A Cycling & bikes forum. CycleBanter.com

Go Back   Home » CycleBanter.com forum » rec.bicycles » Techniques
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #11  
Old April 16th 08, 10:23 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
landotter
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,336
Default Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?

On Apr 16, 4:03 pm, wrote:
bfd wrote:
Maybe they've been drinking (ok, reading) the kool-aid again:


http://www.rivbike.com/article/components/shifting


One thing I have noticed abt the Novara Randonee I
bought was that at times the shifting isn't quite in
alignment enough to be perfectly silent..... makes
"meshing" noise as pedaling. I know of no way to
quickly make that "micro" adjustment to eliminate
that.... and it does irritate me.


The gears aren't adjusted right. If you ever notice that, shouldn't
take more than a minute at the side of the road to adjust with the
barrel adjuster.


However.... back 15 years ago when I did have a bike
and lost of riding, I remember friction shifting.....
and when things were not quite aligned I could manually
make that small adjustment so that it was.

See my point?


Not really. After the cables bed in, a bike should shift perfectly
indefinitely.

Maybe everything is index now? Friction no longer
available or desirable? tell me ok?


It's available if you want it. Ultegra bar-end shifters are switchable
to friction or index, best of both worlds. About $70.

Ads
  #12  
Old April 16th 08, 10:26 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Victor Kan
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 217
Default Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?

On Apr 16, 4:59 pm, wrote:
So maybe my question should be.... what OPTIONS do I
HAVE for shifter and systems now days?


Friction-only or indexing-optional shifters do still exist (as others
have pointed out already), and many index-only shifters have some
amount of trim, at least for the front derailleur. For the latter,
you may have to stick with mid level and above lines (like Shimano's
10 speed 105 combo brake lever/shifters).


  #13  
Old April 16th 08, 10:28 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 970
Default Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?

bfd wrote:

However.... back 15 years ago when I did have a bike
and lost of riding, I remember friction shifting.....
and when things were not quite aligned I could manually
make that small adjustment so that it was.

Try adjusting the barrel adjuster behind the rear der. Turning it like
1/4 turn clockwise until the chain runs smoothly.


How can I reach that while riding tho?
  #14  
Old April 16th 08, 10:29 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 970
Default Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?

landotter wrote:

However.... back 15 years ago when I did have a bike
and lost of riding, I remember friction shifting.....
and when things were not quite aligned I could manually
make that small adjustment so that it was.

See my point?


Not really. After the cables bed in, a bike should shift perfectly
indefinitely.


OK

Maybe everything is index now? Friction no longer
available or desirable? tell me ok?


It's available if you want it. Ultegra bar-end shifters are switchable
to friction or index, best of both worlds. About $70.


Cool!
  #15  
Old April 16th 08, 10:32 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Woland99
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 434
Default Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?

On Apr 16, 4:03 pm, wrote:
bfd wrote:
Maybe they've been drinking (ok, reading) the kool-aid again:


http://www.rivbike.com/article/components/shifting


One thing I have noticed abt the Novara Randonee I
bought was that at times the shifting isn't quite in
alignment enough to be perfectly silent..... makes
"meshing" noise as pedaling. I know of no way to
quickly make that "micro" adjustment to eliminate
that.... and it does irritate me.

However.... back 15 years ago when I did have a bike
and lost of riding, I remember friction shifting.....
and when things were not quite aligned I could manually
make that small adjustment so that it was.

See my point?

Maybe everything is index now? Friction no longer
available or desirable? tell me ok?


I had some problems with Randonee shifting - turned out that
rear derailer was out of plane of the wheel (not sure how to
describe it better). REI mechanic fixed it. REI says that you
should bring bike back for adjustment after 100-200 miles when
cable will stretch. As far index/friction shifters - I think that
Surly LHT has an option to switch between the two - also it has
bar-end shifters (one of the reason I did not like it but it may
work for you). I still like my Randonee - but I think I should try
to learn how to adjust derailers myself - it seems that without that
knowledge I will be at REI quite often.
  #16  
Old April 17th 08, 04:30 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Bill Taylor
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 14
Default Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?

I recommend barcons with index shifting. I have a Suntour 7spd
Accushift setup, 135mm rear, the wheel is hardly dished and therefore
quite stout. I use a KMC chain, Suntour der and freewheel, no problems
in thousands of miles. They are revertable to friction, but so far
haven't needed that. You should look at Sheldon Browns website, he has
some recommendations which boil down to strong and reliable.
BT
  #17  
Old April 17th 08, 04:39 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Tom Sherman[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 9,890
Default Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?

Ozark Bicycle wrote:
On Apr 16, 2:04 pm, wrote:
What would you go for and why?


I can understand wanting to use shifters with a friction *option*
(e.g., DT shifters or barends) as a backup in case of difficulties
whilst on a tour. But why, oh why, would anyone, save for a Hobbit,
want to use a friction *only* shifter??


Friction only works better on the front, especially when the front
derailer is in one's normal field of view, and non-standard size
chainrings are used. The SRAM Grip-Shift with about 9 clicks is not too
bad either, since it allows for easy "trimming". Three position only
Rabidfire (sic) shifters are a pain for anything but standard ATB cranksets.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful
  #18  
Old April 17th 08, 05:33 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Jay Beattie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,322
Default Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?

On Apr 16, 12:28*pm, landotter wrote:
On Apr 16, 2:04*pm, wrote:

What would you go for and why?


Doesn't matter much. If I found an old Miyata in my size, I'd ride
coast to coast happily on a 7spd freewheel with friction shifters. Or
not. If I found some 7spd bar-ends I'd use those, and if I got bored
in Missouri, I'd switch them to friction to have something to do.
Alternately, if I got a really sweet deal on a new bike with brifters
and a 9spd rear cluster--that'd work fine as well. More important is
that the frame is right, I got good heel clearance, and the thing
handles nice and stable, so I can take downhill naps.


I rode across the US on a bike with 5sp friction bar end shifters --
and I much prefer my modern STI. And after all these years, STI has
never crapped out in the middle of nowhere or anywhere. I have index
bar ends on my commuter and don't like them because I have gotten so
used to being able to shift while standing and climbing. If I were
outfitting a touring bike, there is no question that it would use STI/
Ergo -- and if I were neurotic about it failing, then I would pack a
two ounce DT shifter just in case. -- Jay Beattie.
  #19  
Old April 17th 08, 05:57 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Ryan Cousineau
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,044
Default Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?

In article
,
Jay Beattie wrote:

On Apr 16, 12:28*pm, landotter wrote:
On Apr 16, 2:04*pm, wrote:

What would you go for and why?


Doesn't matter much. If I found an old Miyata in my size, I'd ride
coast to coast happily on a 7spd freewheel with friction shifters. Or
not. If I found some 7spd bar-ends I'd use those, and if I got bored
in Missouri, I'd switch them to friction to have something to do.
Alternately, if I got a really sweet deal on a new bike with brifters
and a 9spd rear cluster--that'd work fine as well. More important is
that the frame is right, I got good heel clearance, and the thing
handles nice and stable, so I can take downhill naps.


I rode across the US on a bike with 5sp friction bar end shifters --
and I much prefer my modern STI. And after all these years, STI has
never crapped out in the middle of nowhere or anywhere. I have index
bar ends on my commuter and don't like them because I have gotten so
used to being able to shift while standing and climbing. If I were
outfitting a touring bike, there is no question that it would use STI/
Ergo -- and if I were neurotic about it failing, then I would pack a
two ounce DT shifter just in case. -- Jay Beattie.


If I may make the contrary case, I enthusiastically race road bikes and
MTBs with various indexed drivetrains (Campy and Shimano 9 on the road,
XT 8-speed on the MTB). It's great.

But my daily commute is committed on a very boring Miyata 210 tourer
with a 5-speed rear cluster (14-26? 14-28? I have no idea) and a triple
up front. It also gets mileage as my winter training bike (fenders).

I don't really miss indexing on that bike.

Experiments with other non-indexed bikes have suggested that
friction-shifting a 7-speed cluster, even with Hyperglide teeth, is
mildly tricky. I'd prefer to use a 6-speed cluster on a
friction-shifting bike, though the Mega-7 freewheels might tip the
balance in a particular application owing to their bail-out cog and nice
internals.

All things being equal, the shifting doesn't matter. On a dedicated
tourer, I would opt for a skookum rear hub and axle (that seems to mean
Deore-to-XT as a mainstream choice), then pick gears to match the
application, then grab whatever shifter worked and was at hand.

That's my long-winded way of saying that the shifting method on a tourer
hardly matters (among likely means) and is largely a matter of taste.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"My scenarios may give the impression I could be an excellent crook.
Not true - I am a talented lawyer." - Sandy in rec.bicycles.racing
  #20  
Old April 17th 08, 03:08 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Tim McNamara
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,945
Default Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?

In article
,
Jay Beattie wrote:

I rode across the US on a bike with 5sp friction bar end shifters --
and I much prefer my modern STI.


Tastes are different. I adopted STI in 1992 and then switched to Ergo
because I didn't like STI's laterally moving brake lever. I used those
through 2005 when I went back to downtube friction shifting on my bikes.
I just like it better. It's nice there are options.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Friction shifting on a 9 speed cassette? Ease of shifting? Mounting? [email protected] Techniques 5 October 11th 07 04:02 AM
index/friction cable meb Techniques 3 November 7th 05 03:52 AM
Convert Index to friction shifting Kak61 Techniques 3 November 4th 04 10:22 PM
Friction shifting Vs Index Fx199 General 41 October 5th 04 05:20 AM
Upgrade from friction to index DJA General 4 September 3rd 04 05:32 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:08 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CycleBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.