in the end, to my mind, changing technical stuff wont change the emotional aspect and overall look of the bike, it will still be that bike your dad setup for you, but it will be more fun to ride, brifters, indexed, 7 speed etc....
I guess you really need to look at some dollar figures and also decide how you want it, and only you know that.
I totally agree.... I’m good with switching some stuff up, I just didn’t want to get to a point where I was having to break up the matching DA group set tooooo much. I’m itching to get it figured out and parts on order... probably gonna pull the trigger on some stuff this weekend. Thanks for the input!
Originally Posted by
masi61
The “Audax” version of these comes without the friction shift levers. It simply comes with the braze-on posts that let you use your own shifters (with the flat backing plates). Since you want to keep your bike original, that would be the one to get since Dura Ace 7400 s.i.s. rear indexing is going to work best with your specific 7400 rear derailleur and indexed shift levers. You are running your 6 speed freewheel in indexed mode, yes?
These seem waaaay cooler to me now that you’ve explained the Audax version... I was under the impression they were all friction style... pretty sweet that I can use my SIS shifters on these. Yes, I run them in indexing mode.
My dad told me that when he purchased them back in the early 80’s, they had JUST come out.... He was at a LBS and the owner had just returned from a bike industry show in NYC where he picked them up from the Shimano booth. Since indexing shifters were brand new tech and so unknown at the time, the owner only bought one set just to gauge interest. He hadn’t even put them on display in the shop yet. The next time my dad was there, he and the owner were chatting about the show and he showed the shifters to my dad... he bought them immediately , lol.