pdedes

i started using them in '91. never looked back. i love edward shifterhands, do you?

MrMittens

Yeah, seriously. Who would actually legitimately try to argue against them?

bassplayinbiker

yea, seriously, lame thread.

end/

Georgebowen

Suicide Shifters are so much safer and easy.

d2create

For commuting or touring, Dia Compe Silver bar-ends set to friction kill indexed brifters.
For racing where speed counts for everything, indexed brifters for the win.

MadGrad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rn6w2...FCA68A&index=4

zzzwillzzz

fail. please show your work

hairnet

I used to have friction shifters and I can say that it was only nice for the FD. Got hills on your commute? Brifters win

d2create

Ok, here ya go.

d2create

Hills? Even better! Shift through the whole set of cogs at one time if you need to.

Nachoman

When I was in college, my Nishiki Competition had bar end shifters, which were quite efficient and comfortable.

JohnDThompson 

Real Men use the Cambio Corsa:

AEO

ditch all shifters

flaco

ditch the word "brifter"

Flash

I have brifters on one bike, downtube shifters on the other. I like both.

grolby

Bar-ends are great and all, but why on earth would you use friction mode? Indexing gives you all the benefits of bar-ends - cost, durability, etc - with none of the aggravation. Friction shifting works fine, but rear indexing is unquestionable superior.

d2create

Why? Because it's so easy and fail proof! Set the derailleurs up once when first building the bike and NEVER adjust them again, even as your cables stretch. Never miss a shift. Shift up or down through as many cogs as you want in one quick shift. Shift and the drive train is making noise? No problem! Just make a slight adjustment with the shift lever and you are good to go. Have a triple up front, or even a double? No worries about chain line because you always have infinite minute adjustment over the derailleur as you ride. It's funny that you say, "with none of the aggravation", because that's exactly why my commuter HAS friction shifters... none of the aggravation of indexed. Indexed is great when it's adjusted perfectly and when speed of shifting is critical, and I have bikes with both, but it is far from superior.

MadGrad

It's really not that hard to adjust indexed shifters. My front derailleur hardly ever has to be adjusted, and my rear needs just a quick turn of a knob.

DaJMasta

I've got an argument (weak though it may be) against brifters..... price



Not to say that decent bar end shifters are much cheaper, but even basic brifters are pretty pricey.... I guess it's sort of value added as it takes care of the brakes too.

grolby

Like my indexed shifters?

Uh, yeah - that too. Cable stretch does not exist. Poor cable installation does. I get my shifters adjusted when I install the cables, and they stay in adjustment. It's not that hard.

I never miss a shift myself. So? As for shifting up lots of cogs at once, big deal. You can do that with indexed bar-ends. And even though you can't do it with Shimano or SRAM, it doesn't matter. Who needs to regularly upshift more than one cog at once? It's a simple matter to tap the upshift lever multiple times if need be.

Or turn the barrel adjust a quarter turn. BFD.

I happen to like friction front shifting. The benefits of indexed front shifting are marginal. It's huge advance for rear shifting, though.

Indexed shifters are easy to set up, and once set up right they are not finicky, aggravating or difficult to work with. That's why I don't understand these arguments about how indexed shifting is so sensitive or finicky - it's not! 99% of the problem people have is bad set up when the cables are first installed.

Of course, this is assuming bikes and parts of a reasonable level of quality - i.e. not department store level - and that some minimal effort is made to keep the bike maintained, or at least not too exposed to the elements. I've seen pictures of your bikes. They're beautiful; this isn't a problem for you. If a bike is just going to be left outside all the time and never maintained, sure - friction will be more reliable. Which isn't saying much. Mistreated bikes shift badly whether they have friction or indexed shifters.

Not trying to pick on you man, but I think the "issues" with indexed shifting are blown way out of proportion. Friction shifting shouldn't be scary, but indexing is superior.

grolby

Oh no, decent bar-ends ARE much cheaper. That's the bummer about integrated controls - you pay for that performance. Indexed bar-ends are great; I definitely prefer the integrated levers, at least for fast riding and shifting, but bar-ends are more than adequate for commuting, touring or what-have-you. Actually, they're adequate for everything, but brifters are superior when you want the best performance or if you prefer the feel.

Walter

Because of injury I have to friction shift my FD. Though I like to retro-grouch I can't really say anything against brifters (I like S. Brown's word and think it should be in Webster's) and use them pretty much exclusively nowadays.

Even if I wasn't dealing with a permanent injury I agree with those who advocate friction shifting FDs.

d2create

No worries! Like I said, I use both and see advantages to each side and I think either can be the better choice depending on the intended use. I just don't see one as being overall superior to the other. IMHO, saying that indexed is vastly superior is blowing it out of proportion the other way, ya know?

roccobike

I've read this type of thread here and on other BF forums and can only offer the following:
The demand for bikes with index, but Non-brifter iindex shifters (downtube or stem) is so low that only three manufacturers (that I'm aware of) offer bikes with this equipment. They are Fuji, Schwinn, and Bikes Direct. And these firms offer them on a few limited, low end models.
The demand for Friction shifters is so low that no major manufacturer has seized upon the cost savings, and simple operation and offered them on new road bikes (or hybrids).

Taking into consideration all the different varitey of bikes that each manufacturer produces, trying to fit every niche, if the demand for non-brifter and/or non-index shifter bikes was out there, we'd see names like Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale producing bikes with this equipment. But we only rarely, if ever see this.

I understand that some folks really like the old shifters ( I personally have taken a liking to friction stem shifters on my beater bikes), but the buying public just isn't interested.

zzzwillzzz

you still haven't explained why they're better.

the slower and flatter you ride the less you need integrated shifting (obviously). start riding faster and on more varied terrain with other riders and you'll soon see the benefits. i've got sti on my 'cross bike and bar ends on my spare road bike the i sometimes use for 'cross racing and it's no comparison, it's so much easier with sti shifting.