Doing it for her -- recco's for flat bar setup

[Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott]

My dear wife loves her new Specialized women's Allez Vita. She's not a
speedy cyclist, but enjoys the responsiveness of the bike in comparison
to the clunky cruisers that she had been riding. But she misses the
comfort of the flat bars and easier-to-reach shifting she had before.
She has tiny hands and is just a tiny woman and even with a
properly-sized frame and short-reach stem, the brakes and shifting are a
bit too far away for comfort.

I'd like to set her up with flat bars, short-reach brakes and thumb (or
other no-reach) shifters. Her present setup is

A. short-reach Shimano STI Flight-Deck levers
B. 9-speed Ultegra RD,
C. Tiagra FD,
D. Brakes are dual-pivot black no-name.

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 VW Type 2 -- the Wonderbus (AKA the Saunabus in summer)
KG6RCR

 

[David L. Johnson]

On Sat, 29 May 2004 11:04:47 -0700, Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott wrote:

> My dear wife loves her new Specialized women's Allez Vita. She's not a
> speedy cyclist, but enjoys the responsiveness of the bike in comparison
> to the clunky cruisers that she had been riding. But she misses the
> comfort of the flat bars and easier-to-reach shifting she had before.
> She has tiny hands and is just a tiny woman and even with a
> properly-sized frame and short-reach stem, the brakes and shifting are a
> bit too far away for comfort.
>
> I'd like to set her up with flat bars, short-reach brakes and thumb (or
> other no-reach) shifters.

This is not a problem. If she is happy with really straight bars, then
get normal mountain-bike bars (you may need a new stem, both for reach
differences and diameter). My wife preferred cruiser-style bars, but that
is her choice.

Obviously mountain-bike rapidfire shifters/brakes are the way to go. Some
brakes (like Deore LX) have adjustable cable-pull. Most mountain levers,
meant for v-brakes, pull too much cable for calipers, making the braking
harder for her. But that can be adjusted if you get the right levers.

Front shifting will be a problem. Shimano has different cable-pull per
shift for road vs mountain. Go figure. There is a mountain-style front
derailleur that has a large enough arc for road cranks. An alternative,
which she might also appreciate, is to get mountain-style cranks (much
lower gears) and then the mountain shifter and derailleur will work fine.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Deserves death! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve
_`\(,_ | death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them?
(_)/ (_) | Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. -- J.
R. R. Tolkien

 

[RWM]

"David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Sat, 29 May 2004 11:04:47 -0700, Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott wrote:
> <SNIP>


> >> Front shifting will be a problem. Shimano has different cable-pull per
> shift for road vs mountain. Go figure. There is a mountain-style front
> derailleur that has a large enough arc for road cranks. An alternative,
> which she might also appreciate, is to get mountain-style cranks (much
> lower gears) and then the mountain shifter and derailleur will work fine.

Shimano has a flat bar road group. This is the setup that you want for
hassle free shifting. I have it on three bikes and they all shift like a
dream. The product number is: Flat Bar Shift Lever - SL-R440

 

[Kurd]

Shimano, in fact, has two flat bar road shifters. Good luck getting the
cheaper set.... Shimano's ability to actually make parts this year has been
quite bad.

As for brake levers, any canti brake lever set will work.

-kurd

"RWM" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
> > On Sat, 29 May 2004 11:04:47 -0700, Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott
wrote:
> > <SNIP>
>
>
> > >> Front shifting will be a problem. Shimano has different cable-pull
per
> > shift for road vs mountain. Go figure. There is a mountain-style front
> > derailleur that has a large enough arc for road cranks. An alternative,
> > which she might also appreciate, is to get mountain-style cranks (much
> > lower gears) and then the mountain shifter and derailleur will work
fine.
>
> Shimano has a flat bar road group. This is the setup that you want for
> hassle free shifting. I have it on three bikes and they all shift like a
> dream. The product number is: Flat Bar Shift Lever - SL-R440
>
>

 

[Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott]

RWM wrote:
> "David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news[email protected]...
>
>>On Sat, 29 May 2004 11:04:47 -0700, Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott wrote:
>><SNIP>
>
>
>
>>>>Front shifting will be a problem. Shimano has different cable-pull per
>>
>>shift for road vs mountain. Go figure. There is a mountain-style front
>>derailleur that has a large enough arc for road cranks. An alternative,
>>which she might also appreciate, is to get mountain-style cranks (much
>>lower gears) and then the mountain shifter and derailleur will work fine.
>
>
> Shimano has a flat bar road group. This is the setup that you want for
> hassle free shifting. I have it on three bikes and they all shift like a
> dream. The product number is: Flat Bar Shift Lever - SL-R440
>

Cool. None of my usual sources (Performance, Supergo, etc.) list this
group on their sites. I've asked my LBS to order a set, and will see if
they can actually get one. As a fallback position, where did you get yours?

--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 VW Type 2 -- the Wonderbus (AKA the Saunabus in summer)
KG6RCR

 

[RWM]

Any bike shop should be able to order. I got one set at a small bike shop
in Wells Maine and two sets at a bigger shop in Washington..

"Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott"
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> RWM wrote:
> > "David L. Johnson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news[email protected]...
> >
> >>On Sat, 29 May 2004 11:04:47 -0700, Mike Rocket J. Squirrel Elliott
wrote:
> >><SNIP>
> >
> >
> >
> >>>>Front shifting will be a problem. Shimano has different cable-pull
per
> >>
> >>shift for road vs mountain. Go figure. There is a mountain-style front
> >>derailleur that has a large enough arc for road cranks. An alternative,
> >>which she might also appreciate, is to get mountain-style cranks (much
> >>lower gears) and then the mountain shifter and derailleur will work
fine.
> >
> >
> > Shimano has a flat bar road group. This is the setup that you want for
> > hassle free shifting. I have it on three bikes and they all shift like
a
> > dream. The product number is: Flat Bar Shift Lever - SL-R440
> >
>
> Cool. None of my usual sources (Performance, Supergo, etc.) list this
> group on their sites. I've asked my LBS to order a set, and will see if
> they can actually get one. As a fallback position, where did you get
yours?
>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 71 VW Type 2 -- the Wonderbus (AKA the Saunabus in summer)
> KG6RCR