"David L. Johnson" wrote in message ...
On Sun, 13 Jul 2003 16:00:24 +0950, DiabloScott wrote:

In 1983 (20 years ago) virtually all road bikes had downtube friction
shifters - cheap bikes had "stem" shifters. There was no indexing beyond a
few failed prototypes so your bike would not have gone "kachunka".
Shifting a bike 20 years ago was done well ahead of when one needed the
new gear, from a seated position, and with a coaxing hand maneuver. You
could get fast at it but it would never go "kachunka".

Sure it would. Kachunka, ping, rattle-rattle-rattle, clickity-click.

Indexing (derailleur/shifter interface) and ramped tooth profiles are what
make shifting fast these days. Integrated shifters and brake levers make
it more convenient. Combined, these improvements allow for shifting under
load while standing - something I'll wager precious few people ever
attempted 20 years ago.

Try none. I can't imagine anyone being able to reach down to the downtube
while standing, for one, and the derailleur would just not have shifted.

Nope, there was one guy I remember who did it all the time. I have
an old picture of him, but it's not the best.

http://tinyurl.com/gz6s