Hello all, I have a couple of older bikes with down-tube shifters. They work fairly well, although need a little love. One thing I'd like to do is put on new shifters that are attached to the break levers - I don't know what they are called. I know how to fix some bike stuff - I took a class - so I think I could do the work, but I'm just not sure if it is possible to do that. Can I just by pass the shifter on the tube and go right to the breaks?
Also, what about adding a third gear to the peddle cranks - there are 2 now. My wife needs a lower gear to make the bike from 12 to 18.
Hello all, I have a couple of older bikes with down-tube shifters. They work fairly well, although need a little love. One thing I'd like to do is put on new shifters that are attached to the break levers - I don't know what they are called. I know how to fix some bike stuff - I took a class - so I think I could do the work, but I'm just not sure if it is possible to do that. Can I just by pass the shifter on the tube and go right to the breaks?
Also, what about adding a third gear to the peddle cranks - there are 2 now. My wife needs a lower gear to make the bike from 12 to 18.
Thanks!
With not much effort, you can add lever mounted shifters to these bikes, triple cranks as well. Need to know a few things like the rear end spacing, 126mm or 130mm, but if older, 126mm spacing, that is NOT a show stopper. Probably only need the levers, cranks, BB, a couple of triple specific derailleurs, and it will work fine. A trip down to a bike shop that actually adds these things, with a decent mechanic, is probably called for. If all they do is spew, 'buy a new bike from us' type crappola, go elsewhere.
Hello all, I have a couple of older bikes with down-tube shifters. They work fairly well, although need a little love. One thing I'd like to do is put on new shifters that are attached to the break levers - I don't know what they are called. I know how to fix some bike stuff - I took a class - so I think I could do the work, but I'm just not sure if it is possible to do that. Can I just by pass the shifter on the tube and go right to the breaks?
As Peter (he who speaks Campagnolo) said, this is an easy conversion. The kits for the brake/shift levers (aka "brifters"😉 include a cable stop that bolts on in place of the existing shift lever. Here's a selection: http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/shifters.html#brifters (Sheldon's Harris Cyclery site is an excellent reference for all things bicycle.)
One thing you will have to consider: you implied that there are 6 cogs on the back wheel (12 to 18). Brake/shift levers are meant for a minimum of 7 cogs, and the easiest to find work with 8. You will need to change the freewheel/cassette at very least to make this happen.
Some old bikes are worth the effort, some are not. There's also many different options when it comes to changing the gearing and the shift levers- brifters have their advantages, but they have their detractors, too. A couple days looking through the archives might help you make the decision.
Hello all, I have a couple of older bikes with down-tube shifters. They work fairly well, although need a little love. One thing I'd like to do is put on new shifters that are attached to the break levers - I don't know what they are called. I know how to fix some bike stuff - I took a class - so I think I could do the work, but I'm just not sure if it is possible to do that. Can I just by pass the shifter on the tube and go right to the breaks?
Also, what about adding a third gear to the peddle cranks - there are 2 now. My wife needs a lower gear to make the bike from 12 to 18.
Thanks!
I have a 1987 Trek 560 that I converted from a 6 speed freewheel with downtube shifters to 7 speed freewheel with STI. It was pretty simple.
The 6 to 7 speed was just replacing the freewheel; for my bike it fit and no adjustment/spacers were needed.
The STI shifters (7 speed RSX from ebay) required replacing the downtube shifters with cable stops, redoing the brake and shifter cables, and handlebar tape. I had to use an alternate routing for the front derailleur as the front derailler. See http://tinyurl.com/ns4r7 if you want more details. I think 7 speed Sora are still available.
I have no info on the triple conversion. There is a megarange freewheel option if you just need a big gear once in a while (look at Sheldon's site) and you want to keep your double. It likely would require a new rear derailleur (long cage.) I made this conversion with on another bike (a 1980's Peugeaut). I don't particularly like it, though. It cost less than $50 total (freewheel and derailleur)
