strock 

Yeah, they're associated with low-end bikes and low-end riders. But if you don't care what others think, there's actually not a thing wrong with them. They do use more cable (and housing) than DT shifters, so they don't look quite as clean and they may not shift quite as crisply. On the other hand, they generally use less cable and housing than thumbies or bar end shifters. It's a bit of a reach from the drops, but not so much from the tops or the hoods. If you're running something besides drop bars -- let's say, North Roads or perhaps moustache -- the stemmies will require less reach (or at least less downward reach) than DT shifters. Plus, you can keep the entire handlebar available for different hand positions by pairing stem shifters with bar end mounted reverse brake levers. I ran some Suntour stem shifters with reverse brake levers on an inverted set of Albatross bars for a while and really liked the set-up.

MrEss

I really dislike stem shifters.

I found that I couldn't ride out of the saddle on my bike with stem shifters and drop bars. My knees or thighs often hit the rear shifter, resulting in embarassing and uncomfortable random gear changes.

Similarly, I often hit my knee on the stem-mounted shifter on my Continental with north road bars.

If you can ride with them and not hit your body parts on them, then there's nothing wrong with them. The hatred is mostly just snobbery.

ciocc_cat

I wonder if "high-end" (e.g., Campy) stem shifters had been available "back-in-the-day" if they'd been more widely accepted by the cycling community.

The fact that they WEREN'T offered on higher-end bikes always made me question their efficiency/reliability - plus the fact that when I was wrenching in the mid-1970s they DIDN'T work as well as downtube shifters. If stem-shifters clearly offered an advantage, then why weren't they represented in the pro peleton as bar-ends were (albeit sporadically)?

Not snobbery or prejudice - just an observation based on life experience. YMMV.

clubman 

This depends on what the point is here. You can comfortably ride anything you want on a casual bike. What ever shakes your tree. But a competitive road bike can't effectively use them. Serious group rides won't even let you participate with stem shifters. It's not snobbery, it just isn't an acceptably safe and predictable way to shift a bike in a pack. That's why they're on lower end bikes.

Michael Angelo 

Schwinn Paramounts had them........

JayBlurr

I personally did a downtube shifter conversion because I simply hated my stem shifter. I stand up at full stops when at a red light as i start to pedal to get more momentum so i can accelerate faster. But on more than occasion I bumped the shifter with my stomach and it would drop my gear and make my chain skip around blah blah blah. Also with the stem shifters i had trouble lowering my stem and i like my stem really low.

clubman 

I thought of that one but it's an anomaly. Did you see anyone try to race with them?

LesterOfPuppets

I have a feeling I could race with stem shifters more safely than a youngin' who's only raced brifters could do with DT shifters. I wonder what the stem shifter hating races would think about running Kelly Take-Offs or Suntour Command Shifters, etc?

I'm sure in some racing circles they'll look at ya sideways if you show up with DT shifters also.

My rear DT shifter isn't holding so well these days and I'm awfully tempted to put my Motobecane Suntour Powershifter stem setup on the Pinarello. Those things sure are heavy, though. 237 grams!

Michael Angelo 

The Paramounts that had Stem shifters, were the Touring Models.

OldsCOOL

I'm an understudy in the world of weight weenies. The stem shifters on my heavy Motobecane Super Mirage just had to go. Cant believe how much they weigh and how light the SunRace clamp-on DT shifters are.

But then.....I should just cut back on my diet a little bit.

Seriously, I am one of those that just dont like stem shifters. Or dork discs. Or spoke reflectors. Or turkey levers.

Glennfordx4

I never had a issue with stem shifters as my Schwinn Super Sport had them and I put a lot of miles on that bike back in the day. I have a Japan made Bianchi Touring bike that runs Suntour Power shifters and they also worked well but I am going to replace them with a set of Suntour indexed bar cons just because I have them. I installed a sweet pair of NOS BL stem shifters on my Concord Pacer SS when I built it & they worked awesome and saved weight over the Power shifters they replaced. I have in the past hit them with my legs dropping a few gears but not enough times that I needed to replace them I just switched my riding habits to avoid it, no biggie.

As far as hitting your junk on them being the reason they stopped using them I thought that was for the stick shifters on most late 60's thru the 70's Muscle bikes not stem shifters which were made long after that went into effect.

himespau 

You better get some carbon ones so they'll asplode on contact rather than impaling you.

himespau 

when I switched from stem shifters to DT shifters I put on Kelly take offs I had the same transition period of reaching for phantom shifters that didn't exist. I like stem shifters over the idea of bar ends (never actually tried bar ends) because with stem shifters I could do all my shifting with one hand (98% of the time my right) while never moving the other one (except to vary hand position).

RubberLegs

I still have the old "Schwinn Approved" Stem Shifters on my renovated 79 LeTour IV. They work fine (after new cables were installed). It is a little difficult jumping back and forth between my "Modern" Felt with brifters, and the Schwinn with the Stem Shift, must make mental note! They do make for a little more upright riding style, and slower shifting...NOT good for racing...but no-one in their right mind would race a 79 Schwinn LeTour! (except to beat my 13 yr old in the sprint home!)

3alarmer 

T-Mar

Yes stem shifters did have some disadvantages as previously mentioned (extra cable housing for more weight and slightly vaguer shifting, hitting them with your kness when standing and the potential to contribute to more serious injuries in the case of crash). However, there was one more practical issue. They were found on low end bicycles which were often stored outside. When it rained, the water dripped off the lever barrel and onto the bare cable, travelling down into the housing, where it would rust things solid. Cable and housing changes were far more frequent than bicycles with downtube mounted shifters. The problem resurfaced briefly with ATB thumbshifters then briefly went away with the introduction of twist and trigger shifters but became an epidemic on entry level, sloping top tube ATBs, with top tube mounted shifter and brake cables.

silvercreek

What the heck is a low-end rider?

oldbikenewbike

They weNot entirely correct. They came on the early 70's Schwinn Sports Tourer's, which then were only second to the Paramount.

Chombi

I don't think Strock meant anything condescending to owners with non-megabuck racing bikes. Just could have maybe used different/better words to express his thinking on that point. Otherwise the post was very helpful/informative.

Chombi

Mercian Rider

Nothing--they were arbitrarily condemned back in the day by writers and elite cyclists, along with "suicide" brake levers which are fine if you appreciate their limitations.

Berylbite

My Stem shifters bug me.
Aesthetically I prefer minimalism when it comes to components so getting rid of the extra cable housing is appealing.
I've had to replace that housing twice due to the splaying at the cable stops, that's annoying and expensive for me "6bucks" I'm in college.
My stem shifters are clunky, heavy and ugly.
When I attack up a hill my knee moves the levers, "like others I see"
And I want simplex retros...because they are sexy.

anixi

I have a Schwinn World Sport, set up for stemmies. The guides are brazed on right where you would put the DT shifters! It has been recommended to me to convert it to DT shifters, but, isn't that problematic? Where do the DTs go? I'm thinking it's too much bother to convert it...

Velognome 

gateway to Brifters maybe?

Chombi

Back in the 80's when I was converting my Peugeot PH10S from stem to DT shifters, I mounted clamp-on Simplex retrofriction shifters just above the brazed on stem shifter cable stops on the DT of the bike and it worked very nicely. In fact, the guides did not get in the way of the cables going down to the derailleurs at all (cables are usually lower on the downtube than the cable stops) and worked as solid stops to keep the clamp-on band from slipping down on the DT. The situation might be slightly different with your bike, but you should just try it out to find out if it will work.

Chombi

Oldpeddaller

1) Nothing at all wrong with DT shifters, always had 'em on my bikes - except the ones with Brifters/Campy ergos or MTB's with thumb shifters or twist grips. For me, the DT is a natural place to change gear - but then I'm a bit older than most.

2) Brifters are great on modern bikes but I prefer DT levers on all of my C&V rides, especially Simplex retro friction and Suntour ratchet shifters.

3) I'm thinking of trying stem shifters for the first time on a planned forthcoming build - a Saracen lightweight steel (Tange) MTB frame to be bullt with wide tyres, Deore group and drop bars as a "tough stuff" tourer. It's probably not C&V although it might just qualify. I'd think barcons are just as likely to injure you as stem shifters in an accident. My experiences of flying over the handlebars (thankfully fairly rare) have been that my weight flying forwards with toe straps on has lifted the rear wheel and 'somersaulted' the bike so even in this situation the road has been the point of impact, not the stem. (Hurts to remember!). On a tourer a slower gear change isn't a race losing disaster and the weight of a few inches more cable is less than a spare tube in a pannier. I'm curious to see how it'll work. The NOS shifter set I have doesn't seem any heavier or less efficient than a band-on DT lever set.

I agree that turkey levers, dork discs and stem shifters are a turn-off, but on this bike I just fancy something different.