Touring bikes: Index or friction shifting?

What would you go for and why?

On Apr 16, 12:04*pm, wrote:
What would you go for and why?

Define "touring?" Are you going to be "touring" out in the jungles of
South America, Africa or Western China by yourself? Or are you doing
*credit card* touring where a van follows you and you're sleeping
every nite in a different hotel. Depending on how you travel may make
a big difference in ones choice.

bfd wrote:

Define "touring?" Are you going to be "touring" out in the jungles of
South America, Africa or Western China by yourself? Or are you doing
*credit card* touring where a van follows you and you're sleeping
every nite in a different hotel. Depending on how you travel may make
a big difference in ones choice.

More like credit card touring in the USA..... but still
wanting little chance of breakdown and complexity cause
I don't like to mess with things as they always break
at worst time such as at 2am or during a thunderstorm
while standing outside in it

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.

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.

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

In article
],
Ryan Cousineau wrote:

Experiments with other non-indexed bikes have suggested that
friction-shifting a 7-speed cluster, even with Hyperglide teeth, is
mildly tricky.

I do not find this to be the case on a seven-gear 14-32
Hyperglide, down-tube friction shifter bicycle. Seven
positions over 120 deg of throw is easy to discern.

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.

--
Michael Press

Ryan Cousineau wrote:

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.

Thanks Ryan

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.

On Apr 17, 7:08*am, Tim McNamara wrote:
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.

Absolutely. Now that I am riding with my leg in a splint, I pretty
much stay seated anyway, and my shift mechanism doesn't matter that
much. It's only for climbing out of the saddle and racing that I
strongly prefer STI/Ergo. -- Jay Beattie.