Paramount1973 

I know a C&Ver that commutes every day on a bike with OEM stem shifters and doesn't mind them at all. Aside from the perceived dork factor, what is truly wrong with them? Anyone ride with stem shifters on one of their bikes?

Michael Angelo 

Me.

redneckwes

There's probably a good way to answer this, but I'm not sure I know it. Stem shifters, turkey wings and kick stands are not, in and of themselves necessarily "bad", but they are an indication that a bike was lessor quality or built after the point that cycling began to be influenced by the CPSC and the masses of people who didn't really want to be cyclists.

A bike lacking these convenience features, (which many of us don't find all that convenient) places less between the rider and the experience, plus even a cheap bike looks more like a machine from the 50's and 60's, and it's slightly lighter.

If they work for you, and you like them then don't worry about it.

jimmuller 

A number of C&V'ers ride with stem shifters. But you asked what is wrong with them. Compared to DT shifters each cable has one more piece of housing and two housing stops. These add friction. Also the cable is longer so stretch is more pronounced. Of course, these issues aren't as big with modern cables and housings, but they still make a difference. The result is that DT shifters are much more direct and precise.

randyjawa 

That, in itself, is really important, in my opinion. Also, though I cannot qualify this, stem shifting raises one's center of gravity, slightly, reducing stability. Is this really the case? Don't know but I do not like the feel of them anyway.

Dorky? You bet, but that is just an opinion from a guy who tucks his pants into his socks, for every ride, and that is a trick when wearing riding shorts:-(

Maxturbo

For ME and my style of riding, stem shifters are a preference.

I have two nearly identical Raleigh Super Tourers, one being fitted with drop bars and down tube shifters and the other, original with stem mounted shifters. I simply enjoy the ease and location of shifting afforded by stem's.

frantik

nothing is wrong with them at all except they tend to be a sign of a lower-end bike

ClemY

Stem shifters were one of the combinations I tried many years ago to make shifting easier since I found it difficult to reach downtube shifter levers. From an upright position, they weren’t too bad. From a hunched over position, they were hard for me to manipulate accurately. I found Campy barcon shifters and used them for many years until I finally discovered indexed shifting. I am now using Shimano indexed barcons and I love them.

bradtx

Paramount1973, What's wrong with stem shifters? Style. They're associated with less expensive models from the '80s bike boom era.

Brad

Tundra_Man 

I rode with stem shifters for many years. They work.

Last year I converted my Panasonic from stem shifting to bar-end shifting. The main reasons why were (to me) the shifter placement felt awkward. Also, I would occasionally smack the right shifter with my knee while standing to climb which resulted in an unintentional shift to a higher gear at the time I least wanted this to happen. Admittedly, this could be attributed to poor technique on my part. Regardless, switching to bar end shifting made me happier.

But if you like stem shifting, don't feel bad. Just ride!

SteamingAlong

Personally, I find them unsafe. I've gotten my testicles caught on the levers of stem shifters during a crash. It was an unpleasant experience.

OldsCOOL

Weight. The suntour stem shifters that seemed to just jump off the Super Mirage when it rolled into my garage....those things weigh a ton. Still have them in a parts pile and marvel how anything so simple can weigh so much.

Nakedbabytoes

How is this not cool

Phil_gretz

^^^ I vote Cool!

MNBikeCommuter

Yup, and trying to jump through intersections with all the city riding I do. Nothing like hitting the shifter with a knee halfway through!

I rarely ride the old beast with stem shifters any more, but it's amazing how natural it still feels when I do.

puchfinnland

when i get cheap road bikes with stem shifters I say yippie!
-I change for straight bars and brakes and it is so much easier to sell a city bike compared with a cheap road bike.

MrEss

For me personally, what's wrong with them is that I occasionally hit my knees on them when sprinting out of the saddle. Not only does that hurt, but it also causes an unpredictable shift under power. Once, I was almost run over in an intersection because of that chain of events.

For folks to whom this does not happen -- nothing wrong with stem shifters. They're a bit heavier and less precise than downtube shifters, but the same argument applies to barcons and yet barcons are well-respected. If you like stem shifters, run them with pride.

AZORCH

Here's the thing: where I live and ride, everything I ride is "old" to the other cyclists on the road. The dork factor doesn't even come into play because I get guys who marvel at my ability to use bar ends and down tube shifters. Heck, a stem shifter doesn't mean any more or less to them than my other gear shifters. The only people in my neck of the woods who recognize stem shifters as the mark of a "lower end" frame are (a) flippers and (b) fellow enthusiasts. I don't care what the flippers think at all - they just sell bikes and don't ride them. And my fellow enthusiasts are pretty few and far between to begin with... and of those, most would appreciate that I'm using stem shifters on a bike. For me: case closed!

noglider 

Exactly. They have no technical flaws. It's all about style. Back when downtube shifters were on over 90% of high end bikes, they argued that the extra cable and housing reduced precision. Except that some of those folks on high end bikes also used bar-end shifters, which are even more imprecise. So that argument was completely bogus.

There's nothing wrong with stem shifters.

mkeller234

+1. Horizontal top tubes and tall quill stems make the safety argument is completely bogus too.

sailorbenjamin

I like the big chrome ones with the S on them that the old Schwinns had;

Call me shallow but the aesthitics overcome a lot of friction and wieght.

JohnDThompson 

I use one on my S3X-equiped Viscount:



It gives the shortest possible housing run, with the fewest bends.

3alarmer 

+1...........

LesterOfPuppets

Another thing that makes them awkward is that they're on a steerable part of the bike. Barends are nicer because you already have your hand gripping the bar. DTs are nicer because the downtube doesn't steer.

Luckily I haven't had my nuts near a stem in a bike crash lately. I've been lucky enough to bail off the bike or throw the bike before/during crashing. I suppose they might be slightly worse than nutting just a stem, dunno.

+1 on the Suntour weight issue. I weighed PowerShifters off a Motobecane at around one pound.

noglider 

I suppose these points are true, but I don't find them extremely convincing. I guess it depends on how hard you're riding.