New Addition - claud majestic

[mikeymustard]

Very true, though with only a choice of 5 it's not that hard to guess

 

[HertzvanRental]

Very true, though with only a choice of 5 it's not that hard to guess

Mind you, we used to do this as a matter of course! Admittedly the legs were a bit younger then!

 

[Dogtrousers]

All it takes is a few minutes on my bike with DT shifters to reawaken the muscle memory. Even on my posh brifter equipped bike I often find my hand dropping to the down tube unbidden, helpfully ready to change gear.

 

[mikeymustard]

All it takes is a few minutes on my bike with DT shifters to reawaken the muscle memory. Even on my posh brifter equipped bike I often find my hand dropping to the down tube unbidden, helpfully ready to change gear.

I do that too! Especially as I'm cruising up to a junction. I still struggle to change gear when I pull away again but I think that's more to do with fear of wobbling

 

[Dogtrousers]

I do that too! Especially as I'm cruising up to a junction. I still struggle to change gear when I pull away again but I think that's more to do with fear of wobbling

That's one of the things I like about non-indexed friction shifters. If you are coming to a stop and need to change quickly all the way down the gears ready to start again it's one simple motion. Bosh. It is done. None of this clicketty clicketty clicketty fiddling that you get with brifters.

 

[raleighnut]

The bike with Bar-Ends always sees me 'looking' down for the shifters with one hand.

 

[mjr]

That's one of the things I like about non-indexed friction shifters. If you are coming to a stop and need to change quickly all the way down the gears ready to start again it's one simple motion. Bosh. It is done. None of this clicketty clicketty clicketty fiddling that you get with brifters.

And when you stuff it up or get surprised and stop in high gear, friction shifters allow you to block- shift at low pedal revs in a way that indexed shifters won't… or at least the ones I've used refuse to shift down more than two or three cogs at a time. (If you've never done it: you push the lever as far as it goes easily, keep the pressure on gently, then as soon as the chain is derailed, push it the rest of the way to the desired gear and trim back because you'll probably have over shifted because of the low revs. It's easier than I've made it sound!)

 

[mikeymustard]

Lots of grumpy old man excuses coming out now "Gears you can change without taking your hands off the bars? Brakes that actually stop you? Whatever next? They'll be using lights you can see where you're going with next"

 

[mjr]

And studying my bike porn pic I can see that what this bike really needs is a nice vintage saddle bag!

Can't say I'd disagree and I'd also replace the foam with a sympathetic blue tape but my priority would be something like seku-clips on the front mudguard stays. Safety first!

 

[mjr]

Lots of grumpy old man excuses coming out now "Gears you can change without taking your hands off the bars? Brakes that actually stop you? Whatever next? They'll be using lights you can see where you're going with next"

Not really. I've upgraded brakes more often than most people and I do appreciate bar-mounted shifters where they make sense, but my hands move around drop bars pretty frequently so shifter positioning on such bikes doesn't matter much to me. For derailleurs, I still prefer friction over indexed for so many reasons and I don't think it's just because I grew up with it and did my "ride into a field because I spent too long looking for the shifter" stunt.

Lights... ah lights... I suspect I'm even more critical of lights now because I did my time peering into the gloom of "never readies" trying to track the edge stripe. Things like crap handlebar mounts and rubbish lenses that waste lumens and battery power really annoy me! My single-LED "last of the BS" Cateyes knocks so many fashionable multi-LED torches into a cocked hat... which reminds me that I need to fix some sort of light onto the vintage road bike and the Cateye is probably the oldest I've got that is actually useful for seeing where I'm going

 

[Dogtrousers]

Lots of grumpy old man excuses coming out now "Gears you can change without taking your hands off the bars? Brakes that actually stop you? Whatever next? They'll be using lights you can see where you're going with next"

I am actually a fan of good brakes, lights and clipless pedals. But I do love my DT shifters and Brooks saddles. They are just right

 

[mikeymustard]

I am actually a fan of good brakes, lights and clipless pedals. But I do love my DT shifters and Brooks saddles. They are just right

Clipless pedals? Now that's just going TOO far!
I understand really, honest!
I do find it quite strange though, I have used DT shifters since I was 7yrs old and apart from a few years lay up have used them throughout that time. I've only recently discovered brake shifters (I just can't bring myself to say brifters even if it is less typing), so I'm surprised I struggle

 

[raleighnut]

Not really. I've upgraded brakes more often than most people and I do appreciate bar-mounted shifters where they make sense, but my hands move around drop bars pretty frequently so shifter positioning on such bikes doesn't matter much to me. For derailleurs, I still prefer friction over indexed for so many reasons and I don't think it's just because I grew up with it and did my "ride into a field because I spent too long looking for the shifter" stunt.

Lights... ah lights... I suspect I'm even more critical of lights now because I did my time peering into the gloom of "never readies" trying to track the edge stripe. Things like crap handlebar mounts and rubbish lenses that waste lumens and battery power really annoy me! My single-LED "last of the BS" Cateyes knocks so many fashionable multi-LED torches into a cocked hat... which reminds me that I need to fix some sort of light onto the vintage road bike and the Cateye is probably the oldest I've got that is actually useful for seeing where I'm going

Good lighting.................................Gotta be a dynamo.

 

[mikeymustard]

Can't say I'd disagree and I'd also replace the foam with a sympathetic blue tape but my priority would be something like seku-clips on the front mudguard stays. Safety first!

hmm I've got some of those safety clips somewhere, I'll have to dig them out.
As for bar tape - blue would look lovely; I was going to change the foam but actually it's really comfortable

 

[HertzvanRental]

@mikeymustard -have you discovered where the pump fitted?