Shimano Exage 8 speed downtube shifters

[Alan Bloom]

I am majorly perplexed.

On Tuesday, on my ride in to work, my Shimano Exage 8-speed downtube rear shifter suddenly switched from indexed to friction mode. The wierd thing is, I didn't think it even HAD a friction mode. There is no little wire handle that flips up to change modes as there are on other shifters. I have ridden over 5000 miles on these shifters. Did I break them or are they really supposed to have a friction mode? How is it activated?

I found a discussion on this subject over a year ago, but with an indeterminate result:

"Eflayer2" said:

We'll see who is correct. I spoke to Shimano by phone and
they said 8 spd Exage downtube shifters are both indexed
and friction.

David Damerell <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:<o3A*[email protected]>...
> ZeeExSixAre <[email protected]> wrote:
> >eflayer2 wrote:
> >>Nashbar has these obscure things available. They
> >>advertise them as index shifters. Does anyone here know
> >>if these also have a friction setting for the rear
> >>derailleur?
> >My 7sp Shimano DT shifters are selectable for
> >index/friction. They have a metal loop that I can twist
> >to select it, and I don't see it in the picture.
>
> And, indeed, not all Shimano DT shifters are so selectable
> - I have a useless spare pair I got before discovering
> this fact.

 

[boudreaux]

Never saw a Shimano downtube index shifter that was not dual mode. If dual it should be marked on the side of the rear shifter.

 

[shannons dad]

All SIS shifters have friction. Unlike STI's, without friction the SIS shifters would not stay in the selected gear you'd chosen, and your chain would always fall to the smallest cog and chainring.

 

[boudreaux]

All SIS shifters have friction. Unlike STI's, without friction the SIS shifters would not stay in the selected gear you'd chosen, and your chain would always fall to the smallest cog and chainring.

Damm is that ever nonsense. You obviously don't have a clue about dual mode shimano SIS shifters do you? FWIW, campy index downtube/barend shifters are index only and never have had a dual friction mode,as that arrangement was a Shimano patent.

 

[Alan Bloom]

Never saw a Shimano downtube index shifter that was not dual mode. If dual it should be marked on the side of the rear shifter.

Thanks for that info. How is it marked? With writing? Some kind of symbol?

 

[boudreaux]

Thanks for that info. How is it marked? With writing? Some kind of symbol?

sis and friction?

 

[shannons dad]

Damm is that ever nonsense. You obviously don't have a clue about dual mode shimano SIS shifters do you? FWIW, campy index downtube/barend shifters are index only and never have had a dual friction mode,as that arrangement was a Shimano patent.

Did I mention campy? No. Did I mention dual mode? No. 'SIS' means 'Shimano Index System', which is also a Shimano patent. That would mean I was reffering to Shimano, wouldn't it boudreaux? Without some kind of friction, even a campy shifter wouldn't stay in place. Read the post again dopey, and don't mouth off before checking your facts.

 

[boudreaux]

Did I mention campy? No. Did I mention dual mode? No. 'SIS' means 'Shimano Index System', which is also a Shimano patent. That would mean I was reffering to Shimano, wouldn't it boudreaux? Without some kind of friction, even a campy shifter wouldn't stay in place. Read the post again dopey, and don't mouth off before checking your facts.

Admit it.....you don't have a clue do you? Ever heard of a suntour power ratchet?

 

[boudreaux]

sis and friction?

Could one also assume that even if it isn't dual mode,that you checked to make sure the retaining bolt was tight??

 

[shannons dad]

Ever heard of a suntour power ratchet?

WTF? SUNTOUR? At their very best, Suntour were ****! All their technology was a cheap copy of Shimano's parts and most of Shimano's bits were copies of Campy bits. FWIW, no, I never even heard of Suntour's power ratchet. But that's because I never stooped low enough to use their parts. For example, one of their 'best' innovations was called the 'powerbrake' or something. It was a normal cantilever, but when braking, the pads would slide forward and inward putting a hell of a lot of pressure on the rims. They were so flippin' stupid, that practically every bike shop on the planet advised against using them as front brakes for fear of riders flying over the bars. Shortly afterwards, they ceased production. One more small detail, ever heard of Shimano Exage? That's what this thread's about. Not Campagnolo, and certainly not bloody Suntour.

 

[shannons dad]

Could one also assume that even if it isn't dual mode,that you checked to make sure the retaining bolt was tight??

The only time it wouldn't be dual mode is if it was the friction only type. They (SHIMANO!) only did them in friction or dual friction/SIS types. Go back to sleep boudreaux.

 

[Alan Bloom]

The only time it wouldn't be dual mode is if it was the friction only type. They (SHIMANO!) only did them in friction or dual friction/SIS types. Go back to sleep boudreaux.

I feel a little foolish. I should have RTFM. Digging through my files I found the original Service Instructions sheet. It covers both the model SL-1056-8 and the SL-R400, which is the one I have. Under "SIS operation" it says:

"Turn the ring to select either SIS or friction. (The SL-R400 is not equipped with this mechanism.)..."

So my Exage 8-speed downtube shifter is SIS (indexed) only. By the way, I did check to make sure the mounting bolt is tight. No matter how much I loosen or tighten it the indexing is gone. The shifter must be broken.

 

[Don Shipp]

WTF? SUNTOUR? At their very best, Suntour were ****! All their technology was a cheap copy of Shimano's parts and most of Shimano's bits were copies of Campy bits. FWIW, no, I never even heard of Suntour's power ratchet. But that's because I never stooped low enough to use their parts. For example, one of their 'best' innovations was called the 'powerbrake' or something. It was a normal cantilever, but when braking, the pads would slide forward and inward putting a hell of a lot of pressure on the rims. They were so flippin' stupid, that practically every bike shop on the planet advised against using them as front brakes for fear of riders flying over the bars. Shortly afterwards, they ceased production. One more small detail, ever heard of Shimano Exage? That's what this thread's about. Not Campagnolo, and certainly not bloody Suntour.

Suntour were highly innovative and much copied until eclipsed by Shimano.
You would argue with boudreaux about the colour of the sky.

 

[shannons dad]

You would argue with boudreaux about the colour of the sky.

Doubtful. The colour of the sky varies from day to day. Don't go taking sides, boudreaux does as much arguing as I do, and he usually starts them.

 

[John M]

Doubtful. The colour of the sky varies from day to day. Don't go taking sides, boudreaux does as much arguing as I do, and he usually starts them.

Not to take sides, but whereas Boudreaux posts answers peppered with rudeness and sometimes lacking in sufficient detail for the novice to easily understand, I must say that in the several months that I have been monitoring and participating in this forum, I do not think that I have seen him post anything that was not correct.

And by the way, the Suntour Power Ratchet shifter was/is an excellent product. I still use them on a 22-year old steel frame Trek and they work excellently with a Campy Veloce 9s triple drivetrain. In the early 80s, for the same money, in my opinion Suntour made a better product than Shimano.

 

[shannons dad]

I feel a little foolish. I should have RTFM. Digging through my files I found the original Service Instructions sheet. It covers both the model SL-1056-8 and the SL-R400, which is the one I have. Under "SIS operation" it says:

"Turn the ring to select either SIS or friction. (The SL-R400 is not equipped with this mechanism.)..."

So my Exage 8-speed downtube shifter is SIS (indexed) only. By the way, I did check to make sure the mounting bolt is tight. No matter how much I loosen or tighten it the indexing is gone. The shifter must be broken.

Oh well, seems boudreaux and I were both wrong. Never mind.

 

[boudreaux]

Oh well, seems boudreaux and I were both wrong. Never mind.

Actually, boudreaux was not wrong. boudreaux only said he had never seen a shimano index downtube shifter that was not dual mode.See post #2 as you seem to be confused if not mentally crippled. Boudreaaux makes no claim on having seen everything.See post #11 for how wrong you were about the only dual mode or friction..... But you sure stuck another feather in your fool hat with the BS about Suntour....hehe.

 

[Don Shipp]

Doubtful. The colour of the sky varies from day to day. Don't go taking sides, boudreaux does as much arguing as I do, and he usually starts them.

I never take sides.

 

[shannons dad]

Actually, boudreaux was not wrong. boudreaux only said he had never seen a shimano index downtube shifter that was not dual mode.See post #2 as you seem to be confused if not mentally crippled. Boudreaaux makes no claim on having seen everything.See post #11 for how wrong you were about the only dual mode or friction..... But you sure stuck another feather in your fool hat with the BS about Suntour....hehe.

OK. I admit I screwed up over the whole SIS thing. With regards to Suntour, I ain't budgin'. They suck.

 

[Don Shipp]

OK. I admit I screwed up over the whole SIS thing. With regards to Suntour, I ain't budgin'. They suck.

SunTour made good stuff once, and they invented the slant parallelogram rear derailleur which everyone else has copied since. The quality used to be as good as Shimano, I don't know if any of their new stuff is up to much, except that you don't see it on expensive bikes.