channelz28

I have Shimano 8-speed indexed barcons and I put a Sunrace 8-speed freewheel on my bike. Indexing doesn't work. It's behind both going up and down. Is it designed to index correctly? I hate barcons and would like to get some brifters instead, but only if they are compatible.

bikeman715

check you derailleur's hanger , it can be bent .

SkyDog75

Lots of bikes come stock with SunRace cassettes and Shimano indexed shifters, so spacing should be fine. As mentioned above, there's probably some other issue like maybe a misaligned derailleur hanger.

Bill Kapaun

If it's "behind" in both directions, I'd suspect very sticky cable/housing.

What other parts are you using, namely which RDER?

Slash5

Did it work OK with the previous, I assume cassette?

Reynolds 

I've used many Sunrace cassettes with Shimano MTB shifters, no problem.

channelz28

Hey thanks for all the replies. This is an old mountain bike with the hanger being part of the frame. I did check it and it appears to be perfectly straight. Also just to be clear, this is a Sunrace freewheel, not a cassette. I don't really know if that makes a difference, but I assume it's not exactly the same. The bike has an XT drivetrain, but the original freewheel was a 7-speed. Since the 8-speed fit with no trouble, I figured I could slap 8-speed barcons on drop bars with no trouble. But the issue may have something to do with parts that don't fit perfectly. The RD is XT long cage, appears perfectly straight.

The shifter cable is brand new, but the housing is old. I didn't think it made a huge difference. But since everyone seems in agreement that indexing should work, I have a few feet of new housing so I guess I will try replacing it and see if it helps.

Bill Kapaun

I'm not up on the old Dura Ace stuff, but something rings a bell about 8 speed Dura ace not being compatible with the normal Shimano parts??? Maybe the shifters?

squirtdad

Mr. K is onto somthing per sheldon "Pre-1997 Dura-Ace derailers work only with Dura-Ace shifters of that era; "Shadow" series MTB derailers work only with 10-speed "Shadow" shifters."

the issues is durace used a different amount of cable pull, and needed to batch durace shifters with durace derailler

dwmckee

It can be out on 2 planes. It might look good but still be out. Might be good to have a shop check it with a special tool they have. It takes just a few minutes. Alignment can make all of the difference in the world!

alcjphil

If the barcons are 8 speed Dura Ace, that could well be the problem. 8 speed Dura Ace shifters pull less cable per shift than other 8 speed Shimano shifters. In fact they pull the same amount of cable per shift that 9 speed Shimano shifters pull. It was common practice for guys who had 8 speed Dura Ace derailleurs with downtube shifters to use 9 speed Ultegra or 105 brifters as an economical way to upgrade to shifting from the brake levers. I had a friend who did that, he couldn't afford 8 Speed Dura Ace brifters so he bought a pair of Ultegra 9 speeds. Worked perfectly

channelz28

Thanks for all the info, I read the page on Sheldon's site and I think I get it. I also took a look at the alternate cable routing, does that actually take a shorter amount of cable travel and make it even shorter? So basically these shifters could work with a 7-speed freewheel and the alternate cable route. Though I guess some cheap 8-speed brifters should be fine.

Also for those who have done that upgrade, I guess the last click on the shift levers just doesn't do anything?

Grand Bois

There will be no last click. Cable tension will stop the movement of the shifter.

fietsbob

Guide pulley float should make up for minor position variation, over the cog.

Homebrew01

Not sure what you mean. 8 speed shifters have 7 clicks, and each one should change a gear.

Grand Bois

When shifting on a seven speed cassette, the derailleur will be up against the stop on the largest cog and the cable will be at the limit of its travel. That means that the shifter cannot reach the seventh click. That's assuming that it is set up correctly to begin with.

Homebrew01

Isn't OP using all 8 speed parts now ?? (I may be confused ... happens a lot these days !)

corvusVelox

Thanks for clarifying that- just did an overhaul and had to swap a defective Ultegra tricolour [brifter] for a period Dura-Ace. It seems to interface with the rear derailleur (also an ultegra tricolour) just fine for the most part, but is just a little bit off. Chalked it up to needing some more adjustment at the time, so thanks for providing support to that nagging suspicion.