veganbikes

Yes but the mention from Obeast was STI levers. That is why I focused on those. I also didn't mention the Di2 Levers which eliminate that problem and are fantastic.

However SRAM does have that annoying double tap which I do not like personally as I am just not sure if I have gone through the cassette or not as easily, however their lever shape is excellent. Campy I haven't spent a ton of time on so no real comment there and Microshift is ok but I haven't spent any time on their nice stuff just a little on the cheap stuff.

SurferRosa

Disagree!

.

JohnDThompson 

It's a miracle any of us survived long enough to reproduce.

Litespud

What about all those who didn’t? Hmm? Well?
#DarwinLevers #DowntubeCarnage

Litespud

dangerous isn’t really the word I’d use - slightly inconvenient, maybe. I doubt if you’d find many riders who’d tell you that they crashed as a result of DT shifting. I used them for ~25 years and I never felt at risk - they simply were what we used at the time. Using DTs required a little more forethought and deliberation than brifters, setting up a steep climb or sprint, for example, because your ability to take a hand off the bars in the middle of it was limited. Personally, once I switched to brifters, I saw no point in going back.
Driving my old TR6 requires a similarly deliberate driving style, compared to my modern daily driver, because, fun as it is, the old beast’s braking and road-holding don’t hold a candle to those of a modern car, so you need to plan a little further ahead. I look at DTs in a similar way, although I indulge my nostalgia itch with cars, not bikes, much as I appreciate a classic bike

HTupolev

If you think downtube shifters are dangerous, just wait until you discover water bottles!

jim dandy

Veganbikes ...
Very interesting link
JD

tkamd73 

Litespud Nice analogy, all my bikes except one are DT shifter, a bit more effort, just like my TR6. But very enjoyable.
Tim

Kabuki12

point made! That is beautiful and not overstated. There is just something about the Campy pebbly texture. For me, down tube shifting is natural. Anything else I have to think about it. If I am riding my Mondia with bar end shifters, I automatically reach down to shift for the first few miles! It’s ok I ride alone so nobody watching.

Kabuki12

On this subject, I recently sent a friend of mine a picture of my Colnago (down tube shifters of course) . He rides modern carbon bikes and actually raced for a few years. His reply was “nice bike, I hope you go to yoga regularly so you can shift that thing”. I guess it is what you are used to. I am definitely a bit ocd so change just never happened. DT shifting has been my “roll” since the early seventies and I have found no need to change.

thinktubes 

A.K.A. "Reach-Down Switchers"

tomato coupe

Yes, they're beautiful on that bike. But, the original statement was that they shift gloriously, which is a tough sell.

wle

No,

afm199

I had no problem shifting out of the saddle, other than having had to learn to swat the shifter on upshifts. Downshifts, you're not typically out of the saddle.

wle

they are fine.
If you are REALLY racing, maybe 5% of your shifts would be speeded up with STI.
But they are reliable, cheap, easy to maintain, durable, period correct up to about 2002.
Win win win.
I've lived with them for 65,000 miles on my main bike, a 1999 GT something or other, aluminum frame and fork, 7 speed.

sjanzeir

If you've got a French wine barrel for a belly and man-titties, they're impossible to use.

Bill in VA

Very easy to use, and once you are used the feel of the shifting, it can be done entirely by feel and listening to the resulting sound of the drivetrain as it allows fine adjustment. Most of the time people have issues is that they want to look at the drivetrain while shifting to ensure they are in the right gear.

tomato coupe

I think you're overlooking the time it takes to move your hand from the bars to the shifters, and then the time it takes to move them back to the bars. That additional time is not insignificant, and it makes STI shifters faster essentially 100% of the time.

HTupolev

What are we talking about when we say "faster?" If a shift is anticipated, then the hand-movement time arguably doesn't have any tangible implications. And the vast majority of shifts are anticipated. I think that might be wle's point.

(Of course, the shifts that aren't anticipated can be very important!)

Project24

DT friction shifters are most entertaining while riding rollers, especially during your initial session.

djs42

Main ride has old school non-indexed Super Record downtube shifters and love them.
Immune to cable stretch issues unlike my other bikes with Shimano indexing that are good when finely tuned but unusable otherwise.

catlips

My worst issue is from switching back and forth, I reach for the downtube shifters on my bar-end shifter bike sometimes.

tomato coupe

Tweaking the barrel adjuster every few months eliminates that problem.

Litespud

you must be using some pretty noodly cables

eisnic

I realize there's a bit of a 'let's honour tradition' thing about this, but as I recall my early bikes with DT friction shifters, all I can say is thank god for progress! To clarify my comment: that was in the '70's, I'm very short, and all my old bikes were too big for me, and having racing geometry -- a bit twitchy. I found that on shifting I was invariably dropping one shoulder and it affected my balance a bit. Didn't like the wobble. Don't miss it. Was really happy when Suntour saved me with inexpensive bar-end ratchets. And I think whoever invented the brake-shifter combination lever should get the Cycling Nobel!