Your Favorite Downtube Shifters. Post some pics
#52
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Dutch framed Belgian. (Sorry, needs a good wash and polish... lots of miles this summer)
Full Super Record shifts better than any of my Simplex, Huret or Triomphe set ups.
Full Super Record shifts better than any of my Simplex, Huret or Triomphe set ups.

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WNG said:
Agreed. The self-trimming feature should have become dominant. Unfortunately, few frames are adaptable to the top-mount.
Suntour Symmetric, I have 3 sets of these clever FD trimming shifters...
#54
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Hi all! (first post)
I have an unidentified frame with these Shimano downtube shifters. There is something beautiful about them, I love them so. If anyone can ID them I would be grateful, as I have the almost complete group and would like to make it more complete. Also might assist me in identifying the frame.

I have an unidentified frame with these Shimano downtube shifters. There is something beautiful about them, I love them so. If anyone can ID them I would be grateful, as I have the almost complete group and would like to make it more complete. Also might assist me in identifying the frame.
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Since nobody posted, open C.



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thanks for confirming (or restoring) my foggy memory about the SunTour shifters...I'll be on the lookout for a LH Sprint with that ratchet cause I have an orphan lever.
I had a pair of those "Beer Tap Handle" Shimanos that I salvaged from an old American 10-speed (Huffy, maybe)...wonder if they are still in my stash?
I do like the Power Shifters for their function, but they just look too crude and bulky on a bike where style is a concern...I happily put them on any bike I'm flipping since they work and hold up so well.
I had a pair of those "Beer Tap Handle" Shimanos that I salvaged from an old American 10-speed (Huffy, maybe)...wonder if they are still in my stash?
I do like the Power Shifters for their function, but they just look too crude and bulky on a bike where style is a concern...I happily put them on any bike I'm flipping since they work and hold up so well.
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I'm enjoying this thread more than would expect to.
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#62
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Campy Syncro/c-Record era shifters are beautiful and can be used in either friction or indexed mode. Often maligned, but they feel great and have worked well for me.
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Not just Huret DT's, but RATCHETING DT's.
I was waiting for someone to out a pair, and they look very compact, almost tiny in person.
Nice Trek, btw. A 620?
Anyone remember the X-long Huret DT's and can post a picture? Those came on my 1970 Raleigh Record, and I rotated the stop plate 90 degrees rearward so they almost pointed to the bb when I was climbing steep hills.
I was waiting for someone to out a pair, and they look very compact, almost tiny in person.
Nice Trek, btw. A 620?
Anyone remember the X-long Huret DT's and can post a picture? Those came on my 1970 Raleigh Record, and I rotated the stop plate 90 degrees rearward so they almost pointed to the bb when I was climbing steep hills.
Last edited by dddd; 07-27-12 at 06:12 PM.
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For some reason, I've many times had trouble setting these up to work properly (in friction or index mode, I forget).
I found myself at times wanting to put a shim washer behind the knurled cap so that the D-ring screw could be tightened enough so as not to fall out.
It's still a mystery to me, and I've had to use LocTite. I've always been glad it was someone else's bike, since the shim washer I would need seemed to require much more dimensional precision in all directions than I wanted to undertake crafting.
Was friction-mode on these intended as strictly an emergency limp-home fix?
#65
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There is indeed a set of friction-only Sprint or Superbe levers with the ratcheting mechanism. I believe they are the LD-4850 shifters, though I am not sure (and can't find on Velobase either). Very elegant. I don't have a pic, but I do have an NOS set in my storage locker.
Here's a pic of the beautiful friction-only (non-ratcheting) Superbe levers I have on my girlfiriend's Atala build (currently stored 5000km away), certainly my favourite to look at, and perfectly functional:

Here's a pic of the beautiful friction-only (non-ratcheting) Superbe levers I have on my girlfiriend's Atala build (currently stored 5000km away), certainly my favourite to look at, and perfectly functional:
#66
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Cool idea for a thread. We need to see some more pantographed items.
Search your feelings: you know there is something cool about campy syncros shifters with that muscular right shifter.

Those shiny Dura ace shifters are pretty hot I will admit.
Search your feelings: you know there is something cool about campy syncros shifters with that muscular right shifter.

Those shiny Dura ace shifters are pretty hot I will admit.
#67
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Me too -- the husband of my LBS was building up an old Falcon and wanted Huret parts. Those Huret shifters are very similar to the ratcheted SunTour "Power Shifters."
#68
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Chris: I have no idea really. This is a 1989 ADR-Bottecchia (yes, Lemonds team when he won the TdF, not his bike though), and I never rode the bike. To me it looked like one of those typical mechanic's mods, as in 'they seem to know best'.
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The shifters:

Chesini/Campagnolo shifters by ragnar1984, on Flickr
The bike - 1984 Chesini X-Uno:

1984 Chesini X-Uno by ragnar1984, on Flickr
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I also have a bike with Simplex retrofriction shifters, but find I prefer these due to the shape of the levers
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Nothing special but...
...since I had just posted these pics in a different thread and they were handy here you have it.
Peugeot PSN10 is as found therefore the missing hood, funky cable routing and lack of polish.
Peugeot PSN10 is as found therefore the missing hood, funky cable routing and lack of polish.
#75
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https://www.ebay.ca/itm/190694354158?ssPageName=STRK:MEDWX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1435.l2649
And, yes, rjhammett, those are the ones I was thinking of (the pair I have actually came from the seller linked above).
EDIT: After feeling compelled to add a post (below) to make sure we keep up the pic count, it occurs to me that a pic rather than just a link might 'illustrate' the back-and-forth about this particular item. Here's that seller's pic of the LD-4850 Suntour Sprint ratcheting shifters:
Last edited by mikemowbz; 07-28-12 at 01:47 PM. Reason: added pic
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