old Suntour 6sp stem shifters...

[Garry Broad]

I have a girlfriend who rides an old raleigh road bike with a triple on the front and a Shimano 6sp
freewheel on the rear, operated by stem shifters in friction mode..She'd very much like index
shifting but does not have the spare funds to upgrade to a newer bike [and she's quite happy with
this bike], so I suggested she might be able to 'index' what she already has.

Am I right in saying that these Suntour 6sp stem shifters

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3625775807&category=36140

may not be compatible with a standard Shimano rear derailleur? [I've forgotten actually what kind of
Shimano rear mech it is, but it's definitely Shimano].

Am I also right in saying that these Suntour shifters pull slightly less cable than similar
Shimano stem shiters and this is what might cause a problem were she to fit these shifters to her
existing system?

Am I also right in saying that these shifters might even work with a shimano 7sp freewheel, as the
spacings between the cogs is less than a normal 6sp freewheel?

I've advised her, now I have to make it work

Thanks GarryB

 

[Sheldon Brown]

Garry Broad wrote:

> I have a girlfriend who rides an old raleigh road bike with a triple on the front and a Shimano
> 6sp freewheel on the rear, operated by stem shifters in friction mode..She'd very much like index
> shifting but does not have the spare funds to upgrade to a newer bike [and she's quite happy with
> this bike], so I suggested she might be able to 'index' what she already has.
>
> Am I right in saying that these Suntour 6sp stem shifters
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3625775807&category=36140
>
> may not be compatible with a standard Shimano rear derailleur?

That is correct, for 6 speed use.

> Am I also right in saying that these Suntour shifters pull slightly less cable than similar
> Shimano stem shiters and this is what might cause a problem were she to fit these shifters to her
> existing system?

Bingo.

> Am I also right in saying that these shifters might even work with a shimano 7sp freewheel, as the
> spacings between the cogs is less than a normal 6sp freewheel?

That's right, it should work with a 7-speed. I've done this with SunTour thumb shifters and also
with down tubers.

However, I highly advise against stem-mounted shfiters, I don't consider the safe...it's like having
a dull knife aimed at your groin, and can be very nasty in the case of a crash. Bar end shifters
would be a much better option.

Sheldon "Suntour 6=Shimano 7" Brown +-----------------------------------------------+
| A government that robs Peter to pay Paul | can always depend upon the support of Paul. | --George
| Bernard Shaw |
+-----------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

 

[Phil Brown]

>I've advised her, now I have to make it work

Might be eiseer to put some indexed DT levers on her stem mount but without one in my hand I
couldn't tell you if the DT and stem mounts are the same. My feeling is that they are. Phil Brown

 

[Garry Broad]

>> I have a girlfriend who rides an old raleigh road bike with a triple on the front and a Shimano
>> 6sp freewheel on the rear, operated by stem shifters in friction mode..She'd very much like index
>> shifting but does not have the spare funds to upgrade to a newer bike [and she's quite happy with
>> this bike], so I suggested she might be able to 'index' what she already has.
>>
>> Am I right in saying that these Suntour 6sp stem shifters
>>
>> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3625775807&category=36140
>>
>> may not be compatible with a standard Shimano rear derailleur?
>
>That is correct, for 6 speed use.
>
>> Am I also right in saying that these Suntour shifters pull slightly less cable than similar
>> Shimano stem shiters and this is what might cause a problem were she to fit these shifters to her
>> existing system?
>
>Bingo.
>
>> Am I also right in saying that these shifters might even work with a shimano 7sp freewheel, as
>> the spacings between the cogs is less than a normal 6sp freewheel?
>
>That's right, it should work with a 7-speed. I've done this with SunTour thumb shifters and also
>with down tubers.

ok, thanks, confirmation of what I'd already kind of known, but wasn't quite

>However, I highly advise against stem-mounted shfiters, I don't consider the safe...it's like
>having a dull knife aimed at your groin, and can be very nasty in the case of a crash. Bar end
>shifters would be a much better option.

Not that I'm a fan of stem shifters, but operating at the 'low end of things' I've used these quite
a bit, and never, ever considered the potential danger you allude into here. Thankfully [touching
wood], I've never come close to an accident you describe, but I get the message!!!

GarryB

 

[Snoopy]

On Fri, 12 Sep 2003 16:40:41 -0400, Sheldon Brown <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>However, I highly advise against stem-mounted shfiters, I don't consider the safe...it's like
>having a dull knife aimed at your groin, and can be very nasty in the case of a crash. Bar end
>shifters would be a much better option.
>

I've read this before, and I can't help wondering if there as ever been an accident as described.
Think about it....

You would have to slide in a perfect line right along the top top tube and hit this so called 'dull
knife' for the damage to occur. What is wrong with this scenario?

In a real accident your front wheel would turn sideways just before you were thrown off. Rider
momentum would carry you in a forward direction. The bike would go down sideways under you. Groinand
stem levers would not be on a collision course.

Also with toe clips/clipless pedals you would rise up out of your seat at the points the toe clips
released, before you were thrown forward.

That would put the trajectory of your groin both above and to the side of the stem mounted brake
levers. IMO the accident as described above is to all intents and purposes impossible.

To me this 'warning' has all the hallmarks of an urban legend.

SNOOPY

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[G.Daniels]

Sheldon Brown-do the suntour downtube shifters work with 8-speed clusters? I have two: 1)an '87?
operates smoothly withut indents, ad
2) a larger shiftr with indents from a 'woman's' double top tube frame. if i get an 8 speed
cluster(the 2x8-14/32)will the mech finagle an 8 speed fix for it??? or do the shimano downtube
shifters work with 8 speed clusters??

 

[Sheldon Brown]

g.daniels wrote more lucidly than usual:

> Sheldon Brown-do the suntour downtube shifters work with 8-speed clusters?

Friction, yes; indexed, no.

> I have two: 1)an '87? operates smoothly withut indents, ad
> 2) a larger shiftr with indents from a 'woman's' double top tube frame. if i get an 8 speed
> cluster(the 2x8-14/32)will the mech finagle an 8 speed fix for it??? or do the shimano downtube
> shifters work with 8 speed clusters??

8-speed Shimano downtube shifters do, also some 7-speeds.

Sheldon "One Or Nine" Brown +----------------------------------------------------------+
| Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; | but it is always the strongly marked
| feature of all | religions established by law. | Take away the law-establishment, and every
| religion | re-assumes its original benignity. | Thomas Paine -- The Rights of Man, 1791 |
+----------------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton,
Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts
shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com