The levers were everywhere when I got started, and my first Raleigh Record had them. I was told that they were neither fish nor fowl when it came to shifting performance. If you were a racer, you wanted down tube shifters becase the less complicated levers and shorter cables saved weight (probably a whole 50 grams!) and gave faster shifting. If you were a tourista, you wanted barcons for the added stability of both hands on the outside of the drops when you shift, the better to control your 75 lb touring rig on bumpy climbs. Being a slave to fashion, I instantly used nothing but down tube shifters. I'm just now trying to get used to barcons agains.
Tom Adams, in grey Kansas City
<classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2000 5:20 PM Subject: Re: {ClassicRend]Re: [Classicrendezvous] Atala and "Schwinn Approved" plus commercial
> There is also the issue that downtube shifters can be a long way down for
a
> really tall rider. My wife loves her stem shifters.
>
> Joe
>
> At 03:14 PM 11/30/00 -0500, stephen fredette wrote:
> >there does seem to be a certain
> >reflexive disdain for stem shifters
> >from people who went through the seventies.
> >it seems to be one of those shibboleths
> >that are the touchpoints of seperating
> >yourself out from the crowd of dilletantes,
> >such as knowing campagnolo, 531,
> >tubulars, etc.
> >however i've always considered this view
> >of stem shifters unfair. perhaps because
> >i came to biking later on, i never viewed them
> >with the perceived knowledge, around the old
> >bike shop mentality.
> >i still use them to this day, and i never
> >ride the bar tops. also i don't have to
> >change position to shift. there is a very
> >natural circular motion from the drops to the
> >shifter and back that is the essence of
> >conserved motion.
> >i've never come anywhere near hitting them
> >with my knees while out of the saddle,
> >and i'm unconvinced this is possible,
> >since i don't think they are spaced further apart
> >than downtube shifters.
> >as far as injury, it never occured to me.
> >i've been in several bad crashes, and my head
> >hands and bones were far more of a concern.
> >one thing i will say is that most stem shifters
> >are an aesthetic nightmare, but the chromed schwinn
> >set i find to be small masterpieces.
> >one last point, when i got my first bike
> >with downtube bosses this year, i was excited
> >about finally using downtube shifters.
> >unfortunately because of some perceptual problems
> >from a stroke i had a couple of years ago,
> >it became apparent that my left hand couldn't find
> >the shifter (once the hand is out of my sight,
> >it loses spacial orientation), so after a few months
> >i switched back to stem shifters.
> > Stephen Fredette
> > Hull, Massachusetts