Need help choosing a new gearset
 

I just purchased a Novara Randonee from REI and while I like the bike, I have a couple of issues which I need to resolve. The biggest is that when I turn, my knees hit the bar end shifters and knock me out of gear. When I purchased the bike, I discussed removing the bar end shifters and instead using Shimano STI shifters, but I was told by the REI bike guy that I couldn't just swap shifters out because the STI shifters wouldn't mate to the bike's drivetrain, due to the bike using mountain bike gearing combined with a drop bar. He explained what I'd need to replace to use the STI shifters, and he also mentioned that if REI had chosen SRAM components, they wouldn't have this issue because SRAM integrated shifters can be used on with either road or mountain bike drivetrains.

I've determined that the bar end shifters are unacceptable and I'm going to put the money into replacing what I must to achieve some sort of shifting sanity. This is my daily commuter and weekend trip bike. The terrain around here is mostly flat, but there are some respectable hills I'd like to be able to climb. I need some advice on parts selection. I'm pretty sure I'm going with SRAM. Unfortunately, when I look at SRAM's site, the part selection is overwhelming.


Any help is appreciated.




Thanks,
Mike

I suspect that once you get a number of reliable ideas of the costs involved, you may want to also keeping tabs of the numbers and perhaps considering selling the bike if you see that it will cost you more than you want. You should be able to sell the bar end shifters and perhaps more, but in the meantime, you can at least look into teh costs of sti shifters. I take it your bike is 10 speed and uses a Shimano dynasys rear derailleur, I imagine this is why you are told that shimano 10 speed sti will not work with it.

Microshift makes sti shifters in 9 and 10 speed, but I guess you can look into how much you could sell the bar ends as well as the rear derailleur. 10 speed sti are probably in the 300 dollar range, tiagra, but you will have to get informed costs of all the needed parts to change, as well as a reasonable fee for a mechanic to take stuff off and put new stuff on, new cables and housings as well. I would hazard a guess of at least an hour of labour, maybe a bit more.

You can still use your mtb derailleur with your STI shifters, by using an adapter such as this.

Tanpan ? wolftoothcomponents.com
$39.95 is a lot cheaper than what you are planning.


http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/023...g?v=1459862854

1- tough issue for sure. i have bar ends on 2 bikes and am in the process of adding them to a 3rd. Ive never hit my knee on one of the shifters. Not sure how the geometry works for that to happen while still fitting the bike, but its for sure unfortunate since you have to spend $ and time to create a fix.

2- Look into a new rear derailleur like the Shimano Deore RD M592 long cage. Basically, a 9 speed long cage RD.

3- Ive read about that Wolf Tooth option already mentioned. Companies come up with workarounds for all sorts of incompatibilities these days! Its almost as if the manufacturers segmenting their products so much is a pain for the consumers...but thats another topic for another time.

4- Shimano 105 5703 Triple STI Shifter Set | Chain Reaction Cycles 105 triple for $150 and free shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Tiagra.../dp/B005DVJ2XC older style Tiagra for $130 and free shipping.


Good luck!

It may be a dumb question, but does anybody know whether the Campagnolo Ergopower shifters will work with the Shimano MTB drivetrain of the Randonee?

you like the bike, you like the gears,....heck, you even like the shifters,
it's just that the particular placement of the shifters is wrong.

okay....move them.

get wider bars? or....

switch out the bars for them drop bars where the
droppy bits angle out from the bike. dunno what
they's called, but wouldn't that put the shifters a
few inches to the outside of wherever they is now?

^^^ They are called dirt drops, salsa woodchippers are one example.

Thats true, on the 2 bikes I have bar shifters on now, both bars flare out.

The Nitto Randonneur bar is a road bar that flares a handful of degrees.
The Origin8 Gary Sweep OS bar is a gravel/dirt drop bar that has about 19cm of difference between the tops and the bar ends. Origin 8 Gary Sweep OS Bars: Getting Rolling -

I used wider handlebars *, never have touched my knee to the bar end shifter in 30 years .

only time I have to swing the bars that far I'm at walking speed anyhow.

* last pick, Nitto Noodles a heat treated 48 width.

I have no problems but I have 44 or 46 cm wide bars. Measure yours, see how wide they are. Or, are you just convinced you will hate them regardless?

There are many possibilities, but keep in mind that Randonee drivetrain has changed many times over the years. So, there is no unique answer, you did not say how old your bike is.

I am using a Campy 10 speed rear brifter on a Shimano 8 speed rear derailleur and 8 speed Sram cassette. For the front, I just use a friction downtube lever.

Some people have put different mounts on their handlebars so that they can use the hardware you already own, but install elsewhere on the bars. Paul Thumbies come to mind:
https://paulcomp.com/shop/components/thumbies/

Or Kelly takeoffs.
Kelly Bike Company

Buy a sram apex or rival compact groupset from one of the european online retailers and swap everything out. Although it would be easier and probably cheaper to just sell the randonee and get a new bike with shifters you like.

I'm not a fan of the bar end shifters, but I can learn to live with them if I can sort it out so that I'm not hitting them unintentionally. I really don't like how awkward it feels to shift. I normally ride with my hands either on the hoods or in the center. When I drop my hand to shift, I don't have very good control over the bike. It's not an intuitive action.

The bike is new. I just bought it a few weeks ago. https://www.rei.com/product/875004/n...onee-bike-2016. I have the medium size. I was planning on taking it back to REI and getting help from their bike folks. Otherwise, when I'm not shifting I like how the bike rides. I'm not suffering back, knee, or wrist pain anymore like I was on my old bike. I still feel like my butt is falling off the back of the seat though. Maybe I need to go to the large frame instead of the medium.

Edit:

I just spoke with REI and they're going to help me out. I believe the solution is to exchange the Randonee for another bike, possibly a Strada. They're about the same price. I'm going to take the Randonee back either tomorrow or Saturday and look at the Strada 5D (or 3D).

The obvious and simple solution is a hacksaw. Cut an inch or so off the bottom of the drops and reinstall the shifters.

I like the way you think.

Not sure if you're being facetious, but that is actually a very reasonable suggestion. When I'm in the drops, I'm rarely way back near the bar cons, more likely toward the bends. Even a half inch might solve the OP's problem.

Maybe try a longer/taller stem before you cut the bars down?

Totally serious...I have done it on other bikes. Drop bars come in a variety of shapes and sizes and sometimes the drop portion is simply too long to easily accommodate bar-end shifters. If the drop bars are comfortable for the rider in other aspects, just bob a bit off of the drops to get the needed knee clearance.

Let's talk bar con hate.


I really dislike dual friction bar cons.


1. Hanging the bike on railings.
2. Double shifting is janky.
3. 9 speed cassette is the biggest you should run in friction mode.


I run brifters with a bar con for the cassette/free wheel.


Why is this interesting?


1. Very natural if you drive non-brit style clutch car. %(Think about it.)%
2. Friction works with all 7/8 components really well and 9 OK.
3. You can use either the left or the right bar con for the cassette shifter. Spiffy. Nei?

As for campag ergo.

Gen 2 campag was simply amazing for shifting any and all triples. Don't be snookered by the latest xenon junk. They look like gen 2 but the shift action is totally different.

If you had pain on other bikes and not on this one, perhaps this bike, if it can meet your needs would be best to keep. Ask if they have a trainer you can put the bike on. If so, you can put the two bikes on the trainer, get on the bikes, practice shifting on both bikes, and see how you feel about them.

And when it is on the trainer you can try to assess how much handlebar you would need to cut off - or how much wider the bars would have to be - or both, to get the knee clearance you desire if you keep the bike you have.

The Strada is in a whole other type of bike category. Cool and all- it looks like a nice bike for the price, just for sure not a loaded touring bike.

I don't think the OP wanted a touring bike in the first place. The strada is a great all-arounder.

I had a 2010(?) Randonee and loved it. I swapped out the bars for the Nitto Noodle. The bike was on the small size for me and had quite a bit of seat post sticking out. This bike did not have bar ends, but there was the occasion where toe overlap was inconvenient.

I purchased another bike last year, Jamis Aurora Elite, and it came with Dura Ace 10 speed bar ends - front is friction and rear is indexed. The drivetrain was fine for a triple on a road bike, but nothing close to being set up for touring. Additionally, after much deliberation went with the 55 vs a 53 (my Randonee was a 54 it was the last year before they went to Small/Medium/Large). So far I have swapped out the cranks and cassette on the Aurora from a 10-30 to 10-34 with went with a 9 speed Deore M591 SGS, which will function fine with the 10 speed indexed bar end. Now I have the touring gears I need and also can get up the hills around where I live much, much easier.

I really like the bar ends and don't have any problems with them. As someone stated you can get "Thumbies" to move the shifters elsewhere on your bars. It sounds like you might be better off with a larger frame size since your knees are hitting the bar ends. Check out how Rivendell Bikes recommends sizing for their bikes. Based on what Grant Peterson says they usually end up putting people on a larger frame than what they had in the past.

REI has great customer service and I'm sure they will help you sort things out.