Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

Mixing bar end and down tube shifters

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Mixing bar end and down tube shifters

Old 04-12-21, 05:49 PM
  #1  
ehartu
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Mixing bar end and down tube shifters

Anyone mix bar end and down tube shifters on the same bike? I'm thinking rear derail. on the right bar end, and front derail. on the drop tube. This allows for a bar end mirror on the left side. Any thoughts? I hardly shift the front, so don't think it will be a big deal.
Thanks!
ehartu is offline  
Old 04-12-21, 07:19 PM
  #2  
veganbikes
Clark W. Griswold
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 13,388

Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26

Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4294 Post(s)
Liked 3,918 Times in 2,619 Posts
You could do that but I don't know why you would it will look odd. Lance had a downtube for the front shifter but he was also using heavy STI levers and was trying to lose a little weight from his bike since back then you actually had to work a little to get under the UCI minimum.
veganbikes is offline  
Old 04-12-21, 07:46 PM
  #3  
jon c. 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Posts: 4,808
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1591 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1,015 Times in 570 Posts
I don't see any reason this wouldn't be viable. I prefer DT to bar end myself, but if you like bar end this would allow you to keep the mirror.

BTW, the Italian Road Bike Mirror is by far the best bar end mirror I've tried.
jon c. is offline  
Old 04-12-21, 07:57 PM
  #4  
SalsaShark
Senior Member
 
SalsaShark's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eastern Iowa
Posts: 631

Bikes: 2014 Trek Allant drop bar conversion, modified Schwinn MTN commuter, 2015 Trek 520, Soma ES, Salsa Journeyman, 1980 Trek 414

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 178 Post(s)
Liked 355 Times in 166 Posts
I do this exact thing on my 520. FD shifts on the downtube, RD shifts on the barend. Barend mirror on the left side. I love the setup, and the FD shifts like a dream on the downtube. Doesn't look odd at all....go for it!
SalsaShark is offline  
Likes For SalsaShark:
Old 04-12-21, 09:08 PM
  #5  
ehartu
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Thanks- that picture is exactly what I had in mind!
ehartu is offline  
Old 04-13-21, 06:33 AM
  #6  
bwilli88 
Not lost wanderer.
 
bwilli88's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Lititz, Pa
Posts: 3,275

Bikes: In USA; 73 Raleigh Super Course dingle speed, 72 Raleigh Gran Sport SS, 72 Geoffry Butler, 81 Centurion Pro-Tour, 74 Gugie Grandier Sportier

Mentioned: 72 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 885 Post(s)
Liked 983 Times in 517 Posts
While not a Bar end, it is a flat bar with a DT for the front
bwilli88 is offline  
Old 04-13-21, 06:49 AM
  #7  
nomadmax 
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: SW Ohio
Posts: 2,382
Mentioned: 93 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1103 Post(s)
Liked 1,824 Times in 878 Posts
In the early days of STI, some racers used a DT shifter on the front to save weight and retain total control of FD cage trim. Hampsten was one, there was another guy but he turned out to be a fraud
__________________
nomadmax is offline  
Likes For nomadmax:
Old 04-13-21, 07:26 PM
  #8  
veganbikes
Clark W. Griswold
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: ,location, location
Posts: 13,388

Bikes: Foundry Chilkoot Ti W/Ultegra Di2, Salsa Timberjack Ti, Cinelli Mash Work RandoCross Fun Time Machine, 1x9 XT Parts Hybrid, Co-Motion Cascadia, Specialized Langster, Phil Wood Apple VeloXS Frame (w/DA 7400), R+M Supercharger2 Rohloff, Habanero Ti 26

Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4294 Post(s)
Liked 3,918 Times in 2,619 Posts
Originally Posted by nomadmax
In the early days of STI, some racers used a DT shifter on the front to save weight and retain total control of FD cage trim. Hampsten was one, there was another guy but he turned out to be a fraud
It is hard to be a fraud when most of the rest of the peloton is also doing it. Yeah he was a jerk about it but I am going to give it to him, if everyone else is doping and he still "won" he had to have been better than everyone else even if they were all scumbag dopers. However I won't strong arm this thread into a different direction.
veganbikes is offline  
Likes For veganbikes:
Old 04-14-21, 07:23 AM
  #9  
KLOSHE
Newbie
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Alaska
Posts: 45

Bikes: Domane 6.9 , Trek 5200 , Miyata 1400

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 16 Post(s)
Liked 47 Times in 17 Posts
Can a double FD downtube shifter be used on a triple crank ?
KLOSHE is offline  
Old 04-14-21, 04:36 PM
  #10  
SalsaShark
Senior Member
 
SalsaShark's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Eastern Iowa
Posts: 631

Bikes: 2014 Trek Allant drop bar conversion, modified Schwinn MTN commuter, 2015 Trek 520, Soma ES, Salsa Journeyman, 1980 Trek 414

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 178 Post(s)
Liked 355 Times in 166 Posts
Originally Posted by KLOSHE
Can a double FD downtube shifter be used on a triple crank ?
Most FD downtube shifters are friction, non-indexed and will work with almost any front deraileur, regardless of the number of chainrings.
SalsaShark is offline  
Likes For SalsaShark:
Old 04-14-21, 04:53 PM
  #11  
indyfabz
Senior Member
 
indyfabz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,170
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18375 Post(s)
Liked 15,433 Times in 7,288 Posts
Originally Posted by nomadmax
there was another guy but he turned out to be a fraud
Don’t forget the late Marco Pantani. At one point he used a DT shifter for the front. When I was at the ‘95 Giro, riding to the stage finish at the Bianchi factory, he came spinning by in the opposite direction. He was sitting out the race due to injury.
indyfabz is offline  
Likes For indyfabz:
Old 04-14-21, 10:28 PM
  #12  
Leisesturm
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,977
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2481 Post(s)
Liked 731 Times in 518 Posts
Let me see if I have this right: buy both a set of DT shifters AND BE shifters, and use only the RH units of each type, so a LS BE mirror can be used? Is that not a bridge too far when the mirror can easily be mounted to a helmet?
Leisesturm is offline  
Old 04-14-21, 10:38 PM
  #13  
Leisesturm
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,977
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2481 Post(s)
Liked 731 Times in 518 Posts
Originally Posted by KLOSHE
Can a double FD downtube shifter be used on a triple crank ?
This question is technically a thread hijack but, as this thread is already chock full of attempted hijacks, what the hell. No, a 2x DT shifter usually won't move enough cable to shift a triple.
Leisesturm is offline  
Old 04-14-21, 10:46 PM
  #14  
Leisesturm
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,977
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2481 Post(s)
Liked 731 Times in 518 Posts
Originally Posted by SalsaShark
Most FD downtube shifters are friction, non-indexed and will work with almost any front derailleur, regardless of the number of chainrings.
The barrel of a true 3x DT or BE shifter will be thicker than a 2x so that in the same 170* of total throw it will pull enough cable to get the FD across all three rings. A 3x shifter can also shift 2x but a 2x may only shift 2x. Obviously there are exceptions.
Leisesturm is offline  
Old 04-14-21, 11:01 PM
  #15  
HTupolev
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Seattle
Posts: 4,263
Mentioned: 42 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1974 Post(s)
Liked 1,298 Times in 630 Posts
Originally Posted by Leisesturm
The barrel of a true 3x DT or BE shifter will be thicker than a 2x so that in the same 170* of total throw it will pull enough cable to get the FD across all three rings.
I don't think I've ever heard of a "triple-specific" front friction shifter. Some shifters back in the day literally didn't even have left-right variants, like the popular SunTour LD-1400 ratchets. Friction shifters nowadays generally spec as "2x/3x" or don't specify anything.
HTupolev is offline  
Old 04-15-21, 09:54 AM
  #16  
Leisesturm
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 5,977
Mentioned: 26 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2481 Post(s)
Liked 731 Times in 518 Posts
Originally Posted by HTupolev
I don't think I've ever heard of a "triple-specific" front friction shifter. Some shifters back in the day literally didn't even have left-right variants, like the popular SunTour LD-1400 ratchets. Friction shifters nowadays generally spec as "2x/3x" or don't specify anything.
I never said there were 'triple specific' front shifters. But a front shifter from the early 80's, before triples ever existed, would not be able to shift a triple. Ebay sells such things and people buy them so I thought to make it clear that if the shifter says it shifts a front double then that is probably exactly what it does.
Leisesturm is offline  
Old 04-15-21, 10:06 AM
  #17  
kaos joe
Senior Member
 
kaos joe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,405

Bikes: Trek 5200, Rivendell Atlantis, Soma DoubleCross, Bilenky Signature tandem, Cannondale RT3000 tandem, Santa Cruz TallBoy, Kona Explosif, Bridgestone MB2

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 386 Post(s)
Liked 164 Times in 89 Posts
Originally Posted by Leisesturm
This question is technically a thread hijack but, as this thread is already chock full of attempted hijacks, what the hell. No, a 2x DT shifter usually won't move enough cable to shift a triple.
to continue the thread drift, I have a 2x Shimano 600 front downtube shifter on my cross bike, and it does pull enough cable to shift a triple. in fact I have it mounted into the original bar-end shifter mount, on the handlebar end, and I prefer it to the original shifter.
kaos joe is offline  
Old 04-15-21, 10:10 AM
  #18  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by veganbikes
It is hard to be a fraud when most of the rest of the peloton is also doing it. Yeah he was a jerk about it but I am going to give it to him, if everyone else is doping and he still "won" he had to have been better than everyone else even if they were all scumbag dopers. However I won't strong arm this thread into a different direction.
Please don't. Is best of the cheaters worth anything is really not a great debate.
livedarklions is offline  
Old 04-15-21, 10:12 AM
  #19  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by UCantTouchThis
Lance did that way back when, before you guys even had carbon bikes.


Who's that? He doesn't appear in any record books.
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 04-15-21, 10:31 AM
  #20  
79pmooney
Senior Member
 
79pmooney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,856

Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder

Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4763 Post(s)
Liked 3,879 Times in 2,521 Posts
Originally Posted by Leisesturm
Let me see if I have this right: buy both a set of DT shifters AND BE shifters, and use only the RH units of each type, so a LS BE mirror can be used? Is that not a bridge too far when the mirror can easily be mounted to a helmet?
Mirror choices are like chain lube choices. Don't go there.
79pmooney is offline  
Likes For 79pmooney:
Old 04-15-21, 10:50 AM
  #21  
HTupolev
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Seattle
Posts: 4,263
Mentioned: 42 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1974 Post(s)
Liked 1,298 Times in 630 Posts
Originally Posted by Leisesturm
I never said there were 'triple specific' front shifters. But a front shifter from the early 80's, before triples ever existed
Triples weren't invented in the 1980s, they've literally been around since the 19th century. Mass-production front derailleurs generally didn't have modern triple-specific cage shaping before the 1980s, but that's true of double front derailleurs as well: before then, people just used the same front shifters and derailleurs for 2x and 3x drivetrains, and it worked fine.
HTupolev is offline  
Old 04-15-21, 11:11 AM
  #22  
ClydeClydeson
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 1,606
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 581 Post(s)
Liked 921 Times in 518 Posts
Originally Posted by UCantTouchThis
Lance did that way back when, before you guys even had carbon bikes.

This picture smells like EPO and bananas.
ClydeClydeson is offline  
Likes For ClydeClydeson:
Old 04-15-21, 11:20 AM
  #23  
livedarklions
Tragically Ignorant
 
livedarklions's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613

Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM

Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8186 Post(s)
Liked 9,094 Times in 5,053 Posts
Originally Posted by SalsaShark
I do this exact thing on my 520. FD shifts on the downtube, RD shifts on the barend. Barend mirror on the left side. I love the setup, and the FD shifts like a dream on the downtube. Doesn't look odd at all....go for it!

I always love seeing setups I know I'd hate working for someone else, it's part of the charm of talking about bicycles.
livedarklions is offline  
Likes For livedarklions:
Old 04-15-21, 11:36 AM
  #24  
ClydeClydeson
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 1,606
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 581 Post(s)
Liked 921 Times in 518 Posts
Originally Posted by UCantTouchThis
And so does every other pic I've seen of any pro peloton I've seen on the net!
True enough.

The only way I would believe the peleton were clean is if the average speed of the Tour de France had suddenly dropped by 10 km/h after they booted Lance..
ClydeClydeson is offline  
Likes For ClydeClydeson:
Old 04-15-21, 05:44 PM
  #25  
ehartu
Newbie
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Leisesturm
Let me see if I have this right: buy both a set of DT shifters AND BE shifters, and use only the RH units of each type, so a LS BE mirror can be used? Is that not a bridge too far when the mirror can easily be mounted to a helmet?
I already have all these parts in my spare parts box, so I'm not really buying anything new.
ehartu is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.