# What Shifters Are Best For Converting From Down Tube Shifters? Reynolds 1983 531 Double Butted



## Alasdair Geddes (20 May 2013)

Hi, I'm new to this forum and to road bikes. I'm upgrading a 1983 Reynolds 531 double butted bike that was recently given to me. It currently has down tube shifters. I want to upgrade the shifters to put them on the drops where they are more accessible because I don't like down tube shifters. I can't decide what setup would be best.

I think the gears are 2 x 5 friction.

One option is bar end shifters. I have never used bar end shifters so don't know what they're like.

Another option is something like this:
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x309/ascendingsmoke/Schwinn Tempo 2B/0706121556.jpg
Where thumb shifters are put on the drops. This seems like a nice idea but I don't know how good it would really be.

What do you think?

What other options are there?

I don't want to spend loads more money on it. I've already got a new handlebar, a new stem, stem adapter, new brake leavers, new saddle, new tires, new inner tubes, new clips, new rim tape, bar tape and a few other things. It should be nice when it's finished. I'm trying to replace about half of the bike as cheaply as possible.


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## grumpyoldgit (20 May 2013)

I hate bar end shifters,got them on 2 bikes,very rarely take them out.


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## Alasdair Geddes (20 May 2013)

so thumb shifters on the drops would be good?


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## Davidc (20 May 2013)

I used to like down tube shifters, but I'm just getting old.

There aren't many 5 gear indexed shifters around*, less still integrated ones (combined with brake levers). Even then it depends on the make and type of gear mech. Friction bar end shifters will of course work with any, if you like them.

To change to modern derailleurs needs new wheels and increasing the width at the back. Not cheap or something to be taken lightly.

*Even then they're bodged 7 speed ones


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## smokeysmoo (20 May 2013)

Those thumb shifters are a mash up using some old friction MTB style shifters, and IMO look a mess and they can't be pleasant to use.

You can't get 5 speed STI shifters. They came in at 7 speed with ones like this style,







Although these are like rocking horse droppings nowadays, so you'd need to go up to 8 speed with something like Shimano Sora, but I don't know how compatible they would be with a 5 speed block, not very I suspect.

It might be a case of N+1 time as it would probably not be economically viable to convert this bike without spending a lot of ££'s on it to get it upto at least an 8 speed set up, IMO anyway.

FWIW, I recently restored a 1993 Dawes Stratos. Someone had converted that to early STI's at some stage, and the first thing I did was convert it back to downtube shifters. I honestly didn't think I'd like them but TBH in some ways I prefer riding the Dawes to riding my Cannondale that has a full 10 speed DA groupset!

Downtube shifters are great. They just work and they are simply reliable, fit and forget as they say.


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## Alasdair Geddes (20 May 2013)

I guess I'll keep the down tube shifters. Maybe I can get used to them. Can bar end shifters be fitted once the rest of the bar is all taped up? If I decide to try bar end shifters later once I've rebuilt the bike would that be easy to do?


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## RecordAceFromNew (21 May 2013)

Alasdair Geddes said:


> I guess I'll keep the down tube shifters. Maybe I can get used to them. *Can bar end shifters be fitted once the rest of the bar is all taped up?* If I decide to try bar end shifters later once I've rebuilt the bike would that be easy to do?


 
Depends on how you route the cables, ok like below. Or you can consider these.


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## sidevalve (21 May 2013)

+ 1 for the downtube shifters [although maybe as an old git I just got used to them "as a lad"]. To make life easier though you may be able to upgrade to an indexed system if the current ones are friction. It would be cheaper and simpler. My Dawes has a seven speed rear block and indexed downtube shifters and works a treat. Downtube shifters are as said above very direct and simple and if damaged while out on a run give the option of going back to friction. A pretty bullet proof setup and not that hard to get used to.


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## avalon (21 May 2013)

Unlike grumpyoldgit I like bar end shifters so as usual all the advice given here can be taken with a pinch of salt.


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## grumpyoldgit (21 May 2013)

avalon said:


> Unlike grumpyoldgit I like bar end shifters so as usual all the advice given here can be taken with a pinch of salt.


It is a personal thing,my bikes that have them were like that from new,so they will stay like that.Likewise I like Di2 ,but I wont be fitting that to every bike I own.


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## Teuchter (21 May 2013)

Persevere with the downtube friction shifters, they're not that hard to get used to really. Simple to maintain, easy to set up, simple to trim for quiet gears in all combinations of front and rear rings, cleaner look (no extra gear cables coming off the bars like with STIs and some bar-end setups), little to go wrong and cheap to replace if they do.

Oh and they look right on an old 531 frame. My bike was described as "proper old school" partly thanks to the downtube shifters at the weekend. I'm old enough to like that.

I've never used bar-end shifters but have done a few thousand miles using STIs and while they're not bad, I still prefer my downtube friction shifters. Then again I've been riding bikes with downtube shifters since I was 13.


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## Cycleops (21 May 2013)

I agree with sidevalve, downtube indexed shifter would be you best option. I too have an old Dawes which has an 8 speed cassette with indexing and it works great. You should be able to pick up the shifters for little money. Bar end shifters are favoured by tourists mainly.

On another point it sounds like your bike would be a lot older than '83 as quality bikes were no longer being produced with five speeds at that time, it is likely about fifteen years earlier, but it is possible it was made up from parts. If you are interested in dating it please post a pic. If five speed it will have a freewheel threaded onto the hub, rather than the later cassette system so if you want to change to 7 or 8 speed you will have to change the hub. I know you haven't asked but I was pre-empting you.


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## gilespargiter (22 May 2013)

Assuming you have a quill stem which is not right down in the steerer tube. I have been putting a cable stop on the down tube and using a shim, fitting the levers to the stem since the seventies. You need to be careful they cannot catch the top tube at any point.

Personally I prefer friction shifters.


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## youngoldbloke (22 May 2013)

If you ride on the hoods/tops it is almost as far to reach for bar end shifters as down tube ones. You can also do one handed double shifts with DT shifters! The biggest problem for me comes when I swap bikes and find I'm reaching for shifters on the down tube when I have STIs, and vice versa. Persevere with the down tube shifters!


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## Davidc (22 May 2013)

youngoldbloke said:


> If you ride on the hoods/tops it is almost as far to reach for bar end shifters as down tube ones. You can also do one handed double shifts with DT shifters! The biggest problem for me comes when I swap bikes and find I'm reaching for shifters on the down tube when I have STIs, and vice versa. Persevere with the down tube shifters!


Agree with all of this, though sadly I don't have a bike with DT shifters at present.

WIth friction DT shifters, once you get in practice you can move straight to any gear at the back precisely, in one go, and on the front you can trim out any slight difference in position when moving from large to small sprockets at the rear to achieve silence. I haven't used more than an 8 gear rear setup with friction shifters but that would probably apply just as much to more.


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## Teuchter (23 May 2013)

youngoldbloke said:


> The biggest problem for me comes when I swap bikes and find I'm reaching for shifters on the down tube when I have STIs


^^^ glad I'm not the only one!


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## palinurus (23 May 2013)

Personally I love downtube shifters, I miss them.

If I had any gears I'd use them again. Maybe I should attach a dummy one just so I can relive the experience, although the real pleasure is in the perfect shift when the indexing is off.


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## Gravity Aided (24 May 2013)

I dislike the lack of immediacy of shifting with bar ends. I think downtubes are faster and more accurate. Touring is often a loaded situation, and there are 2 camps to this belief
1- That you should never take your hands (either one) off the bars while balancing a touring bike, and for this the bar end shifters are better.
2- That you should have the best control over your gearing possible, and that favors downtube shifting.
I see and respect the rightness of either view. I currently have downtube shifting, both indexed and friction.


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## asterix (24 May 2013)

DT shifters are fine, so are bar-end. I put them on my latest build-up and also went back to a double chainset with a 9-speed cassette. I did find 8 spd was the max for non-indexed DT shifters.

My favourites are campag ergo altho TBH I don't really care what shifters I have if they work.


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## raleighnut (23 Jul 2013)

With Shimano bar end shifters you can switch the indexing on or off unlike clunky campags (I have both types and the campy ones are always drifting out of index, spose that's why they adjust in 3 places)


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## biggs682 (23 Jul 2013)

i have just fitted some Dia Compe bar end levers on my latest bike as i cant get on with Sti's , my advice would be to go for indexed ones .

i still prefer down tube levers no matter what they are indexed or not , i even have one road bike set up with trigger shifters fitted on the top of the drops and they work well


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## thegravestoneman (23 Jul 2013)

Why not convert to a 7 speed block whilst you are at it, they are readily available and give you many options on levers I run my 83 Sara on a 7 block until recently. You may have to redish the wheel slightly though.


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## Tony Smith (25 Jul 2013)

What youngoldbloke says. Its almost as far from the hoods to the end tubes as it is to the downtube. I'm doing a couple of builds and my LBS has splayed my rear dropouts ready for whatever I decide to go with, but the complexity of bar shifters make me lean towards the plain old fashioned down tube. Just don't change gear as often !!!


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## Tony Smith (25 Jul 2013)

...also, isn't there a strange feeling with the leverage one gets on tube ends ? I seem to recall from my youth having a set that my hands used to always seem to push too far..


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## biggs682 (25 Jul 2013)

Tony Smith said:


> ...also, isn't there a strange feeling with the leverage one gets on tube ends ? I seem to recall from my youth having a set that my hands used to always seem to push too far..


 
@Tony Smith you ca remember that far back ? wish i could


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## Sterba (28 Jul 2013)

I vote with the downtube shifter people. Don't bother with indexing a five speed, you can get the right position every time with very little practice. Everything that followed was a mess untill the very latest generation of combined brakes and shifters with fully concealed cables for both. Actually, the very best changers of all are (indexed) mountain bike shifters for flat bars, but maybe you don't want flat bars.


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## avalon (28 Jul 2013)

Sterba said:


> I vote with the downtube shifter people. Don't bother with indexing a five speed, you can get the right position every time with very little practice.


 I upgraded from seven to eight speed and got rid of the index shifters. I don't find it a problem selecting the right gear.


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## Kamakazerider (28 Jul 2013)

Down tubes every time, it is worth persevering it looks right,feels right and is so much easier to set up. Bar ends are ok if you ride on the drops most of the time but all othe methods seem a little over complicated, However as always it's what feels right for you, It would be worth buying a few cheap types of e-bay to try them out


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## craigwend (28 Jul 2013)

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/tourney-a070-2-x-7-speed-sti-shifter-set-ec046455
?

7 speed cassette may work on your bike (new wheel?)


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## Sterba (29 Jul 2013)

Here is what I said yesterday on the adjacent thread about an 86 Raleigh. Some of it is relevant to this query too, though not the bit about removing the freewheel:
Rear dropouts will prob be 126mm if it is a 6 speed. You can squeeze a 7 speed freewheel on without adjusting the frame, although the wheel will need an extra 2mm spacer on the axle, on the side of the freewheel and it would then be best to re-dish the wheel to keep it on the centre-line. I ride 7 speed bikes with freewheels from 14 to 32 in even steps, if you want something that you can ride up steep hills with. If you want to fit modern 10 speed stuff, better get the frame (ends) widened at a shop, needs doing on a jig to avoid distorting it. If existing 6 speed seems difficult to remove it is because it is the type where the last (smallest) cog tightens up against the next one, so you need to take it off anticlockwise while you hold the other one still, two chainwhips working in opposite directions.​


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## Sterba (29 Jul 2013)

I meant the thread about the Carlton Super Course, not the Raleigh.


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## bigjim (31 Jul 2013)

> I did find 8 spd was the max for non-indexed DT shifters.


I use DT shifters on one of my bikes with a 9 speed cassette. It works fine but you do need to have a sensitive touch with it as its easier to hit the wrong gear because of the very narrow spacing between cogs.
Surely if you do not spread the rear triangle you are limited to a freewheel axle that is more subject to breakage due to the drive side bearings being under more strain than the newer Shimano cassette design?


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## Sterba (1 Aug 2013)

If Coppi and Bahamontes managed in the Alps with freewheels, I don't think we mortals have anything to worry about. I have never had a moment's trouble with a freewheel. The main problem now is the difficulty of getting the exact cogs you want.


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## bigjim (1 Aug 2013)

I've broke an axle before now on a freewheel. Only the skewer holding it together. I think Coppi and his mates may have had the odd spare wheel knocking about in the team car. I also doubt his new wheels did that much everyday mileage.
Worth a look. http://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/free-k7.html


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## markyp (2 Aug 2013)

have fitted friction 6 speed DT levers on my vitus...having to re-learn how to use them.


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## alecstilleyedye (8 Aug 2013)

personally, i rate the combination of brakes/shifters as the best innovation since mercx, with the possible exception of clipless pedal systems…


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