upgrade to index question

"Rob" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:vT6Gc.26963$WB5.17625@pd7tw2no:

Quoted message said:

I have an old bike that is friction... a friend of mine
gave me some what he says are index shifters. He also says
that if I put them on my bike..I would then have index
shifting... I pretty sure there is more to it than
that...would I not need a newer de-railer and maybe
another type of chain ? by the way it is a old Cannonade
road bike.

Depends on what derailleurs you have now, but you may need a
new derailleur and cassette.

Rob said:

I have an old bike that is friction... a friend of mine
gave me some what he says are index shifters. He also says
that if I put them on my bike..I would then have index
shifting... I pretty sure there is more to it than
that...would I not need a newer de-railer and maybe
another type of chain ? by the way it is a old Cannonade
road bike.

Thanks again

Rob

You may or may not already have the requisite gear: -Index-
compatible freewheel/cassette with the same number of
sprockets as your levers have detents. -some suitable chain
that fits those sprockets and isn't badly worn. -a rear
changer that's modern enough to be index-compatible and not
too worn out -If your buddy gave you "STi" shifters you
will probably need an index-compatible front changer as
well. If the set you received is Ergo, BarCon, downtube or
GripShift, the front shifter is quite forgiving of pretty
much all changers.
--
Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1
April, 1971

"Rob" wrote ...

Quoted message said:

I have an old bike that is friction... a friend of mine
gave me some what

he

Quoted message said:

says are index shifters. He also says that if I put them
on my bike..I

would

Quoted message said:

then have index shifting... I pretty sure there is more to
it than that...would I not need a newer de-railer and
maybe another type of chain

?

Quoted message said:

by the way it is a old Cannonade road bike.

Thanks again

Rob

You're quite right, there usually is more to it than that.
How many cogs/chain rings is your friend's set of index
shifters designed to handle? 7, 8, 9 or 10 in back? 2 or 3
in front? How many cogs / chain rings does your old bike
have? 5, 6, 7 or 8 in back? 2 or 3 in front? What make are
your friend's index shifters? What make are the derailleurs
on your Cannondale?

Newer derailleurs (after about 1988) are indeed shaped
differently than older ones (you don't say how old your
Cannondale is), just as you surmised.

The combined index shifters/brake levers on modern road
bikes are nice for road racers, but otherwise index shifting
is just not that big a deal, IMHO.

If you're happy with your Cannondale, keep riding it, and
keep it in good repair as long as you can. If you really
feel the need for index shifting, buy a new bike. HTH,
--
mark

"Rob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<vT6Gc.26963$WB5.17625@pd7tw2no>...

Quoted message said:

I have an old bike that is friction... a friend of mine
gave me some what he says are index shifters. He also says
that if I put them on my bike..I would then have index
shifting... I pretty sure there is more to it than
that...would I not need a newer de-railer and maybe
another type of chain ? by the way it is a old Cannonade
road bike.

Thanks again

Rob

There is more to it.

The indexing built into the shifters must match the
cable pull required to move the derailleur across one
sprocket worth.

The amount of cable pull required varies with derailleur
manufacturer, it also varies with sprocket spacing (see
sheldonbrown.comgloss sp ss.htmlOpen ↗).

As a general guide, if your indexed shifters match your rear
sprockets in make and number of gears then you are in
business. If not, then it probably won't work, or at least,
not properly.

(There are exceptions to this rash generalisation, e.g.
shimano 8s cassette has the same sprocket spacing as 7, so 8
speed shifters will work with 7s cassette, Campagnolo 10s
can be made to work with Shimano 9s derailleur and sprockets
- see hubbub.comergoleverswshim9.htmOpen ↗).

Sheldon Brown has a compatibility chart for Shimano at
sheldonbrown.comdura ace.htmlOpen ↗

If your friction shifting works then why change it? I know
people brought up with indexed shifting recoil in horror at
friction shifters, but if (as I presume) you have already
learned use friction shifters competently then there isn't a
lot to gain from changing unless you are racing.

Andrew Webster

Rob said:

I have an old bike that is friction... a friend of mine
gave me some what he says are index shifters. He also says
that if I put them on my bike..I would then have index
shifting... I pretty sure there is more to it than
that...would I not need a newer de-railer and maybe
another type of chain ? by the way it is a old Cannonade
road bike.

Thanks again

Rob

I'm assuming your Cannondale has a 6 speed freewheel. If the
shifter is also 6 speed, I'd go ahead and try it. 6 speed is
pretty forgiving. If you can't make it index, you can switch
the shifter to friction mode and it will work just like the
old shifter. Best bet is if everything is the same brand,
but I've made odd mismatches work in 5 and 6 speed bikes.

Some of Shimano's parts from before index work with index
shifting. I've used many Uniglide freewheels in cheap
index conversions, and I can't see the difference between
them and the index-specific ones. Light action derailleurs
are another part that was common on both friction and
index bikes.