Small levers

My wife rides a tiny 24" wheeled Marinoni that dates back to mid-80s. She currently has donwtube
shifters and Shimano 600 (I believe) brake levers. The levers are smaller than normal.

As she's 4'11" with hands to match, adult sized levers are simply too big.

I'd like to get her STI shifters, but I can't find any setup for people with small hands. I don't
mind going Campy if that's needed, but again, only full size available.

Does anyone make STI shifters for small adults (as opposed to the kids' stuff?)

TIA,

-Dondo

 

Shimano has a new adjustable reach STI lever, the 600 model. Sheldon Brown has them
(www.sheldonbrown.com). They ain't cheap.

"Captain Dondo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> My wife rides a tiny 24" wheeled Marinoni that dates back to mid-80s. She currently has donwtube
> shifters and Shimano 600 (I believe) brake levers. The levers are smaller than normal.
>
> As she's 4'11" with hands to match, adult sized levers are simply too big.
>
> I'd like to get her STI shifters, but I can't find any setup for people with small hands. I don't
> mind going Campy if that's needed, but again, only full size available.
>
> Does anyone make STI shifters for small adults (as opposed to the kids' stuff?)
>
> TIA,
>
> -Dondo

 

"Captain Dondo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> My wife rides a tiny 24" wheeled Marinoni that dates back to mid-80s. She currently has donwtube
> shifters and Shimano 600 (I believe) brake levers. The levers are smaller than normal.
>
> As she's 4'11" with hands to match, adult sized levers are simply too big.
>
> I'd like to get her STI shifters, but I can't find any setup for people with small hands. I don't
> mind going Campy if that's needed, but again, only full size available.
>
> Does anyone make STI shifters for small adults (as opposed to the kids' stuff?)
>
> TIA,
>
> -Dondo

Shimano Sora STI is adjustable for reach....

 

Are you aware of the other various things you'll need to change to make her bike STI-compatible?
Getting adjustable-reach STI levers is no longer a problem; for 8-speed systems you can use SORA,
and for 9-speed, Shimano has come out with an Ultegra-equivalent adjustable lever. But you're going
to need to update quite a few other things on an older bike to make it work well.

But, for starters, how many gears in the back, and how wide is the tail end of the bike (120, 126 or
130mm?). Double or triple up front?

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Captain Dondo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> My wife rides a tiny 24" wheeled Marinoni that dates back to mid-80s. She currently has donwtube
> shifters and Shimano 600 (I believe) brake levers. The levers are smaller than normal.
>
> As she's 4'11" with hands to match, adult sized levers are simply too big.
>
> I'd like to get her STI shifters, but I can't find any setup for people with small hands. I don't
> mind going Campy if that's needed, but again, only full size available.
>
> Does anyone make STI shifters for small adults (as opposed to the kids' stuff?)
>
> TIA,
>
> -Dondo

 

Lennard Zinn of Velonews TechTalk recently provided several responses to this problem.

http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/3416.0.html
http://www.velonews.com/tech/report/articles/3464.2.html

Note also that some handlebars are shaped to reduce the distance between the bar and lever. My 5 ft
2 in wife was unable to use STIs until she switched to Terry T bars
http://www.terrybicycles.com/BPA/220.lasso.

Mike in Philadelphia

"Captain Dondo" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]box.com...
> My wife rides a tiny 24" wheeled Marinoni that dates back to mid-80s. She currently has donwtube
> shifters and Shimano 600 (I believe) brake levers. The levers are smaller than normal.
>
> As she's 4'11" with hands to match, adult sized levers are simply too big.
>
> I'd like to get her STI shifters, but I can't find any setup for people with small hands. I don't
> mind going Campy if that's needed, but again, only full size available.
>
> Does anyone make STI shifters for small adults (as opposed to the kids' stuff?)
>
> TIA,
>
> -Dondo