jdawginsc 

Wondering if all of you have decent friction thumb shifter ideas to shift a regular 7 or 8 speed cassette.

i am converting a 1982 Trek 500 (the big frame some of you have seen) to a gravel-commuter with straight bars for my sisters boyfriend.

Probably going to use a Deore rear and whatever I can find on the front...a double probably, but perhaps a triple.

ironwood

Rivendell has some.

jdawginsc 

Looking more at the lower end of the food chain...

icemilkcoffee 

Why friction specifically? What's wrong with indexed thumb shifters?

jdawginsc 

Spacing complexities if I do an 8 speed cassette. I figured it might simplify things.

Frame is retro spaced for 130 (PO did it). So trying to figure out the best combo to run...

My understanding is that indexed thumb shifters have different cable pull than brifters and down tube shifters?

Clang

I think SunRace sells an 8 speed indexed thumb shifter: the M96 R800

tricky 

What's the budget? These are cheap and friction. https://velo-orange.com/collections/...thumb-shifters $14

Another option is any number of bike boom stem mounted friction shifters that I am sure a member here would send you for the cost of shipping or you could pick it up at your co-op.

Or if you are actually open to indexed, you could look into the newer shifter options from folks like microshift.

$20, Shimano compatible. https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...9&category=770


Not many reviews out there, but most say they are passable. https://www.google.com/search?q=microshift+mezzo+review I'd take a gamble on it, personally.

unionmanbirch

What about used friction shifters? I just switched my recumbent from grip shift to vintage Shimano EM friction shifters. I've got around 400 miles on them and they have been flawless.

icemilkcoffee 

Flat bar road shifters have the same cable pull as brifters. Emphasis on the word road. Flat bar MTB shifters have a different FD pull ratio.

jdawginsc 

I’ve seen the VO Falcon shifters. They are a possibility as are the SunRace red label SLM50s or something...

Its going to probably have road wheels/road cassette spacing and likely a road derailleur, so the indexed stuff is probably out.

hokiefyd 

The red Sunrace friction shifters work very nicely for budget parts. I have the 8-speed indexed Sunrace thumbies shown above as well and I like them a lot. You'll generally not have any problems using these with either 7- or 8-speed drivetrains. I've got them shifting a 7-speed cassette right now, actually.

jdawginsc 

Are the SunRace indexed thumbs for MTB or road? They are pretty elegant.

canklecat

SunRace SLM10 friction thumbies are as cheap as they get. And they look like it too. But they're darned functional and durable despite being so cheap.

Unlike some downtube shifters, the SLM10 don't slip and cause ghost-shifts. There are micro-click detents and a good combination of washers and thumbscrews to adjust the tension for a good compromise between easy shifting while preventing slippage and ghost shifts.

The SLM10 kit includes low end but functional galvanized cables and housings that are pre-greased with water-resistant sealed end caps. Same entry level cable kit included with some Shimano RevoShift twist shifter kits.

There's enough cable pull for 8-speed. I've used 'em on the same bike with both 7 and 8 speed cassettes (and 7-speed freewheels).

jdawginsc 

So for the rear derailleurs, the indexing should work so long as the cassette spacing is correct...?

But the FD will not shift right..

icemilkcoffee 

yes. The cassette just needs to be matched to the shifter. So your 8 sp cassette would go with a 2x8 or 3x8 shifters.
What FD are you using? If the FD works with road brifters it will work with road flat bar shifters.

jdawginsc 

What are an example of road flat bar shifters as distinct from others?

i could also find an MTB FD I guess...

ShannonM

If you're using thumbshifters, as pictured above, the fronts are all friction shift anyway, so you don't have to care about whether you've got a road or MTB front derailleur. For the rear, any friction thumbshifter, (or indexed one in friction mode,) will work just fine. The SunTour PowerRatchet ones are quite pleasant to use, but they all work.

Shimano never made an 8-speed thumbshifter, they were all under-bar 2-lever types. So your indexed options are MicroShift, Paul's thumbie mounts with 8-speed Ultegra bar-ends, or the weirdo option:

7-speed SIS thumbshifters, which index quite well on 8-speed cassettes, if you set them up with the first click on the 2nd cog and use the low-side overtravel to friction shift the 1st cog. I'm pretty sure that Sheldon had a write-up on this, since that's where I remember getting the idea to try it an 8-speed MTB I was building up. (I hate underbar shifters, and the thumbies + bar-ends solution was hella spendy, and I had a pair of Deore XTs, so I tried it.) It worked great. Nary a problem in the 8 years I had the bike, once I had it set up and the cables stretched in. The initial setup was a bit fiddly, but it's not that difficult.

--Shannon

hokiefyd 

They're advertised as mountain shifters, but I didn't think there was a difference for rear derailleurs in the 7- and 8-speed ranges (and even 9-speed perhaps). Only the right/rear shifter is indexed with the Sunrace ones. The left/front shifter is friction only. You can hear and feel clicks as you pull more cable and it's smooth and quiet as you release cable.

I also have Microshift 9-speed thumbies that work on indexed or friction mode. I updated my own thread in which I asked about the differences between the SR and MS shifters after I had finally bought a set of the SRs and started using them. You can read the whole thread here:

Microshift vs Sunrace indexed thumb shifters - Bike Forums

Since I wrote that review, I've come to like the SR shifters better. I do think the MS shifters are nicer, feel nicer, work nicer, etc. But they're 90-100 bucks for a pair. The SRs are $40-50.

If you really do want friction, just get the Sunrace SLM10s. They're metal shifters that work really well.

icemilkcoffee 

Claris SL2400 $48 on Ebay

You have three choices here:
1. Stick with whatever FD you've got on , and then use friction shifting on the front.
2. Switch to brifter road FD, and then use road indexed shifters
3. Switch to MTB FD, and then use MTB indexed shifters

mechanicmatt

OK, a few things, all are my opinion.


Shimano Deore, Deore dx, Deore xt thumbshifters from the early 90's that are 3x7's all can be used at 3x8's. They have an extra over click past 7 that allows you to use them for 8 spd if the derailleur is adjusted wide enough. Suntour XC Expert and XC Pro's from this era also 3x7's can do the same thing to 3x8's with Shimano derailleurs and are in my opinion the greatest shifters of all time. The Suntour's of that era are what Microshift was copying for their 3x9's and 3x10's. All these have a friction front shifter and would work with 2x or 3x combos.


I have purchased new the 3x9 Sunrace's and 3x9 Microshift's. Not a fan of the Sunrace, rode with them hard for a year, and they are a pain for whatever reason to keep aligned or whatever you call it with the drive train. I'd adjust for the limits, and the center gears wouldn't shift into gear, so I'd adjust into the center gears and then the limits wouldn't shift into gear. I have the Microshift's now, like them well, they are light action. However, the Suntour XC Expert and Pro's have the most satisfying action of all these.


Full friction I would go with old Suntour Power ratchet's, Falcon Friction Thumbs, or Sunrace Friction thumbs, but if you like frictions, at some point you'll want the Rivendell Silver's or Dia Compe ENE's or the like. They are copies of Suntour's last edition of Power Ratchets, and are quite nice.

tricky 

Ok, you said Deore derailleur so I assumed MTB derailleurs. Btw, road and MTB CASSETTE spacing is the same. Derailleurs are what you need to match to the shifter, not cassettes. The caveat is that road derailleurs might have trouble shifting the larger cogs on a MTB cassette or taking up the extra chain needed to accomodate a triple plus a larger cassette. MIGHT being the operative word.

Lots of people (myself included) will put a derailleur into service knowing the it's part of a system that is technically out of spec, but can shift fine with either a Wolftooth roadlink for larger cassettes or just not shifting into combos that will really stress the der. This probably isn't a good solution for someone that is a casual rider and doesn't know to avoid certain gear combos.

mechanicmatt

130 doesn't matter that is modern road spec. Also indexed thumb shifters in 7 to 8 spd Shimano have the same cable pull as brifters and down tube shifters. 7 & 8 spd Shimano stuff road and mountain is all compatible. There is some funky SRAM shifting things like derailleurs and shifters need to match, but all Shimano stuff should be okay. When Shimano, SRAM things moved into 9 spd did things change up between road and mountain.

jdawginsc 

1. I overthought it about mountain versus road 8 speed spacing...they are the same. Oops. That’s where I got off track.

2. Because of 1, I confused clicks with the shifter indexes as different between MTB and road...I know the derailleur only goes what the cable pulls and it is in the shifter.

3. The FD will be worked out, since it is friction anyhow. Only problem I have seen there is that the FD springs are too strong for the shifters ability to maintain tension.

4. I am trying to keep the budget down and am still considering wheels, cassettes, RD, FD and crank. I might keep it a compact double...everything but the shifters and brakes has to come from the parts bin...

Already have the 32s for tires and the long reach Tektro 559s arrived today.

This is the bike being converted...

mechanicmatt

My only extra piece of advice is don't use ultra modern bottom pull mountain fd's if you don't have. They sometimes have issues getting into the middle gear of a triple. Most road triples, or late eighties road or mountain front derailleurs work great for this stuff. 3x7's and 3x8's are pretty great to setup though, usually not a lot of finicky problems.

Great looking frame too. This vintage of Trek make excellent riders. Good luck.

jdawginsc 

Thanks! Yep, I’ve already told him the bike comes back if he doesn’t like it since there are bunch of folks on here that might...

At least I am finding a home for it...too big for me or I’d be tempted to keep it: