really limit your ability to do rides of any length. You can't drink, or eat during a ride, adjust clothing, or just relieve some pressure on your hands.

With some miles and a little practice shifting with D/T shifters should become a complete non issues. I'd keep the bike as is, and give it a fair test.

That is a good point. Somehow I managed to learn how to drink while riding, but struggled to re learn how to properly use DT shifters.

So any shimano 8 speed will do? Sora, Claris, or the 105's?

Well I totally agree with you. But the shifters arent very precise and need to be fiddled with constantly to make sure the chains dont rub.

Are they indexed? If so, that shouldn't be the case. Sounds like an adjustment issue.

Shimano bar ends will work with pretty much any road Shimano RD you throw at it. You can keep all the equipment currently on your bike and swap that DT shifters for bar ends.

Adjustment is critical.

Indexed shifting always moves the FD a precise amount. Friction shifting allows you to control the movement more precisely -- i.e. you can choose to not shift quite all the way or alter the speed of the shift to help it catch. This is especially helpful if the FD is slightly bent or out of adjustment.

I like indexed shifting for the rear because in noisy environments, you can't always hear that you don't have it quite right. But if it weren't for noise, I'd prefer friction.

Is it the front derailleur that rubs the chain ? That happens to some degree on all bikes, so you need to make small adjustments ("trim") as you shift the rear up & down the cassette. You may have a "friction" shifter for the front, and indexed or friction for the rear.

Well, you first have to answer the question about indexing. Does the right/rear shifter "click" with each gear shift (indexed), or not (friction) ?

If it's indexed, then you need an authoritative answer to the question: "Is my Microshift 8 speed drivetrain compatible with Shimano 8 speed shifters" The "Mechanics" forum has the best percentage of correct answers.

Brifters will run you $80. New cables and housings, another $10-20. Cable stops to mount on your downtubes; $15-20. New bar tape after you mess up the stuff on your bike; $10+, etc etc. You will probably end up spending well over $100 upgrading to brifters anyway.

May as well either get the new bike, or else just learn to love the DT shifters.

Sometimes trying to save a few bucks up front really costs a bit.