2 bikes, want 1 What should I do?

In article said:

My brother gave me his old road bike. It is old, ~30yrs, but at the time, it was quite high end.
(Shimano600 groupo). My road bike is much newer (index shifting) but with with very low end
components. I would like to use my bro's bike (it fits better), but I am afraid I have been
spoiled for too many years of SIS and really do not wish to return to the world of FRICTION.

I was thinking about combining the two bikes into something suitable, but am not sure about a few
things. Mostly, would it work to put the shifters from my bike (SIS) onto my bro's bike
(FRICTION), or do I need to transplant more , such as deraileurs, and cogs? I really don't know
that much about the workings of SIS.

Another possibility is to transplant the whole groupo to my bro's bike, but with the difference in
component quality......

Any ideas would be VERY much apreciated.

You don't say how many gears (notably, the number of rear cogs) on each bike. I'm thinking that a
30-year-old Shimano 600 is using a 6-speed freewheel design, while your newer bike is presumably 6
speeds (7-9 speeds?).

Warning: there are several other possibilites, and you need to let us know what equipment this
stuff has.

Assuming I've guessed right, the best-case scenario is that all you need to do is swap freewheels
and shifters, and if your brother's bike already has a hyperglide freewheel, not even that. The
derailleurs will probably have to change, too, as pre-index derailleurs don't index well.

Post this question to rec.bikes.tech for even better advice.

--
Ryan Cousineau, [email hidden] sfu.ca~rcousineOpen ↗ President, Fabrizio Mazzoleni Fan Club

Tom Swift said:

My brother gave me his old road bike. It is old, ~30yrs, but at the time, it was quite high end.
(Shimano600 groupo). My road bike is much newer (index shifting) but with with very low end
components. I would like to use my bro's bike (it fits better), but I am afraid I have been spoiled
for too many years of SIS and really do not wish to return to the world of FRICTION.

I apologize for an excess of beer at this time of the evening, but it is true, I am
partially drunk...

That said, I say this:

Sheldon Brown denigrates friction shifting, and quite frankly it pisses me off, I say he is not of a
sane mind <g>. Point is, with friction shifting you can swap this that and everything else from this
and that bike without worrying *that* much wheather it will work. Friction shifting has it's place,
and I say it is NOT dead, but a long shot.

The point is this: it's wheather you *can* shift, not 'how' you shift.

And already today, spending, most of the day looking at 'homemade bents' it's blatantly obvious
that, in many cases a lot ofm,peolle still think that friction shifting still has it's place. For
one, you have less to adjust. If you ride your bike often enough, you'll get to know it intimately,
friction shifting too....

You mention your brother's bike fitting much better.....if it fits, you're half way there....the
shifting you can sort out later. IMO.

Balls to Stirling and then Euro, but I'd defend friction shifting to the hilt.

Bob_friction_Flemming

Quoted message said:

I was thinking about combining the two bikes into something suitable, but am not sure about a few
things. Mostly, would it work to put the shifters from my bike (SIS) onto my bro's bike (FRICTION),
or do I need to transplant more , such as deraileurs, and cogs? I really don't know that much about
the workings of SIS.

Another possibility is to transplant the whole groupo to my bro's bike, but with the difference in
component quality......

Any ideas would be VERY much apreciated.

Craig [email hidden]

Tom Swift said:

My brother gave me his old road bike. It is old, ~30yrs, but at the time, it was quite high end.
(Shimano600 groupo). My road bike is much newer (index shifting) but with with very low end
components. I would like to use my bro's bike (it fits better), but I am afraid I have been
spoiled for too many years of SIS and really do not wish to return to the world of FRICTION.

I was thinking about combining the two bikes into something suitable, but am not sure about a few
things. Mostly, would it work to put the shifters from my bike (SIS) onto my bro's bike
(FRICTION), or do I need to transplant more , such as deraileurs, and cogs?

It might be possible to come up with a bodge to use the old bike's current wheels and sprockets,
but, assuming frame is steel, the best option would be to have the frame's rear end spread* to
acommodate a modern rear wheel.

What speed are your SIS levers, and how many sprockets on the old bike's freewheel?

* see: www.sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html (Any good bike shop should do this, or there's an
even easy way to DIY using a threaded rod).

700c wheels can be used instead of 27" by adjusting/modifying/replacing brake calipers.

Quoted message said:

Another possibility is to transplant the whole groupo to my bro's bike, but with the difference in
component quality......

You could probably do that - worthwhile if you really like the frame.

If it's all too much (for now), the very least you could do is replace friction levers for indexed
down tube or bar end levers (second-hand ones if necessary).

~PB

In article said:

My brother gave me his old road bike. It is old, ~30yrs, but at the time, it was quite high end.
(Shimano600 groupo). My road bike is much newer (index shifting) but with with very low end
components. I would like to use my bro's bike (it fits better), but I am afraid I have been
spoiled for too many years of SIS and really do not wish to return to the world of FRICTION.

It is a matter of getting used to friction shifting, which while hard at first, is really a
no-brainer afterwards. Or, you can combine both friction and STI together. The question is and which
you failed to mention is the number of cogs are there on the older bike?? If it's a high end twelve
speeder (2 front and 6 rear), then it won't be a simple transplant.

Secondly, a frame that old may have already been subjected to a lot of use, abuse and neglect and
may already have some flex and corrosion. Do you really want to sink in more money to build it up to
modern standards?? If sizing is your problem, wouldn't it be cheaper and better to just buy a used
frame that will fit you? I once saw a beautiful Marinoni road steel frame and is practically new
selling for $200 at Cheapskates. If you wait and shop around, you'll find a frame that will fit you
well and that your current STI components will be easily migratable.