downtube shifter?

[Brian Phillips]

"henry" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> This is the first year in 8 that I didn't have a day job that kept me working day and night. No
> more 80 hours a week--I'm actually getting a
life
> again....

You call this a life... posting on Usenet? But seriously, the downtube shifter provides a small
weight savings for his climbing bike... which puzzled many people for years while he was using those
old school style heavier Shimano pedals at the same time.

 

[Lindsay]

On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 00:44:50 GMT, "Brian Phillips" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"henry" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>> This is the first year in 8 that I didn't have a day job that kept me working day and night. No
>> more 80 hours a week--I'm actually getting a
>life
>> again....
>
>You call this a life... posting on Usenet? But seriously, the downtube shifter provides a small
>weight savings for his climbing bike... which puzzled many people for years while he was using
>those old school style heavier Shimano pedals at the same time.

Wasn't he riding on those old school style heavier LOOK pedals at the same time??

Lindsay
----------------------------
"One of the annoying things about believing in free will and individual responsibility is the
difficulty of finding somebody to blame your problems on. And when you do find somebody, it's
remarkable how often his picture turns up on your driver's license."

P.J. O'Rourke

 

[Marc A Millston]

Lindsay ([email protected]) wrote:
: On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 00:44:50 GMT, "Brian Phillips" <[email protected]> wrote:

: >
: >"henry" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
: >
: >You call this a life... posting on Usenet? But seriously, the downtube shifter provides a small
: >weight savings for his climbing bike... which puzzled many people for years while he was using
: >those old school style heavier Shimano pedals at the same time.

: Wasn't he riding on those old school style heavier LOOK pedals at the same time??

no.

marc

 

[patch70]

Apparently it saves aout 100gm in weight.
It also allows for fine tuning the adjustment on the front derailleur.
A few of the serious contenders do it eg poor old Joseba Belocki.

 

[Tc Rider]

"Marc A Millstone" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Lindsay ([email protected]) wrote:
> : On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 00:44:50 GMT, "Brian Phillips" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> : >
> : >"henry" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> : >news:[email protected]...
> : >
> : >You call this a life... posting on Usenet? But seriously, the downtube shifter provides a small
> : >weight savings for his climbing bike... which puzzled many people for years while he was using
> : >those old school style heavier Shimano pedals at the same time.
>
> : Wasn't he riding on those old school style heavier LOOK pedals at the same time??
>
> no.

I don't believe it's all about weight. Indexed front derailleur shifting is kinda horrifying;
shifting modern front derailleurs and chainrings with downtube shifters is amazingly smooth, and
largely foolproof -- no sudden jumps or other chain-dropping weirdnesses. Trimming is much
easier too. If I rode Shimano, I'd probably opt for a downtube front shifter just because it
works better...