Whenever topics like this come up, I always notice that those who raced in their younger days seem to have the higher standards. I don't know that they are always being snobbish or putting down other equipment. But I suspect they have experienced better and so they would not settle for less. I also suspect that as they were racing they have a greater interest in cycling than members that simply rode casually until they switched to driving and so may represent a larger sampling of the population interested in classic and vintage bikes here on the forum. As a result, it is easy to understand why classic and vintage bikes are esteemed higher than bikes that are simply more vintage than classic like bike boom bikes. Additionally I think when someone points out that something like stem shifter are an indicator of lower end bikes in the C&V world, it is an honest statement not necessarily a scoff.
Originally Posted by
smd4
I guess they're OK if they are original equipment, and one is trying to keep a bike as original as possible.
Why one would use them willingly in any other application is beyond me. Same with (un)safety levers.
Originally Posted by
genejockey
Oh, but the answer to why C&V riders are rarely interested in stem-mounted shifters and turkey levers has to do with why people collect things like bikes, or cars, or watches. Most collectors seem to be most interested in the things they WANTED when they were younger, not the things they HAD. Guys who grew up in families that owned Ford Galaxies and Falcons collect Mustangs and T-birds, not Galaxies and Falcons. Hence, guys like me who grew up with heavy, generic "10 speeds", but wanted a lightweight racing bike collect lightweight racing bikes. So, no stem-mounted levers.
Originally Posted by
wrk101
It's just a tell tale sign of a low end bike. Typically will have high ten steel frame, stamped dropouts, turkey levers, etc. There are ALWAYS exceptions!
I can respect how someone would change the originality of a bike if it is something that they want to do to
their bike because
they want to. But I often wonder how many times not only stem shifters but spoke protectors, reflectors and safety levers have been removed or replaced due to people reading that is what they
should do for some reason.
And I grew up with cheap department/hardware store bikes. My first "good" bike was a lower to mid level bike boom Takara. So I totally understand the desire to find something I wanted but I also enjoy revisiting my youth by having what I did have that made me memories. I have a Takara one model down from the one I had in high school and is original save for tubes, tires brake pads and bar tape. Hi-ten, stamped drop-outs, stem shifters, Cat-Eyes, and safety levers intact for over 40 years deserve to stay IMHO. I also have an original Takara one model up from my high school ride with down-tube shifters and I clearly prefer them over the stem mounts even for the casual riding I do on it. Piggy backing off of genejockey's comment, I would be hard pressed to make a decision between a '67 Camaro that has had a rough life and all the modifications Hot Rod Magazine advocated for and a pristine all original '66 Impala like my dad had. I still look for nicer bikes from time to time to acquire, but I also like them to be as original as possible.
Originally Posted by
Camilo
Having used all kinds of shifters - relevant to this discussion: downtube, stem and bar end - I find that bar end shifters are much easier ergonomically for me than stem shifters.
I have a thing where I like to bring old bikes I acquire home and take a spin around the block before overhauling them. Last year I bought a Carabela with Suntour bar ends and I had never rode a bike with bar ends before. That spin around the block has me eager to get that bike on the road. As neglected as that bike was, I could tell the shifters were going to probably be one of my favorite things about it.
Originally Posted by
3alarmer
.
But the additional cable housing just complicates life, and the simplicity of DT shifters is aesthetically more pleasing
This I relate to. I always notice my bikes with down-tube shifters and a minimum of cable housing just look so much better than the one with stem mounted shifters when I'm pulling the car out of the garage.