Friction front gear lever

[Geoff Lane]

I recently returned to cycling care of an entry-level Giant. Although I'm
generally pleased with the bike, it does have one ****ling idiosyncrasy
that I'd like to "correct". The front mech is very sensitive to cable
length. I frequently need to trim this -- with the adjuster on the
handlebar, which is not really designed for "on-the-move" trimming!

I have a feeling that an old-fashioned, friction gear lever would be the
best solution. However, I can't find one on Wiggle etc. Do "non-indexed"
levers for flat bars still exist, or are only indexed ones now available?

TIA,

--
Geoff Lane
Cornwall, UK

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Geoff Lane
('[email protected]') wrote:

> I recently returned to cycling care of an entry-level Giant. Although
> I'm generally pleased with the bike, it does have one ****ling
> idiosyncrasy that I'd like to "correct". The front mech is very
> sensitive to cable length. I frequently need to trim this -- with the
> adjuster on the handlebar, which is not really designed for
> "on-the-move" trimming!
>
> I have a feeling that an old-fashioned, friction gear lever would be
> the best solution. However, I can't find one on Wiggle etc. Do
> "non-indexed" levers for flat bars still exist, or are only indexed
> ones now available?

Yes, SRAM or (now) Campag. SRAM do gripshifts which are compatible with
Shimano mechs, but also ones which are compatible with their own mechs.
The two types are not interchangeable so if you have Shimano mechs be
sure to specify this when buying. The Campag ones only work with Campag
kit (and probably cost more by themselves than an entry level Giant).

Shimano's passion for untrimmable front shifters completely baffles me.
They truly are ****, and they're just as **** at the top of their range
as at the bottom.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; If you're doing this for fun, do what seems fun. If you're
;; doing it for money, stop now.
;; Rainer Deyke

 

[Mike Causer]

On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 21:34:35 +0100, Simon Brooke wrote:


> Shimano's passion for untrimmable front shifters completely baffles me.

Marketing can _always_ trump Engineering :-(



Mike

 

[Geoff Lane]

Simon Brooke <[email protected]> wrote in news:rnobo2-58p.ln1
@gododdin.internal.jasmine.org.uk:

>> I have a feeling that an old-fashioned, friction gear lever would be
>> the best solution. However, I can't find one on Wiggle etc. Do
>> "non-indexed" levers for flat bars still exist, or are only indexed
>> ones now available?
>
> Yes, SRAM or (now) Campag. SRAM do gripshifts which are compatible with
> Shimano mechs, but also ones which are compatible with their own mechs.
> The two types are not interchangeable so if you have Shimano mechs be
> sure to specify this when buying. The Campag ones only work with Campag
> kit (and probably cost more by themselves than an entry level Giant).

Thanks. However, I'm mystified because I'd have thought that any friction
shifter would be compatible with any make mech no matter how many gears
provided it was capable of pulling the required length of cable. What I'm
after is like an original Shimano SIS lever but with only the friction
setting!

--
Geoff Lane
Cornwall, UK

 

[C.J.Patten]

"Mike Causer" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> On Fri, 17 Jun 2005 21:34:35 +0100, Simon Brooke wrote:
>
>
>> Shimano's passion for untrimmable front shifters completely baffles me.
>
> Marketing can _always_ trump Engineering :-(


Spoken like an engineer.

I'm continually amazed at what wonderful and absolutely useless devices
engineers can create.

Chris - in marketing, donning asbestos jacket

p.s. not trying to start a flame war but let's be reasonable...

 

[Simon Brooke]

in message <[email protected]>, Geoff Lane
('[email protected]') wrote:

> Simon Brooke <[email protected]> wrote in news:rnobo2-58p.ln1
> @gododdin.internal.jasmine.org.uk:
>
>>> I have a feeling that an old-fashioned, friction gear lever would be
>>> the best solution. However, I can't find one on Wiggle etc. Do
>>> "non-indexed" levers for flat bars still exist, or are only indexed
>>> ones now available?
>>
>> Yes, SRAM or (now) Campag. SRAM do gripshifts which are compatible
>> with Shimano mechs, but also ones which are compatible with their own
>> mechs. The two types are not interchangeable so if you have Shimano
>> mechs be sure to specify this when buying. The Campag ones only work
>> with Campag kit (and probably cost more by themselves than an entry
>> level Giant).
>
> Thanks. However, I'm mystified because I'd have thought that any
> friction shifter would be compatible with any make mech no matter how
> many gears provided it was capable of pulling the required length of
> cable. What I'm after is like an original Shimano SIS lever but with
> only the friction setting!

Well, yes. But ergonomic friction shifters for flat bar bikes are hard
to get. Both the SRAM and the Campag models I've referred to are
actually indexed, but they have many more positions than the
one-per-cog of the Shimano offerings.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Error 1109: There is no message for this error

 

[Clive George]

"Simon Brooke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>> I have a feeling that an old-fashioned, friction gear lever would be
>> the best solution. However, I can't find one on Wiggle etc. Do
>> "non-indexed" levers for flat bars still exist, or are only indexed
>> ones now available?
>
> Yes, SRAM or (now) Campag. SRAM do gripshifts which are compatible with
> Shimano mechs, but also ones which are compatible with their own mechs.
> The two types are not interchangeable so if you have Shimano mechs be
> sure to specify this when buying.

This is true for the back, but you can buy the front shifters on their own,
and these don't have the different pulls. (afaik)

> Shimano's passion for untrimmable front shifters completely baffles me.
> They truly are ****, and they're just as **** at the top of their range
> as at the bottom.

I don't posess a suitable bargepole, so consequently avoid them

cheers,
clive

 

[Tony Raven]

Simon Brooke wrote:
>
> Shimano's passion for untrimmable front shifters completely baffles me.
> They truly are ****, and they're just as **** at the top of their range
> as at the bottom.
>

Oddly I have Shimano shifters on all my bikes and I don't have a need to
trim the front shifter on any of them, unless I want to use the big-big
or small-small combinations which I avoid for other reasons. My road
bike shifters have half shifts on the front that can be used to trim if
needed but my experience is, if set up correctly, they don't need
trimming. How do you set them up correctly? You follow the Shimano
instruction leaflet that comes with the derailleur.


--
Tony

"I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
Anon

 

[doki]

Geoff Lane wrote:
> I recently returned to cycling care of an entry-level Giant. Although
> I'm generally pleased with the bike, it does have one ****ling
> idiosyncrasy that I'd like to "correct". The front mech is very
> sensitive to cable length. I frequently need to trim this -- with the
> adjuster on the handlebar, which is not really designed for
> "on-the-move" trimming!
>
> I have a feeling that an old-fashioned, friction gear lever would be
> the best solution. However, I can't find one on Wiggle etc. Do
> "non-indexed" levers for flat bars still exist, or are only indexed
> ones now available?

Has it got one of those stupid front mechs? Bottom clamp, top swing I think
is the sort. Nigh on impossible to set up properly. Get a Deore conventional
one instead...

 

[Geoff Lane]

"doki" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>> I have a feeling that an old-fashioned, friction gear lever would be
>> the best solution. However, I can't find one on Wiggle etc. Do
>> "non-indexed" levers for flat bars still exist, or are only indexed
>> ones now available?
>
> Has it got one of those stupid front mechs? Bottom clamp, top swing I
> think is the sort. Nigh on impossible to set up properly. Get a Deore
> conventional one instead...

Thanks.

The tube-clamp is lower than the cage. According to Giant's website, the
front mech is a Shimano C050 and, looking at the bike, I can see "Top-
Swing SIS" printed on the top of the mech. So, I guess I have the sort of
mech you mean!

It is possible to set the thing up so that there's no chain fouling in
any gear. Unfortunately, the mech is extrememly sensitive to cable
length. I've only done a couple of hundred miles on the bike, so the
cable is still stretching and the front mech "goes out of adjustment"
every few miles.

--
Geoff Lane
Cornwall, UK

 

[tony R]

"Geoff Lane" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "doki" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
> >> I have a feeling that an old-fashioned, friction gear lever would be
> >> the best solution. However, I can't find one on Wiggle etc. Do
> >> "non-indexed" levers for flat bars still exist, or are only indexed
> >> ones now available?
> >
> > Has it got one of those stupid front mechs? Bottom clamp, top swing I
> > think is the sort. Nigh on impossible to set up properly. Get a Deore
> > conventional one instead...
>
> Thanks.
>
> The tube-clamp is lower than the cage. According to Giant's website, the
> front mech is a Shimano C050 and, looking at the bike, I can see "Top-
> Swing SIS" printed on the top of the mech. So, I guess I have the sort of
> mech you mean!
>
> It is possible to set the thing up so that there's no chain fouling in
> any gear. Unfortunately, the mech is extrememly sensitive to cable
> length. I've only done a couple of hundred miles on the bike, so the
> cable is still stretching and the front mech "goes out of adjustment"
> every few miles.

I think I had one of those supplied with my cheap Dawes a couple of years
ago. It used to need fiddling with every couple of months or so - not as bad
as yours by the sound of it but annoying nonetheless. It was a big clumsy
looking yoke and used to hit the bottle cage when on the inner ring. So it
was replaced with a nice svelte LX mech after about a year. This has not
needed readjusting once (bike used daily). I'd guess it would be easier, and
possibly cheaper, for you to upgrade to a nicer mech than find shifters that
suit the current one better. Just make sure it's compatable with your
current shifter. I think all Shimano "MTB" levers and "MTB" front mechs
should be OK with each other (someone please correct me if I'm wrong). You
also need to know the diameter of your seat tube. This is stamped somewhere
on your current mech. If I remember well, I couldn't find it without
removing the old mech.

tony R.