bar-end shifters

John Forrest Tomlinson wrote:
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


Unless one is a racer, that is *exactly* what I am saying.



and should only be used if someone else
pays for them.

Being sponsored makes the bad equation of more expensive/less reliable
easier to live with.


Are you that stupid?

Got a hair across your ass these days?



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


No, that's not what I'm saying. What I *am* saying is that I *prefer
barends* for their relability/durability and the flexibility they
afford in various ways such as choice of brake levers, choice of
chainring combinations, etc. Get it?



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.


Tell ya what, you like 'em so much, go use 'em. I wouldn't have a set
on any of my bikes.

In rec.bicycles.misc P K wrote:

wrote in message
oups.com...
Feh, I did my first ten thousand miles on a bike with brifters. I like
them okay.

Ah Ha. A virtual newbie virgin to bicycling. I rode my first few
thousand road miles on a bike with stem shifters. Then a few thousand
miles with downtube shifters. This all happened before Ergo/STI was
invented. Then I rode many thousands of miles with bar end shifters
after Ergo/STI were invented. Still have the bar end shifters on the
touring bike because they work well and have some advantages, as
mentioned by many before. Then I finally acquired a bike with Ergo.
All subsequent new bikes have Ergo.

I wonder why you presume I am a newbie a little cv

Actually if you'll look at the quoted text at the top, he was responding
to me. Granted he did trim the attribution line, which might make it
mite confusing if you don't have a good threading-aware newsreader.

/peeks at Peter's headers

Ah, Outlook Express, that probably explains it.



Now look how silly you look be careful with presumptions

*cough*

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
Thus spake the master programmer:
"You can demonstrate a program for a corporate executive, but you
can't make him computer literate."
-- Geoffrey James, "The Tao of Programming"

In article .com, Jim
wrote:

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


Jim,

It all comes down to personal preferences whether you like the
convenience of STI hood shifting or drop bar shifting (if you always
ride on drops which I do). Otherwise, go with the ones that you like
the feel the most and not by some doom and gloomers (that most often
happen here in the R.B.T forum) suggestion! Yes, bar-ends are
reliable, but how tough of an environment are you going to subject your
bike to abuse? The majority of US cycle tourers do not venture
overseas (Canada and Mexico do not count) in great numbers as compared
to other nationals (the Europeans and Canadians) and that is suggested
by the amount of passports owned by US citizens alone. The arguement
in the past about STI vs bar-ends had always centered around the issue
of serviceability and replacement in the event of a breakdown are not a
big issue in the United States. If a local bike store does not stock
replacement STI shifters, then a phone call to any mail order stores
will get you fixed in a jiffy. But, if you plan to do a lot of
overseas travel (Asia, Easter part of Europe or any 3rd world
countries), then yes consider bar-ends. If not, STIs would do just
fine and the benefits of hood shifting is a convenience I always sell
to my clients.

Is the 520 the only modern stock bike equipped with bar-ends widely
available in Trek stores? In my country, the answer would be a yes.
In fact, it's a huge selling point to people who want to have this
feature and I suspect that it is a Trek marketing decision.

The touring bike market is a very small portion of any bike sales. In
fact, Trek didn't even bother to showcase their Trek 520 on Interbike
1999 or 2000 (I can't remember which). I stopped going there since,
which goes to show how lackluster sales are for this steel beast..
There's a lot more emphasis for the Burke family (the owner of Trek
bikes) to promote Trek carbon bikes -- there's where the dough is and
not the Trek 520.

David.

"Dane Buson" wrote in message
...

If I was slower, lighter, or less *exuberant*

Yeah, cut down on the exuberance, there, Dane.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

In rec.bicycles.misc Tom Keats wrote:
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

Aww, now you've got me directing a MTV music video version [1]
in my head. Too bad I have no appreciable talents in that
direction.

And it's gotta be the Jimmy Reed version.

/me puts on his l33t int4rn3t hat and goes to search for it.

[1] Not that there appears to be music or videos on either
version of MTV anymore.

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
"Sometimes, you can't do anything about something that sucks,
until later."
-Slovotsky's Law #19 REVISED

In rec.bicycles.misc wrote:
Feh, I did my first ten thousand miles on a bike with brifters. I like
them okay.

Ah Ha. A virtual newbie virgin to bicycling.

Guilty as charged. I probably did less than a hundred miles on stem
shifter bikes previous to starting up cycling after moving to Seattle.
I've been cycling moderately seriously about 3 1/2 years now.

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
"...I've seen Sun monitors on fire off the side of the multimedia
lab. I've seen NTU lights glitter in the dark near the Mail Gate.
All these things will be lost in time, like the root partition last
week. Time to die..." -- Peter Gutmann, posting in a.s.r.

"bfd" writes:

Can you explain why "brifters" are less *less flexible" than
bar-ends or dt shifters?

"Brifters"

1. Indexed only, and only for one gearing configuration (e.g.,
7/8/9/10 speed depending on age). If you never have to change
wheels for any reason, probably not an issue.

2. Little tolerance for bent derailleur hanger after a crash.

3. Location makes damage to shifting mechanism more vulnerable in a
crash. I saw an Ergo lever smashed to smithereens in such a
situation, leaving the rider unable to shift or brake on that
side.

4. In the case of Shimano, not serviceable.

5. As a function of indexing, not tolerant of having to replace the
derailleur with a different make (or sometimes different model) in
the event of damage.

6. As a function of indexing, vulnerable to shifting problems related
to cables getting gunked up.

Bar-end shifters:

1. None of the above limitations.

2. Less convenient in racing situations.

3. Broader choice of brake lever shapes to fit larger or smaller
hands.

That said, I like Ergo just fine and have it on one of my favorite
bikes. Back when I raced, I thought Ergo was a clear benefit adn an
advantage compared to DT shift levers. The advantage was less clearcut
vis a vis bar end shifters, but again in a racing situation I thought
Ergo had the advantage. I've had a couple of bikes with STI and have
never liked it- IMHO the brake lever should serve only one function.
Obviously this is not something that bothers millions and millions of
bike riders, so it may just be a personal preference.

John Forrest Tomlinson writes:

They're just bikes. They're not that mystical or sensitive objects.

Hey! You hurt my bike's feelings! :-D

You're quite right of course- bikes are just bikes and all the dudgeon
over them tends to be pretty silly.

John Forrest Tomlinson writes:

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.

I'm wondering whether the saddle clamp on the seat post might have
contributed. Some have a very short clamping surface, and I have
wondered if those contribute to bending or breaking the saddle rails.

P K wrote:
"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

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


March 1st? Are you from the future?

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