Friction gear levers.

[Alan Frame]

Call me technically inept, a Luddite or anything you like, but I'm sick and tired of the faff and inexactitude of indexed gears, at least in my hands.

I'm seriously thinking of reverting my commuting bike to friction shifting. The trouble is, previous bikes I've had have had svelte downtubes for attaching the levers to, but my Claud Butler has an aluminium girder which is too big.

The brake levers won't need changing as they aren't flappy-paddle jobbies to also change gear, so I'm just looking for a friction lever to attach to the bars or somewhere to change gear. Does anyone know of such a thing ?

 

[screenman]

You luddite.

 

[Alan Frame]

You luddite.

Very restrained of you, I thought I was inviting far worse !

 

[HovR]

The three shifters at the bottom of this page have the option to be put into a friction mode (as do other older thumb shifters).

 

[Alan Frame]

The three shifters at the bottom of this page have the option to be put into a friction mode (as do other older thumb shifters).

Thank you, very useful, didn't know some were switchable.
Presumably, in friction mode a 6 speed would work with an 8 speed cassette ?

 

[robgul]

The three shifters at the bottom of this page have the option to be put into a friction mode (as do other older thumb shifters).

I've just fitted the Shimano version in the pic (bought for half that price via an ebay dealer) on my "straight barred, skinny tyred, winter road bike" - excellent.

I too HATE indexed gears ... all my others have friction bar-end shifters.

Rob

 

[Alan Frame]

I've just fitted the Shimano version in the pic (bought for half that price via an ebay dealer) on my "straight barred, skinny tyred, winter road bike" - excellent.

I too HATE indexed gears ... all my others have friction bar-end shifters.

Rob

Hi Rob,

Nice to know I'm not alone in my dislike.
I can see that indexed gearing is great for racers, who have a mechanic to do their fettling, but with my lack of ability, I like the simple pleasure of being able to fine tune the gears by ear on the move.

 

[steve52]

lets have a poll, i love my indexed gears have 3 bikes and they work fine on each, ps i set em up

 

[Alan Frame]

lets have a poll, i love my indexed gears have 3 bikes and they work fine on each, ps i set em up

Glad you get on with them Steve. The difference is that you can set them up, I can't.
In my opinion, so long as you set the stops up right, you really can't go wrong with friction levers.

 

[tyred]

I like friction shifters. Cheap to buy, easy to set up, very long lasting, what's not to like?

Mine you, I prefer to leave shifting to Messrs. Sturmey and Archer's fine device which is even easier to set, requires even less maintenance and has had indexed shifting since before WW1.

 

[Maz]

I like friction shifters. Cheap to buy, easy to set up, very long lasting, what's not to like?

Are these like 'downtube shifters', in that you 'feel' for the gear change? It's not a definite 'click' to tell you the gear has changed?

 

[tyred]

Are these like 'downtube shifters', in that you 'feel' for the gear change? It's not a definite 'click' to tell you the gear has changed?

Yes, downtube friction shifters where you need to feel the gear. I have various types, Huret, Suntour and Simplex.

 

[Teuchter]

I also prefer friction shifting though I notice that of my four current bikes, only one has friction shifters...
* 2011 Specialized Allez with Shimano Tiagra combined brake / gear levers
* 80s Peugeot 12 speed road bike with Sachs-Huret friction downtube shifters
* 80s Falcon fixed gear road bike - no shifter required
* 70s Raleigh roadster with 3 speed Sturmey Archer "indexed" thumb shifter

If it's for a road bike with drops, have you thought of bar end shifters like these from Suntour? Probably a more expensive and harder to find option than the thumb shifters posted by HovR though.

 

[Alan Frame]

If it's for a road bike with drops, have you thought of bar end shifters like these from Suntour?

I had thought about those because I get on well with the bar end shifters on my Kona Sutra, but the Claud Butler is flat barred.

My order is in for some cheapo, non-indexed antediluvian levers so I can happily revert to being a dinosaur, but at least one where all the gears are selectable !

 

[GBC]

There's a fair choice if you google 'downtube shifters', both braze-on and clamp. Shimano TY20 for a tenner, friction or indexed and does up to six speed. I have the friction shifters on my old Triumph and there's some thing very pleasing about the way you can slide from one gear to the next. Not everyone's cup of tea though.