bar-end shifters

On 6 Jan 2006 18:17:03 -0800, "Ozark Bicycle"
wrote:


You don't get out enough. Last fall, at the local Tour de Cure, a woman
came into a rest stop with front shifting problems. Tiagra triple,
about 2 months old according to her. The left hand brifter would pull
cable if disconnected from the FD, but it would not do so with any
consistency when working against the spring of the FD. The FD was not
binding, if that's what you're wondering, and the cable, cable housing
etc., was all fine.

So what? I can describe almost any bike part that has failed.

The thing is, the slavish claims of the importance of repairability in
the field to most people are just a flip-side of the coin of the sort
of "pro lightest bestest newest thing" guys like you decry. Yeah,
it's true that for a typical bike racer an ounce of the bike doesn't
make a huge difference. And a for a weekend warrior, STI isn't
essential to beating up on buddies on a group ride. But in the same
way, the impression you give of how vital it is to minimize chances of
failure of the bike is really another form of "fashion."

You're fortunate to have found a place on the internet where such
"fashion" is applauded. I just find it tedious hearing it en masse.

JT

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On 6 Jan 2006 18:36:07 -0800, "Ozark Bicycle"
wrote:


John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On 6 Jan 2006 17:52:22 -0800, "Ozark Bicycle"
wrote:
Why would _anyone_ opt for the more expensive, less flexible, less
reliable, non-serviceable option (i.e., brifters)? Unless, of course,
they were a sponsored racer.
And you are a parody of what? A mindless, marketing-manipulated
zipperhead?

If what you wrote was serious, then you've said above that ergo/STI
have no functional advantage and should only be used if someone else
pays for them. Are you that stupid?

It's fine to say "I'm thrifty" and don't see the advantage of ergo/STI
for my riding. Fine.

But this nonsense of "they have no advantage worth any money; it;s
only perception that they are better caused by marketing" is just
stupid. It's a form of luddite elitist that's over the top.

JT



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On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 04:40:10 GMT, Jeff Starr
wrote:

And I'm always amazed at riders that don't like brifters, thinking
that those of us who do, are misguided racer wannabes.

You like barcons, that's fine, I like brifters, why is that so hard to
accept. They are both good choices.

In the big picture bicycles don't cost all that much. People go to a
show and out to dinner, for what I spent on my 9-speed DA STI
shifters.


All well-said.

On the bar-cons thing, I'm only complaining about the people who are
really caught up in an "anti-fashion fashion", which crazy claims
about how vital/reliable/inexpensive their own bikes must be in
justify a certain approach and deride others. They're just bikes.
They're not that mystical or sensitive objects.

JT



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On 6 Jan 2006 20:53:14 -0800, wrote:


John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On 6 Jan 2006 15:58:58 -0800, wrote:

Come to think of it, repairability is
valuable in almost anything. I suppose if a device literally never,
ever breaks down, I wouldn't care about this - but that's certainly not
true of STI.

Do you carry spare saddles on rides? I've broken them but sort of
like living on the edge.....

Sounds like you need to lose weight.

I broke one when I weighed 140 pounds (alloy rails -- mistake we
agree) and one with solid steel rails when I weighed 150-155. I think
I broke another with non-alloy rails at that weight too but am not
sure if they were solid or what.

But then I tend to buy stuff that's reliable, not finicky racing stuff.
IOW, saddles with steel rails, not hollow titanium. And, um,
bar-ends, not brifters.


I have one friend whose brifters locked up on him.

So he couldn't pedal at all? Wow.

Not what I said. He couldn't _shift_ at all.

He was recovering from a
fairly long illness during which his bike sat in his heated garage.
When he felt well enough to put it on the trainer, he found the STI
stuff had changed it into a single speed.

Sounds like a maintenance issue to me. That bike, in general, should
be looked at.

I thought it was bizarre too. It was the first Shimano 9 speed bike
I'd seen. It had less than 50 miles on it, and she and her husband
called me to come over and help fix it. Of course, with that black box
of watch parts inside the lever, there's no telling what was wrong.

Yeah, the little men inside could be sick or something. I wish I
hadn't fallen for the ads and bought that stuff.

JT


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On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 05:13:51 GMT, Michael Press wrote:


You reported that your STI system has broken twice, and
that you replace your shifter cables at the least sign of
fraying. This is exactly what various riders want to
avoid.





I've also come broken cables on downtube shifters (I still use them
BTW) many times but those are visible, so the fraying is more easily
noted before they snap.

Now I know -- STI breaks cables just like downtube shifters break
cables, so it's not an issue -- as soon as the shifting deteriorates
on STI, replace the cable even though there is no visible clue about
it. Or maybe they break them a little more often.

It's a knowledge issue to not have this happen on the road -- and
maybe an issue of the cost of a cable perhaps once a year more often
then a down tube shifter. No big deal.

If I was really concerned about costs, it'd be a bid deal, but I hope
I wouldn't romanticize the decision to go with down tube levers by
making some sort of claims about how I need my bikes to be so super
reliable and don't trust that black box STI gear. It's just a bike.

I read the 126 postings of yours
that are currently on my server, and you do not have a
good word for anyone.

Your sample size is too small -- I have good words for a very small
number of people.

JT

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On Fri, 6 Jan 2006 23:13:01 -0800, Dane Buson wrote:


I've forgone using them for over 15 thousand miles, not because they're
unreliable, but because I don't particularly like them *better* than
barcons. For commuting, I'm perfectly happy using barcons rather than
brifters.


Ah, stop there. I *never* derided STI. I never said it was junk. I
simply said I like the reliability and simplicity of barcons. I find
them perfectly easy to use and service. I rode brifters on my first
commuter and have never felt the need to transfer them when that bike
was toast.

That's the sort of honest description of preference it seems
appropriate to share.

JT

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On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 05:56:13 -0500, Luke
wrote:

In article , John Forrest
Tomlinson wrote:

I read this thread and am amazed at the number of riders who are in
such remote, mission critical situations with their bikes that the
added reliability of bar-ends over integrated brake/shifters is a big
factor. Wow, are you guys all doing unsupported tours across Societ
Central Asia or something?

JT


What I don't understand is why a commute or tour is so 'mission
critical' as to justify the extra expense and complication of STI
shifters.

Many people have only one bike, and if STI is nice for them for fun
riding or racing, they shouldn' feel it's too risky for commuting. I
only had one bike a lot of my life.

Ride what you have.

JT

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I used a pair of bar-end Shimano friction shifters for 20 years,
moving them through several bikes, I liked them so much. They never
showed any signs of losing their grip and always stayed where I put
them. I'd still use them, if they hadn't been lost when an arsonist
torched my storage building. Back in 1973, everyone around here called
them "fingertip shifters".

Steve McDonald

In rec.bicycles.tech bfd wrote:
Can you explain why "brifters" are less *less flexible" than
bar-ends or dt shifters?

Bend or damage your rear derailleur resp. hanger. Everything able
to go friction mode will continue to work. How relevant that is for
you is your call, obviously.

If you're using Shimano the left/front STI is indexed which often
offers a challenge to users of non-standard chainrings.

--
MfG/Best regards
helmut springer

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On 6 Jan 2006 18:17:03 -0800, "Ozark Bicycle"
wrote:


You don't get out enough. Last fall, at the local Tour de Cure, a woman
came into a rest stop with front shifting problems. Tiagra triple,
about 2 months old according to her. The left hand brifter would pull
cable if disconnected from the FD, but it would not do so with any
consistency when working against the spring of the FD. The FD was not
binding, if that's what you're wondering, and the cable, cable housing
etc., was all fine.

So what? I can describe almost any bike part that has failed.


You snipped the part of your previous post that I was responding to:

http://tinyurl.com/dzve7

You maintained that a new STI shifter failing was "bull****". I'm
enlightening you with a little real world experience.


The thing is, the slavish claims of the importance of repairability in
the field to most people are just a flip-side of the coin of the sort
of "pro lightest bestest newest thing" guys like you decry. Yeah,
it's true that for a typical bike racer an ounce of the bike doesn't
make a huge difference. And a for a weekend warrior, STI isn't
essential to beating up on buddies on a group ride. But in the same
way, the impression you give of how vital it is to minimize chances of
failure of the bike is really another form of "fashion."

You're fortunate to have found a place on the internet where such
"fashion" is applauded. I just find it tedious hearing it en masse.


No likee, no clickee.