Any fans of Shimano L422 shifters?
03-09-21, 08:04 AM
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Any fans of Shimano L422 shifters?
I'm having fond memories of theses Shifters. I had a pair on a Trek 400 I owned years ago. I remember them as being well-built with a nice racheting action - very smooth. Thinking about getting a set if I run across some for cheap.
03-09-21, 08:20 AM
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I think they're friction-only.
I put a pair of them from a stem-mount onto some downtube braze-ons on a friend's bike. I was fairly impressed with their quality, and he seems to like them just fine.
I put a pair of them from a stem-mount onto some downtube braze-ons on a friend's bike. I was fairly impressed with their quality, and he seems to like them just fine.
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03-09-21, 08:42 AM
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The SL-L422 was a late 1980s friction style shift lever that incorporated a spring and pawl system for a lighter action. Hence the Light Action series name.
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03-09-21, 11:20 AM
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I am a fan: have installed these on several bikes for "clients" who were not afraid of friction shifting, both on DT and stem. They "punch above their weight" in my estimation. Smooth micro-ratchet action but easier to find (and cheaper when you do) than the Sun Tour micro-ratchet levers (also a fan of them)....so by all means DON'T SPREAD THE WORD, or I'll never be able to buy them again! 
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03-09-21, 01:00 PM
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I like them- they have a great shape a unique action and they look really classy. However I don’t like them as much as the Simplex Retrofrictions, the late Suntour micro-ratcheting ones, and not as much as the Sachs/Huret ratcheting shifters. Like the old Shimano bar ends- the shifters are spring loaded- and they ratchet in both directions- but the ratcheting is just tactile instead of functional.
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03-09-21, 03:22 PM
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I used a pair for a number of years on a backup bike. I had to modify them from stem shifter mount to fit on the downtube bosses.
I also took them apart and removed the ratchet ring. They were a poor man’s retrofriction and were so smooth without the ratchet.
John
I also took them apart and removed the ratchet ring. They were a poor man’s retrofriction and were so smooth without the ratchet.
John
