I ordered the Rivendell shifter pods for a project. I ran into a big problem though. Once the shifter is assembled the cable hole is off by half as compared to the slot on the lever. Are these ONLY for friction shifters? I'm trying to use them with the standard Shimano 6 speed switchable index/friction. Dangit, I was looking forward to indexed bar ends. Hmmmm.,,,,BD

maybe its a sign from god to switch to friction

Hehe. I was actually trying to switch my Friction 560 Trek to index. Maybe I should put the indexers on my
PH10's down tubes. I did that on my PGN10, so the braze ons work.,,,,BD


Is "ons" a word? My spell checker seems to think so.

Funny, those Rivendell pods are almost identical to Shimano pods. Rivendell admits that they copied the Shimano parts with permission.

They should work fine, at least with the modern style Shimano down type shifters. They are all basically the same for 6-7-8-9 or 10-speed... only the guts change. You have to make sure to use the keyed boss cover ring which would normally fit against the frame of the bike. These come as either concave (for traditional smaller tube bikes), or flat (for modern fat tubing), and the latter is what you will want to use.

Okay, I'm beginning to see what the deal is here, thanks to your pic. On the base of the lever, the one's I'm trying to use are thicker on the mounting side, like the Suntour. See the difference in thickness, in that area, on the DA lever compared to the Suntour? My shifter is already that thick, and when you add the flat cover ring, it makes it too wide. More or less, if you put our levers side by side, my cable groove starts where yours leaves off.

That whole indexing thing is just a fad anyway.

Like integrated headsets and 10 speed cassettes. A whole bunch of needless crap to make the newer stuff "seem" better.,,,,BD

I started looking at all of my bikes, and ALL of the ones with indexed Shimano have the thicker base shifters. What did the thinner shifters come on besides the Dura Ace?? So unless I want to put the stock
BL Suntour shifters on bar ends, I'm kinda screwed, lol.,,,,BD

Hmmm, these might work. Shimano compatible, and indexed. They also have the thinner mounting. The description states removing the nylon washer converts them to braze on style mounting. either that, or careful Dremel work on my levers might help.,,,,BD


https://www.ebikestop.com/Image.aspx?.../29/LD1242.jpg

I just picked up a set of these SL-A400 7-speed shifters on sale from Nashbar for super cheap. They seem to fit fine on the pods I got from Rivendell. I also recently fitted a different set on the pods for a friend. I used his 6-speed indexed Shimano SL-1050 down tube shifters, produced in 1986, and original on his bike purchased new in early 1987, and those worked too.

BUT, I do believe you're having a legitimate fit problem with yours. As I recall, some of the other Shimano shifters from the mid-80s did have a thicker base cover... And, Shimano seemed to market a billion similar but slightly different models every year during the 1980s.

Here's the problem in picture form. Not sure the base cover has anything to do with it. Possibly though?,,,,BD

I threaded a cable through it, and it doesn't look all that bad. Maybe a bit off to one side, but not kinking up like I thought it would. Worse case scenario it may wear the cable over time, against the side of the hole in the pod. Hopefully there won't be an indexing issue, like hanging up and shifting late, etc.,,,,BD

aaahhhhh, now I get it. I think if the cable sticks or binds at all you might want to just ream out the pod at the cable hole... just a bit, since you don't want to drill away the housing stop function. so more like slotting the small diameter inner hole in the direction you need to aim the cable. Either a small drill bit with a Dremel tool or a small round needle hand file should work.
Good Luck!

I will do that just a bit. (no pun intended) It's not near as bad as I thought it was originally. There's some air space between the lever slot and the hole. Just enough for the cable to flex over. That may change once there's tension on it, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now I have Shimano Rx100 hub with a 7sp cassette, the pods, and shifters. All I need now is a double stop for the downtube. Trek hadn't started using bosses yet in 83.,,,,BD

What is the general feeling on cutting the ends of the bars to allow room for the pods? I haven't made up my mind yet, and I would hate to do it and then get jumped on, lol.

Modern "anatomical" bars have a shorter flat area at the bottom, so cropping the bar might be a problem if you ever ride with your hands on the lower flats. On my Randonneur bars I never really ride with my hands all the way back to the ends of the bars anyway, so it wouldn't really matter. Could be a good idea if there is any chance of you bumping the bar-end shifters. It's usually not while riding, but some folks have mentioned them getting in the way when standing at a stoplight. I'd imagine a heavy winter coat would add to the problem.

Before I messed up the pods, I would look for new shifters. They are cheap and you can sell yours on ebay to defray the cost. Good luck

Tim

I sometimes sit back and marvel at the time, effort and extent to which I go to make a part fit or use what's lying around...rather than spend a very nominal amount, say 3 or 5 bucks, for the new correctly fitting part. When did I become a junk man?

As the 7 speed nashbar shifters fit the pods, personally I would just wait for a nashbar free shipping day and order the nashbar shifters, mount them cleanly to the pods and be done with it. They're a heckuva value.

I've had a few bikes pass through with the RX100 7 speed group, and its a very nice group indeed, including the SLR levers and dual pivot calipers. No bling--but very nice. Those shifters are on my personal list the next time a Nashbar order comes up.

Just some Dutch Uncle wisdom...

https://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Shimano-...QQcmdZViewItem

https://cgi.ebay.com/Shimano-8-Speed-...QQcmdZViewItem

The nashbar shifter is the same width as my 105's, I put my lever against the 7 speed I got from nashbar, same thing only newer. It will fit, but have the same cable issue, which is not an issue, yet. I just realized I was test fitting 6 speed shifters for a 7 speed bike, so I'll order another set of the nashbar's. Hehe....,,,,BD

Those Ultegra bar ends are nice, but why do I need them? The second set you posted is also 8 speed?

Its still early.....wait till you see what happens later.

You mean they're going to explode and end up $250 or something? I could get a set of those if I wanted to pay $400 for a raggedy Pinarello. A pawn shop is now keeping it ouside, and one of the top tube guides
rusted off, lol.,,,,BD

No...I meant I'll probably post something more stupid later.

The Ultegra set is listed as 7sp. They wont work?

Take a little bit off the back of the thick spacer with a belt sander (or by hand). I did the same thing to make these fit on Kelly Take-Offs.
Top
(most problems can be solved by the proper application of power tools.....)

Looks like the shifter isn't sitting right on the adapter. Take them apart and try seating themselves together manually. Might be that one of the small tabs in it broke off, and is jamming between the lever. Not the first time I've seen that.

-Kurt