I'm in! No STI-afflicted bikes in the stable, although I borrowed one once and it wasn't that bad.
Originally Posted by
icepick_trotsky
Question to the members -- are you drawn to the older technology because you grew up with it and have always loved it, or is it an aesthetic connection, or something else?
I was born in 1985, roughly the time that SIS came out. By the time I was old enough to ride a real road bike, brifters were already the norm. Part of my rejection of them is my total apathy toward modern racing/roadie culture. I was first attracted to older bikes for the beauty of the frames, not the components, after all. But I think the main attraction to friction for me is the tactile connection to the machine. It's the same feeling I get when typing on an old typewriter, another technology I like that predates my birth. It's as if I have to physically engage with the machinery, and feel it's feedback to make it work correctly. Old components, like many old machines, require the user to become a part of the machine himself. Brifters/indexing in general remove the user from that connection.
In short, and to risk a potential "that's what she said" joke, friction just feels good.
My story is that I needed a road bike in the weeks leading up to my first Ragbrai (2009) and was completely ignorant about road bikes. I found a nice '91 Bianchi Eros on Craigslist in the nick of time and bought it, not having experienced downtube shifters or toe clip pedals before. As an example of my ignorance about bikes, I only realized a couple of years later that it had "lugs."
At any rate, I slowly gained my confidence with the downtube shifters, and developed a kind of pride in being able to use them well, to the point that I would spec them even when building a bike up from scratch. It's kind of fun for me to be the guy with the older bike on group rides. And like
icepick_trotsky, I have an affinity for older/simpler technologies -- there's a '67 Beetle in the garage, I play with tube amplifiers, and shaved with a straight razor for a while. (It's not nearly as scary or difficult as it looks.)
I'm glad
jimmuller asked about significant others, since I'd like to build up a nicer road bike for my girlfriend in the near future, and brifters of some sort my be the ticket to get her riding more. She's already said "no way" to downtube shifters.
- Scott