barend shifter conversion

joetronic said:

A recent thread has me thinking...

I currently have down tube shifters. I am thinking of going with bar ends. I have ridden downtube, bar end and STI, and so far bar end would be my choice, but have never installed them myself. I have a few questions.

1. has anyone tried these, and would they work with Sora down tube shifters
rivbike.com17068.htmlOpen ↗

2. How would I route the cables, the bar I'm using doesn't have internal cable routing holes at the top, and the grove ends at the break levers.

3. I'm kinda on a budget (under 50USD for this would be great,) but if number 1 is a bad choice, or even if you could suggest better, what suggestions should I try. Here are my drive-train specs at the moment:

FD: sora
RD: sora 8spd
Shifters: sora SL-R400 24spd downtube index R, friction F
Cassett:SRAM PG-850 - 12-25T - 8-spd
chain: Shimano/KMC HG-50 Narrow ‚ Dk Silver
crankset: TruVativ Touro Triple - 52/42/30T - Alloy Crank Arms

Thanks

1)Yes, the Rivendell Bar end shifter mounts will work with your Sora DT shift levers. You will also need a pair of these cable stops from Riv:

tinyurl.comc2dpyOpen ↗

2)I route my barend housing under the drops, secured by strapping tape, and bring them out just under and inside the brake levers. Then, I apply the bar tape. An alternative way is to leave them outside the bar tape completely and just route them to the cable stops. IIRC, this is what Shimano recommends for best shifting, but, IME, it makes little difference. It is easier, though, as you need not untape the bars.

Welcome to Bar End World! If I can help in any way, let me know, either here or via PM or email.

Ozark Bicycle said:

1)Yes, the Rivendell Bar end shifter mounts will work with your Sora DT shift levers. You will also need a pair of these cable stops from Riv:

tinyurl.comc2dpyOpen ↗

2)I route my barend housing under the drops, secured by strapping tape, and bring them out just under and inside the brake levers. Then, I apply the bar tape. An alternative way is to leave them outside the bar tape completely and just route them to the cable stops. IIRC, this is what Shimano recommends for best shifting, but, IME, it makes little difference. It is easier, though, as you need not untape the bars.

Welcome to Bar End World! If I can help in any way, let me know, either here or via PM or email.

Thanks for the help. I'm sure I'll be contacting you shortly.

joetronic said:

A recent thread has me thinking...

I currently have down tube shifters. I am thinking of going with bar ends. I have ridden downtube, bar end and STI, and so far bar end would be my choice, but have never installed them myself. I have a few questions.

1. has anyone tried these, and would they work with Sora down tube shifters
rivbike.com17068.htmlOpen ↗

2. How would I route the cables, the bar I'm using doesn't have internal cable routing holes at the top, and the grove ends at the break levers.

3. I'm kinda on a budget (under 50USD for this would be great,) but if number 1 is a bad choice, or even if you could suggest better, what suggestions should I try. Here are my drive-train specs at the moment:

FD: sora
RD: sora 8spd
Shifters: sora SL-R400 24spd downtube index R, friction F
Cassett:SRAM PG-850 - 12-25T - 8-spd
chain: Shimano/KMC HG-50 Narrow ‚ Dk Silver
crankset: TruVativ Touro Triple - 52/42/30T - Alloy Crank Arms

Thanks

can´t be that hard as I fitted canpag bar end shifters to my bike back in 1969 /70 , when I was 13 / 14 .

el Inglés said:

can´t be that hard as I fitted canpag bar end shifters to my bike back in 1969 /70 , when I was 13 / 14 .

The very first time I rode with bar ends was ~1975. The bike was a friend's Motobecane (the real Motobecane) Le Champion, which came with Campy Record deraillers. He had switched out the Campy DT shifters for Campy bar ends. The added friction of the additional cable and housing (with the cabling routed fully under the bars, a la modern Ergo) made the already murky Campy shifting absolutely awful. My much cheaper Moto Grand Touring with a Suntour VGT RD and DT shifters shifted much better.

I refused to go near bar ends again until 1991, when I rode a bike with Shimano indexed 7SP bar ends and an LX RD. Things had come a long way! The shifting was perfect and much more convenient than with DT shifters. Now, I'm a big fan.

Ozark Bicycle said:

The very first time I rode with bar ends was ~1975. The bike was a friend's Motobecane (the real Motobecane) Le Champion, which came with Campy Record deraillers. He had switched out the Campy DT shifters for Campy bar ends. The added friction of the additional cable and housing (with the cabling routed fully under the bars, a la modern Ergo) made the already murky Campy shifting absolutely awful. My much cheaper Moto Grand Touring with a Suntour VGT RD and DT shifters shifted much better.

I refused to go near bar ends again until 1991, when I rode a bike with Shimano indexed 7SP bar ends and an LX RD. Things had come a long way! The shifting was perfect and much more convenient than with DT shifters. Now, I'm a big fan.

this was campy levers with a 5 speed simplex system , double chain ring 14-24 , and I never had a problem in 3 + years .

el Inglés said:

this was campy levers with a 5 speed simplex system , double chain ring 14-24 , and I never had a problem in 3 + years .

Well, the Simplex RD was probably alot less vague shifting than the Campy Record (at least when relatively new).

Ozark Bicycle said:

Well, the Simplex RD was probably alot less vague shifting than the Campy Record (at least when relatively new).

good old days , everything was so much simpler then .