I started this thread and still don't believe that what you say is valid, Dave. I don't think they had anything at all to do with fashion. And they certainly have as much function as shocks, front and rear, on the vast majority of mountain bikes on the road (I say road because most of them, like SUV's, never make it offroad. And we're talking bikes that are way above $300 entry level.
I believe stem shifters and, what you call "suicide" brake levers, were developed for casual, upright riders who wanted the shifters handy, so they didn't have to move their hands too far from the handlebars, and the brake levers just as handy. They weren't racers, nor did they want to be.
As Jerry Moos alluded to, both of these approaches to shift levers and brake levers are commonly looked down upon as not for "serious" riders with a certain amount of snobbism. I believe it to be mostly an opinion born of image consciousness. I rode with both for years on my ubiquitous Schwinn Varsity and never had a single problem with injury or suicide. And they functioned exactly as they were meant to function.
Then I became a more "serious" rider and so shunned such "unsophisticated" equipment. Now that I'm a bit older, slower and, I hope, wiser, I keep thinking how nice and convenient it would be to have'em on my "run to the grocery store and post office" bike.
So, if you don't like them for yourself, try and accept the fact that, for certain applications, they work just fine. Just my two cents.
John Dunn in Napa Valley now donning Nomex suit
<moos@penn.com>; John <bikehunt@pacbell.net> Cc: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Friday, December 15, 2000 5:00 PM Subject: Re: {ClassicRend]RE: [Classicrendezvous] Atala and "Schwinn Approved"plus commerc ial
> Hear, Hear,
> I never had good thoughts about either stem shifters or suicide brake
> levers; they were fashion items of no function sort of like the front
shock
> forks on sub-$300 mountain bikes today. They were a cheap takeoff on
barcon
> shifters and randonneur brake levers which are both safe, functional
items.
> One relocation that always has looked and felt good to these eyes were the
> wingnut shaped Suntour
> shifter that mounted near the brake lever on drop bars.
> David Feldman
> ----------
> >From: "Stockwell, Brad" <BRAD.STOCKWELL@mpp.cpii.com>
> >To: "'Jerry Moos'" <moos@penn.com>, John <bikehunt@pacbell.net>
> >Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> >Subject: {ClassicRend]RE: [Classicrendezvous] Atala and "Schwinn
Approved"
> plus commerc ial
> >Date: Thu, Nov 30, 2000, 10:01 AM
> >
>
> >MY TWO CENTS ON STEM SHIFTERS:
> >
> > To me, the drag was that you almost have to sit up to shift.
> >
> > I don't know how many of you actually use your fingertips to shift
(OK,
> >maybe those with Simplex retrofriction levers can get away with that) but
I
> >generally shift my somewhat stiff Campy-style levers by grasping the
> >downtube-mounted lever from above -- sandwiching the lever between the
heal
> >of my thumb on the 'front' side and the remainder of my fingers on the
> >'back' side - so I'm sort of pushing the lever with my wrist/palm rather
> >than my relatively weaker fingertips. Is this verbiage making any sense?
> >
> > Well, so, if you're gonna shift the rear derailleur with stem
shifters
> >you've gotta sit up, put your left hand on the bar tops near the stem,
then
> >shift with the right hand, then resume your original position on the
hoods
> >or the drops or where ever.
> >
> > (True confessions: my first 10-speed was a Nishiki Olympic with
> >'champagne' paint, 'safety' levers, stem shifters, a plastic 'quilted
look'
> >saddle, and reflector-weighted-always-right-side-up pedals. This bike
was
> >stolen 2 months later, and replaced 8 months later by a used Zeus
> >Competition.)
> >
> > Now, with down-tube levers you can stay right where you are. You get
> >plenty of leverage fulcruming against the frame and there is no effect on
> >steering.
> >
> > I don't know, maybe it's just me. I also have issues with bar-ends.
> >
> > Brad "put 'em on the dog-gone downtube, thank you" Stockwell
> > Palo Alto
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Jerry Moos [mailto:moos@penn.com]
> > Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2000 5:34 AM
> > To: John
> > Cc: brian blum; jfbender@umich.edu;
> >classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> > Subject: Re: [Classicrendezvous] Atala and "Schwinn
> >Approved" plus commercial
> >
> > I think you have a point, John. There is a certain amount
> >of snobbery that
> > creaps into our thinking. These shifters do present an
> >injury hazard in a crash
> > - but the same could be said of those adjustable Cinelli
> >steel track stems or
> > pre-WWII Paramount stems. We probably think of stem
> >shifters as ridiculous
> > because they appeared on some pretty junky bikes. If Rene
> >Herse had used them
> > extensively, we'd probably be calling them "classic".
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Jerry Moos
> >
> > John wrote:
> >
> > > Just out of curiosity, what is it, exactly, that makes
> >stem mounted shifters
> > > "ridiculous"?? Stop guffawing, you veteran experts. I
> >really want to know.
> > >
> > > John Dunn in Napa Valley
> > >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: brian blum <brianblum@hotmail.com>
> > > To: <jfbender@umich.edu>
> > > Cc: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> > > Sent: Wednesday, November 29, 2000 5:10 PM
> > > Subject: Re: [Classicrendezvous] Atala and "Schwinn
> >Approved" plus
> > > commercial
> > >
> > > > I find it hard to imagine a Varsity as quality, though
> >it could be
> > > > consistant. I have a photo of an abandoned Schwinn
> >Sports Tourer that has
> > > > been lock in this rack for many years. It was there when
> >I started working
> > > > here 4 years ago. Grand Tourismo, TA cranks, brazed
> >Reynolds 531 and
> > > > rediculous stem mounted shifters just like a Varsity.
> > > >
> >http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=269411&a=10226754&p=34344260
> > > >
> > > > Brian
> > > >
> > > > ----Original Message Follows----
> > > > From: Joseph Bender-Zanoni <jfbender@umich.edu>
> > > > To: "brian blum" <brianblum@hotmail.com>
> > > > CC: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
> > > > Subject: Re: [Classicrendezvous] Atala and "Schwinn
> >Approved" plus
> > > > commercial
> > > > Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 19:24:22 -0800
> > > >
> > > > Ah but a Varsity is a wonderful thing in terms of
> >quality. Consistent,
> > > > reliable. It worked. See Sheldon's site about the
> >electroformed frame
> > > > process. The consistency of the Schwinn product and what
> >it stood for
> > > > across the line is remarkable.
> > > >
> > > > My point about the Chiorda is that you have the good one
> >and it is fine,
> > > > but the lesser bikes were painful and they hurt their
> >image.
> > > >
> > > > And now a special "Schwinn Approved" offering. Toe
> >straps. White. NOS
> > > (some
> > > > have a little rust on the buckles. Made in Italy.
> >Schwinn Sprint $2.
> > > > Schwinn Approved $4. Plus shipping ($1-$3.20). Delivery
> >may slide to
> > > > January.
> > > >
> > > > Joe
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
>
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