Bar end shifters for touring bike ?

I am currently looking at (or dreaming of) touring bikes like the Trek 520
or Cannondale T800. Well, by "looking" I mean looking at web sites, as
there is no such bike in the local stores at this time of year (and
possibly not at other times either: they all seem to be selling only
mountain or road racing bikes).

I've seen that the Trek 520, like many others in this category, has bar end
shifters. I've never used such things, and I was wondering why they seem
to be popular for touring. More specifically: with more standard shifters
(be they new new brake lever shifters or old frame tube shifters),
it is very easy to shift both front and rear gears at the same time. But
how can you do this with the bar end shifters, unless you use the
lowermost handlebar position (which I never do on my road bike) ?

Any hands-on experience appreciated....

Jacques

In article ,
says...
I am currently looking at (or dreaming of) touring bikes like the Trek 520
or Cannondale T800. Well, by "looking" I mean looking at web sites, as
there is no such bike in the local stores at this time of year (and
possibly not at other times either: they all seem to be selling only
mountain or road racing bikes).

I've seen that the Trek 520, like many others in this category, has bar end
shifters. I've never used such things, and I was wondering why they seem
to be popular for touring. More specifically: with more standard shifters

You might also take a look at the Fuji Touring. It uses STI shifters
(integrated with the brake levers). I really like them...

The link to this bike is:

http://www.fujibikes.com/road/bike.a...me=road&myArra
y=87,88,89,90,91,92,93,106,102,94,95,105,96,103,97 ,104,99,98,100,101,1
07,108,109,112,110,111,113,114&myArrayID=11&yr=200 4

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

In article , jacques
wrote:

I am currently looking at (or dreaming of) touring bikes like the Trek 520
or Cannondale T800. Well, by "looking" I mean looking at web sites, as
there is no such bike in the local stores at this time of year (and
possibly not at other times either: they all seem to be selling only
mountain or road racing bikes).

I've seen that the Trek 520, like many others in this category, has bar end
shifters. I've never used such things, and I was wondering why they seem
to be popular for touring. More specifically: with more standard shifters
(be they new new brake lever shifters or old frame tube shifters),
it is very easy to shift both front and rear gears at the same time. But
how can you do this with the bar end shifters, unless you use the
lowermost handlebar position (which I never do on my road bike) ?

Any hands-on experience appreciated....

Jacques

It's really hard to say for certain whether bar end shifters are
popular among all cycle tourists. They are definitely popular among
experienced tourists and they do seem to last a lot longer than typical
STI shifters. I don't have experience in using them yet, but I have on
order a pair of Dura-Ace bar end shifters that I will be putting on on
both of my touring and road bikes. Both bikes' STI shifters kicked the
bucket after many years of riding. I had replaced the dead STIs (one
half) on both bikes already with Campagnolo Ergos (nice and got a
really good deal off eBay) and am replacing the other halfs now with
bar end shifters soon. So don't get me wrong that I dislike STIs.
Going to bar end shifters was the toughest financial decision I had to
make as it was the cheapest option I can make do with for now. If the
job prospect is better, I might go back to using STIs again in the
future..

But you are quite, there is nothing wrong with STI shifters in general
and if you like and prefer to use them instead of bar ends, by all
means go for it.. But then you should pay a lot more attention to bike
fitting rather than what's on the bike first. Fitting a touring bike
is different than fitting you on a race bike or a mountain bike. They
are a lot of options to consider (comfort vs performance) which you can
only do with proper frame sizing. All too often, I see people riding
with way too short of a stem and way too high of a rise on a frame I
suspect was not sized properly for them in the first place.
Sometime, I see that people don't even ride on drops.. It is certainly
helpful when you ride against a headwind. I ride on drops when I need
to and I find it just as comfortable as riding on the hoods.
Do you find it uncomfortable (neck and back side) riding on drops or is
it just because of safety issues??

"jacques" wrote in newsan.2003.11.26.19.50.31.991631
@bluewin.ch:
I've seen that the Trek 520, like many others in this category, has bar end
shifters. I've never used such things, and I was wondering why they seem
to be popular for touring.

Bar-end shifters are lighter weight, more reliable, easier to maintain, and
cheaper than STI shifters. The biggest disadvantage is that if you sprint
out of the saddle, your knees sometimes hit the shift levers. Shifting is
also slightly slower, especially when your hands are on the hoods instead of
the drops.

"jacques" wrote in
news
I've seen that the Trek 520, like many others in this category, has
bar end shifters. I've never used such things, and I was wondering why
they seem to be popular for touring. More specifically: with more
standard shifters (be they new new brake lever shifters or old frame
tube shifters), it is very easy to shift both front and rear gears at
the same time. But how can you do this with the bar end shifters,
unless you use the lowermost handlebar position (which I never do on
my road bike) ?

I don't know why you would want to shift both front and rear at the same
time - it could cause the chain to jam (I've seen it happen).

Otherwise, bar end shifters are simpler, more reliable, don't break cables
as often, and have a friction option in case your rear derailler gets
tweaked. If you out touring in BFE, you want more reliable equipment.

One reason I chose bar-ends is that I expected to use a handlebar bag and I
felt that I would have more "room" for it without the STI cables in the way.
I have also found that touring geometry makes it more comfortable to be on
the drops. Finally, I like that I can get a good idea of what gear I am in
without looking down - but simply feeling where the bar-end shifters are.
I was very disappointed that when I went to look for a touring bike at any
of my local stores - I could find nothing but pictures. Adventure cycling
magazine usually has a yearly spring time issue devoted to touring bikes.
But there again you will only get pictures.
Best of luck .
Harry

"jacques" wrote in message
news
I am currently looking at (or dreaming of) touring bikes like the Trek 520
or Cannondale T800. Well, by "looking" I mean looking at web sites, as
there is no such bike in the local stores at this time of year (and
possibly not at other times either: they all seem to be selling only
mountain or road racing bikes).

I've seen that the Trek 520, like many others in this category, has bar
end
shifters. I've never used such things, and I was wondering why they seem
to be popular for touring. More specifically: with more standard shifters
(be they new new brake lever shifters or old frame tube shifters),
it is very easy to shift both front and rear gears at the same time. But
how can you do this with the bar end shifters, unless you use the
lowermost handlebar position (which I never do on my road bike) ?

Any hands-on experience appreciated....

Jacques

In article ,
says...
"jacques" wrote in newsan.2003.11.26.19.50.31.991631
@bluewin.ch:
I've seen that the Trek 520, like many others in this category, has bar end
shifters. I've never used such things, and I was wondering why they seem
to be popular for touring.

Bar-end shifters are lighter weight, more reliable, easier to maintain, and
cheaper than STI shifters. The biggest disadvantage is that if you sprint
out of the saddle, your knees sometimes hit the shift levers. Shifting is

You don't have to sprint for this to happen; any out-of-seat pedaling
may do this, depending on your geometry and handlebar adjustment.

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

I have these on my touring bike. They may not be as easy to use as
STI or Campy Ergopower shifters, but they have some advantages for
touring.

Simplicity. Probably easier to do maintenance on the road if
something goes wrong with them.

Friction mode. If your gears get out of adjustment on a long tour,
and you're having trouble getting the indexing working right, this can
be a good thing.

Cheaper.

On a touring bike, if you are using it for actual touring, you
probably aren't worried about shaving seconds off of your time here
and there, so wasting a little time moving your hand down to shift
shouldn't be a big deal. Besides, once you get used to it, you'll use
them plenty fast enough without really thinking about it. Shifting
both at the same time is not something I even worry about, although I
suppose you can do it.



"jacques" wrote in message .. .
I am currently looking at (or dreaming of) touring bikes like the Trek 520
or Cannondale T800. Well, by "looking" I mean looking at web sites, as
there is no such bike in the local stores at this time of year (and
possibly not at other times either: they all seem to be selling only
mountain or road racing bikes).

I've seen that the Trek 520, like many others in this category, has bar end
shifters. I've never used such things, and I was wondering why they seem
to be popular for touring. More specifically: with more standard shifters
(be they new new brake lever shifters or old frame tube shifters),
it is very easy to shift both front and rear gears at the same time. But
how can you do this with the bar end shifters, unless you use the
lowermost handlebar position (which I never do on my road bike) ?

Any hands-on experience appreciated....

Jacques

"jacques" wrote in message .. .
I am currently looking at (or dreaming of) touring bikes like the Trek 520
or Cannondale T800. Well, by "looking" I mean looking at web sites, as
there is no such bike in the local stores at this time of year (and
possibly not at other times either: they all seem to be selling only
mountain or road racing bikes).

I've seen that the Trek 520, like many others in this category, has bar end
shifters. I've never used such things, and I was wondering why they seem
to be popular for touring. More specifically: with more standard shifters
(be they new new brake lever shifters or old frame tube shifters),
it is very easy to shift both front and rear gears at the same time. But
how can you do this with the bar end shifters, unless you use the
lowermost handlebar position (which I never do on my road bike) ?

Any hands-on experience appreciated....

First off, bar end shifters are really just downtube shifters that have been
attached to special pods that wedge into the ends of the bars.

So why are bar-ends popular with tourists? A number of reasons:

1) Simple, reliable, less prone to cause issues on a tour than integrated
shifters (e.g., STI and Ergo). (same is true for DT shifters)
2) Capable of working in friction mode as well as indexed mode. If your
derailleur adjustment gets a bit off, just switch to friction until
you can get it adjusted.
3) They work better with mixed drive trains than do integrated shifters.
If you want to mix Shimano and Campy, road and MTB components, barcons
or DT shifters are a better choice than STI or Ergo. Touring bikes
are usually mixed drive trains of some form or another.
4) Barcons can be shifted with your hands on the bars; better control which
is a good thing on a loaded touring bike. DT shifters require you to
take one hand off the bars, not a good idea while descending big hill
with a loaded bike with a stiff crosswind. And the bigger you are, the
further you have to reach with DT shifters.

Why in the world would one ever need to shift both derailleurs at once? Not
a functionality I have ever needed, or perceive I will ever need. BTW, I
do have bikes with STI, barcons, and DT shifters, so I am very familiar with
all of them.

- rick

jacques wrote:

I've seen that the Trek 520, like many others in this category, has bar end
shifters. I've never used such things, and I was wondering why they seem
to be popular for touring. More specifically: with more standard shifters
(be they new new brake lever shifters or old frame tube shifters),
it is very easy to shift both front and rear gears at the same time. But
how can you do this with the bar end shifters, unless you use the
lowermost handlebar position (which I never do on my road bike) ?

Any hands-on experience appreciated....

We just completed a coast-to-coast tour. My daughter's new bike had
STI, while my bike and my wife's bike had bar ends.

Our bar ends needed no attention, as always. But my daughter's rear
shifting needed adjusting, in that it got reluctant to shift to the
biggest cog. Sometimes it would do fine, but it often required a
"double pump" of the shifter. It would click-shift, then drop one gear
higher, requiring a re-shift. No fun on a steep climb.

I played with the adjustments quite a bit, but in the end, she just
learned to deal with it. She could tell when the ratchet mechanism
wasn't going to hold, and she'd just shift again.

Also, since we installed different chainrings than the
stupidly-specified original ones on the bike, the front shifting out of
the granny always required extra shifts and coaxing. STI front works
well only with the exact choices Shimano gives you - and for touring,
those choices are just wrong.

Furthermore - like many people, I've had to help fix STI shifters that
had become completely non-functional. We repaired my friend's using
(almost) the only tool a home mechanic can use on STI: a pint or so of
WD-40 and lots of trial-and-error wiggling of levers, cables, etc.

I want to be able to take apart everything on my bike, preferably using
only my pocket Leatherman tool. I want things to be simple, and I want
things to be as reliable as a hammer. STI isn't.


--
Frank Krygowski