STI levers on a bike with no cable braze ons?

[bobg]

Just got some s/h Shimano STI levers from a Giant OCR4 and was considering fitting them to an old 60's road bike which was made for "band on" downtube shifters, ie. it has no braze ons necessary for STI cabling. I was wondering if old 105 (or similar) band on downtube shifters with the levers removed and replaced with those screw in "cable stop" gizmo's necessary for bar end shifter conversions might all hang together and avoid the need for spoiling the paint job by new brazing work, not to mention the cost! Sorry for the somewhat confusing wording of the question.

 

[PapaZita]

I was wondering if old 105 (or similar) band on downtube shifters with the levers removed and replaced with those screw in "cable stop" gizmo's necessary for bar end shifter conversions might all hang together

I've heard that that can work. It depends on whether the band on shifter's band provides a standard boss to screw the stops onto. I'd expect this to be true of many downtube shifters from the era when band and braze on fittings were both in common use.

It turned out not to be possible with my very old band on shifters when I replaced them with STI. I got one of these band on cable stops, and added inline adjusters close to the levers. The band on stop seems like a flimsy bit of cheap metal, but has proven to be a neat and reliable solution. However, I notice that a deluxe quality version is now available too.

PZ.

 

[bobg]

and added inline adjusters close to the levers. The band on stop seems like a flimsy bit of cheap metal, but has proven to be a neat and reliable solution. However, I notice that a deluxe quality version is now available too.

PZ.

Thanks very much. thats exactly what I'm looking for - and probably less expensive and nicer looking ( and easier to find!) than a a set of old compatible downtube shifters. Just one more thing though, I'm not quite sure what you mean when you mention adding in line adjusters close to the levers - can you elaborate please ? many thanks Bob

 

[robgul]

Yep - an old band can be used for down-tube stops - either by just removing the levers and using the bosses if suitable - or more probably with the design of most bands, remove all the lever/inbuilt boss stuff and put a flat (thin) headed bolt through the band, fit the stop and an aero-nut on the outside (cutting the end of the bolt and filing smooth/flush)

I have this set up on my Galaxy - works fine - PM if you want a close-up pic.

As for the band-on stop from SJS mentioned above - I started with one of those but discarded it as being useless : it crushed the ends of the cable outerss, your couldn't fit end-cap ferrules to the cable outer, there was no adjustment of the cable to take up stretch etc - thus a pain if you are fitting STI levers.

The more radical alternative is to fit your own "bosses" by using Rivnuts (think of bottle bosses) and bolting the downtube stops to those.

Rob

 

[PapaZita]

Just one more thing though, I'm not quite sure what you mean when you mention adding in line adjusters close to the levers - can you elaborate please ?

Many bikes have a threaded fitting at the downtube stop, so you can adjust the cable tension. For the rear derailleur you can always use the barrel adjuster on the derailleur itself, but for the front derailleur the downtube stop might be the only cable tension adjustment that you have.

An inline adjuster provides the adjustability that you might need without needing a threaded fitting on the frame. I used these M:Part ones, inserted in the cable outers a few inches after they emerge from the STI lever. I see that Jagwire do a variety of types including some that appear to fit directly into the STI lever, avoiding the need to cut the cable outer. There are pictures here that show how they might be fitted.

Regarding Rob's problem of crushing the cable outers - I was able to fit the plastic ferrules that came with a Transfil gear cable set. The trick was to insert the ferrules and cable outers before fully tightening up the band. No crushing problems here. The 'deluxe' version that SJS list might be better in this respect, if you're concerned, as it appears to have a more substantial metal stop with a drilled hole.

PZ.

 

[bobg]

Thank you both very much for your help and advice. Having had no luck at any of the local LBS for downtube shifters, I think I'll go for the SJS option + in line adjusters. I'll need new gear cable so I'll make sure that the "end stops fit.
I'm hoping that setting up those SDI levers is not an arcane art. I have no ( well not very many problems with indexed downtube and bar end shifter set up but "famous last words....."
Bob