warday said:
Hi
My daughter bought an old Avanti Kona road bike with 8 speed shifters on the tube. The gear is all Shimano 105 but about 10 years old. She would really like to convert the tube shifters to modern shifters on the bars. Any ideas what is involved and how much is it likely to cost?
Thanks
Peter
Regardless of the
actual cost, the upgrade will be less than the cost of a new bike AND the shifters can be used on a different bike in the future, if you so choose.
Now, if I were local to you (which I'm not), I could probably help you upgrade your daughter's bike for about $100AU ...
You will need a pair of Campagnolo XENON shifters (that's the bulk of the cost, and I think that if you can't get a new pair off of eBay for about $80AU-or-less, then an LBS will probably charge about $100AU).
You will need downtube stops (Shimano's are BETTER than Campagnolo's because the Campagnolo stops have very small adjuster barrels which are uncomfortable to use) + new/additional cable housing + new derailleur cables ... often, these are bundled with both Campagnolo & Shimano shifters, but sometimes the shifters are sold separately.
By my reckoning, the 9-speed Campagnolo shifters can readily index a Shimano ROAD rear derailleur with 8-speed Shimano OR Campagnolo cassettes. You may need to use Shimano's alternate anchor at 9 o'clock OR the hubbub.com anchoring (
http://204.2.107.172/articles_ergopower.html) whereby the rear derailleur cable is anchored at 3 o'clock, but perhaps not ... the slight difference in the geometry amongst the various Shimano rear derailleurs (particularly, between the 8-speed & 9-speed Shimano ROAD rear derailleurs which are otherwise interchangeable with Shimano shifters) becomes evident when mixing-and-matching them with the various (i.e., 9-speed & 10-speed) Campagnolo shifters.
FWIW. There are several reasons why Campagnolo shifters are
better; but, the main reason in your case is that the difference between least expensive and most expensive Campagnolo shifter is break-in time & bling factor; so, take advantage of the fact that a pair of XENON shifters will satisfy your current needs.
There
are some reasons why Shimano's shifters are good, too ... it depends on riding style.
BTW. With regard to tools, you will need a 5mm (T-handle is better) Allen wrench to mount the shifters (Campagnolo OR Shimano) ... and, a 2mm (?) Allen wrench for the downtube stops ... a VERY GOOD pair of dikes (diagonal cutters) or cable cutters (OR, silver solder the ends before snipping) + flat file for the cable housing ends (OR, a grinding wheel).
.
