downtube shifters
 

hey, so if i'm converting a road bike into a fixie, what do i do about the shifters that're on the downtube? if i removed them, are there holes drilled on the tube that i need to patch up?
sincere thanks-

There will be holes but just ignore them.

I say leave em on so you have something to do during trackstand comps.

I filled the holes... well, had a friend fill them. Cut threads, put in a screw, cut screw down, file it down, punch it w/ an awl so it doesn't move, then repaint. That was last year, so far so good. some unevenness is visible if you look carefully, but that's life.
It's a bit fiddly, but I wanted some metal to be there so that the powdercoat sticks. (It's put on with some cool electromagnetic trick.) I guess there must be some sort of filler for this job, but the screw was free:D

If you're not filling the holes and repainting, better just leave the bosses on. Also, I'm not sure there will be a hole in a steel frame at all.

'Course, if the frame is a nice vintage road frame, you may want to keep it intact.

yeah, don't fill them, or if you must, do something like LoFarkas where the patch could be drilled out. Also, some of them just bolt on, but it's pretty obvious which those are.

They are brazed onto the frame so if you heat the brazing (the weld) up high enough, they will pop off and there will be nothing left at all. I did this and it took about 5 minutes to take off everything and I mean everything....downtube bosses, cable guides, derailleur guides, everything.

He's talking about drilled holes, not bosses

I think he doesn't know what he has.

What type of frame is it? If it is a nice one DO NOT remove them. Buy some cable guides and bolt those over them for safety but leave the bosses on. Don't mess up a classic road bike for a coversion that will possibly be forgotten in a year.

Have you ever seen a frame where downtube shifters mounted on a threaded hole in the tube? I sure haven't... I'm almost certain he's got shifter bosses, but doesn't know enough about bikes to know that.

I posted this picture in one of the (many) threads regarding this topic in the archives, but here it is again:

http://daapspace3.daap.uc.edu/~rutledkf/action.jpg

i haven't picked up a frame yet, but on the lookout. thanks for the info