bar-end shifters

"Jim" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hello there,

I was reading the Trek Web site, and found the 520 comes with bar-end
shifters.
What benefits do the Shimano Dura-Ace bar-end shifters offer, compared
with
modern integrated shifters? Is the 520 the only modern bicycle equipped
with
bar-end shifters?

Thanks in advance.

-Jim

This is from personal experience; With a semi-loaded 520 touring bike
(medium size back pack + two fully loaded rear panniers), the bar-ends were
a pain to shift, particularly on hills. I found that I wasn't able to match
my physical capacity to efficiently moving the bike.

Switched to 105 brifters and found that I was always in the best gear.
Coming up to a grade you can simply click through the gears like paddle
shifter on a Ferrari. Coming down the other side, click, click, click...
always the most efficient gearing. Same thing on the flats, you get to the
gear you need quicker and easier. I found I have more energy and am less
tired.

On my annual Euro tour I'll bring a set of down tube shifters or bar ends in
case of something goes awry with the supposedly delicate brifters. YMMV.

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. Or perhaps gain it in your bike
parts. I've never, ever had a saddle break.

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.

I have a
third friend whose brand new touring
bike locked up its right STI just
before she left on a week-long tour.

I call bull**** on that. Brand new and doesn't work. Bizarre.

Well, your bull**** detector is out of whack.

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.
And no telling what our pulling, pushing, and WD-40-ing did to fix it.

I'd have taken the old bike on that tour, although I admit she didn't
experience that total lock-up again, AFAIK.


- Frank Krygowski

In article ,
John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

On Fri, 6 Jan 2006 16:23:32 -0800, Dane Buson wrote:

In rec.bicycles.misc John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On Fri, 6 Jan 2006 15:26:44 -0800, Dane Buson wrote:

Just commuting to work mostly. If my bike doesn't work, I'm left with
the alternatives of the bus (boring, inconvenient) or *shudder*, driving
the car to work. The latter would also inconvienence the wife and make
me cranky in general.

I'd rather not be stuck with the bus or car while I'm waiting for the
bike shop to fix whatever is wrong with my bike.

It's the same kind of reasoning why I use 36 spoke wheels and ride tires
like Conti TT2Ks and Schwalbe Marathon pluses.

Are you suggesting intergrated shifters fail with anywhere near the
frequency of tires? That's one rugged commute you have, that the
shifting could fail to the extent that the bike would be unrideable.
Whoa.

Not at all. [2] However, from what I understand they do tend to start
failing about 20,000 miles (not an absolute of course).

Wow, and so rather than looking out for theme breaking down then, you
forgo using the for, what, over a thouda

[1] I haven't
heard of anyone talking about wearing out barcons, which makes me think
they have a longer lifetime. Additionally they are in a less vulnerable
position in a crash.

Individually the chance of failure for any component is small. And I'd
like to keep it that way.

Also, as to commuting with reduced functionality. I've been reduced to
singlespeeding my way home, but it kind of sucks. My route to and fro
work is fairly hilly, I really *like* having multiple gears.

How often does that kind of stuff actually happen. I've commuted,
been a bike messenger, ridden across the US on a bike, used a bike for
shopping, etc etc and the real love of deriding stuff like STI is just
laughable to me. It's just a bike. It's not an IV drip with a vital
vaccine. YMMV I guess.

[3] I've broken every one of these
components *in the past year*, some
more than once.

Well, that suggests the problem isn't STI but your whole approach to
cycling. Where are you commuting?

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.




What makes you dismissive of their very real concerns? You
prefer to insult them. I read the 126 postings of yours
that are currently on my server, and you do not have a
good word for anyone.

--
Michael Press

Jeff Starr wrote:
On 6 Jan 2006 17:52:22 -0800, "Ozark Bicycle"
wrote:


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.


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.

I am amazed at the number of riders who are brainwashed into thinking
brifters are the only way to go.


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.


Because if it weren't for 'bent riders and time trialers buying bar-ends
the rest of us probably wouldn't have the option of getting bar-ends.
They'd be off the market just like good quality mtn bike thumbshifters
are now.

Greg
--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

wrote:

I use my thumbs to move the bar-end levers without moving my hands.

Good God, how? By delivering a precisely tuned kung fu tap to the bar,
which moves the shifter?

That's pretty much how I've done it with my water bottle. It requires much
less precision than you might suspect, in indexed mode.

--
Benjamin Lewis

Now is the time for all good men to come to.
-- Walt Kelly

In rec.bicycles.misc John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
On Fri, 6 Jan 2006 16:23:32 -0800, Dane Buson wrote:
In rec.bicycles.misc John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:

Are you suggesting intergrated shifters fail with anywhere near the
frequency of tires? That's one rugged commute you have, that the
shifting could fail to the extent that the bike would be unrideable.
Whoa.

Not at all. [2] However, from what I understand they do tend to start
failing about 20,000 miles (not an absolute of course).

Wow, and so rather than looking out for theme breaking down then, you
forgo using the for, what, over a thouda

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.

Also, as to commuting with reduced functionality. I've been reduced to
singlespeeding my way home, but it kind of sucks. My route to and fro
work is fairly hilly, I really *like* having multiple gears.

How often does that kind of stuff actually happen. I've commuted,
been a bike messenger, ridden across the US on a bike, used a bike for
shopping, etc etc and the real love of deriding stuff like STI is just
laughable to me. It's just a bike. It's not an IV drip with a vital
vaccine. YMMV I guess.

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.

[3] I've broken every one of these
components *in the past year*, some
more than once.

Well, that suggests the problem isn't STI but your whole approach to
cycling. Where are you commuting?

Seattle to Bellevue. It's about 9.5 miles each way, and really isn't
that bad. If I wasn't about 205 pounds and like to "ride it like I
stole it" I'm sure I wouldn't have any problems (or at least a lot
less). If I was slower, lighter, or less *exuberant* I'm sure I'd
break less parts. The curb-hopping probably doesn't help either.

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
A clean desk is a sign of an empty mind.

In rec.bicycles.misc Johnny Sunset wrote:

Dane Buson wrote:
...Will the fork bend in a panic stop? [3]

You have to break the frame while braking to match Chalo!

True. I don't think I'm even in the running.

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
"The GOP is the evil party, the Democrats are the stupid party, and
bipartisanship is when they join forces to do something both evil and stupid."
- Stephen Johnson

In article ,
Dane Buson writes (in part):

The curb-hopping probably doesn't help either.

Curb-hopping always makes me think of this song
for some reason:
http://www.cycle-of-time.net/Details/GoingUp.htm


And it's gotta be the Jimmy Reed version.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

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. If barcons don't detract from the experience what's to gain
by STIs? Sure, it'll take an instant longer to shift, but the fact is
for most workaday riders shaving a second or two from a ride is not an
overriding concern.

Ahem. That said, two of my bikes have STIs and there are no plans for
converting them to barcons. ;-)

Luke

"John Forrest Tomlinson" wrote in message
news
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

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Of coarse , cycling from Mubia to Goa in Feb. At the moment I am suffering
I,ll explain

New Years eve daughter arrives with the 2 grandchildren her Temp is 104.6
deg F they stay for 5 days

Monday 03/01/06 wife starts with a temp of 103.7 deg F. Both have been very
poorly

This morning my temp is 102.2 deg F and I feel ill.

My friend and I are in training for the above ride and
he rang this morning to do a 50 60 mile hilly ride up MOW COP its a
struggle to write this.

What I need is a little TLC to take my mind of feeling so bad