stem-mounting my braze-on 10sp shifters



urge2kill

Member
Aug 13, 2013
448
20
0
I just ordered Dura Ace 10sp braze on shifters (SL7900), but I might want them on the stem. Stem-mounted shifters look like they're just braze-ons attached to a clamp. Where do I get the clamp?

My other question is whether braze-ons can be attached temporiliy, so they can be removed and attached elsewhere?
 
Originally Posted by urge2kill
Where do I get the clamp?

My other question is whether braze-ons can be attached temporiliy, so they can be removed and attached elsewhere?
Ebay, maybe. This sort of thing hasn't been made by Shimano for a couple of decades. Another thing you might try is a stem-mount shifter made by SunRace,


which your local shop should be able to order from J&B. Discard the shifters, keep the band and posts, and attach your Dura-Ace shifters. It might work.

If your bike just doesn't have posts and you'd like to attach the shifters to the down tube (where they're supposed to go), you can use this dandy converter made by Origin8, also available from J&B.



I imagine you can mount this converter anywhere on the frame where the tube's outside diameter matches the converter's inside diameter (with or without shim). Also be aware of the crushability of carbon fiber and thin-walled alloy or steel. If you mount the shifters anywhere but the downtube, you will need cable stops where the downtube shifters would go, and a loop of housing between the shifter and cable stop.

Once braze-ons are brazed on, they're permanent.
 
And you do know that nobody makes stem-mount shifters that will fit over the stem or spacers of a threadless steerer, right?
 
Originally Posted by oldbobcat
And you do know that nobody makes stem-mount shifters that will fit over the stem or spacers of a threadless steerer, right?
I did not. Thank you.

I'm about to replace my quill stem with a threadless steerer and stem.
 
Maybe it's because stem-mounted shifters would be easy to steal.

Anyway, how do you install downtube braze-on shifters? I can't find instructions anywhere.
My frame only seems to have bottle-cage mounts on the downtube. Does that mean I need integrated shifters if I want 10-speed indexed shifting on a road bike with drop bars?
 
That's what this adapter is for.


Brazed-on shifter bosses are really just posts with square bases (to anchor the friction or ratcheting mechanism) and threaded holes for the mounting/tension bolts. The adapter is just a band that clamps bosses onto the down tube.

And you have to use the down tube because this thing does not accept housing ferrules; it doesn't have cable stops. You need a clear run of bare cable directly from the shifter barrel to the cable guide at the bottom bracket. Well, conceivably, you could mount it on the top tube, but then you'd have to jury rig the routing to the derailleurs.

You have to make sure the band will fit your tube and that the tube is strong enough to take some compression. Carbon and hyper-thin-walled steel or aluminum will not take the compression. The adapter might be too small for fat tubes, and it might have trouble finding a grip on tapered tubes. I think this thing was really designed for attaching high quality shifters without bands (Campagnolo, Shimano, SunTour, etc.) to old cheap frames that once came with band- or stem-mounted shifters.
 
Originally Posted by oldbobcat
You have to make sure the band will fit your tube and that the tube is strong enough to take some compression. Carbon and hyper-thin-walled steel or aluminum will not take the compression. The adapter might be too small for fat tubes, and it might have trouble finding a grip on tapered tubes.
Aluminum tapered... so no?

Integrated then?
 
aluminum road frame
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1105023_-1___000000
 
I see. The spec says teardrop shaped down and top tube. That means you'll need to mount your shifters on the handlebar--dual-control levers or bar-ends.

It's a sharp frame for the money.