Second time to try sending this, hope it works:
Suntours are the easiest to set up of just about all barcons and many think they're the best (not all of us). I cut about an inch off the bars, and a small pipe cutter does a really nice square job of it, then file the sharp edges down. Those bars are only good for bar ends after that so make sure that's what you want.
Stainless housing is like old Harley's oil systems, total loss. The next hot day, you're not going to have any grease in there to smooth things out and you want those things as slippery as possible because of the extra bends and length of housing. I use the Teflon lined housing and keep it as short as I can get, with the housing exiting just above the bottom of the bend so the cable housing matches the down tube's slope. It still gives a good grip on the drops, room for grabbing a fistfull of brake lever and also room for my old Solognia (sp?) handlebar bag. When you're cutting cable housing, make sure the length works with steering the bars to extreme, and keep the length just above minimal. I shake up the bottle and drip Triflow through the housing which I think has a higher concentration than the spray, before snaking the cable through. Extending the housing up to the stem is a personal choice and what I first did back in the sixties. I'm more of a minimalist now and keep the cables as efficient as I can get now.
Tighten the bar ends just a tad tighter than coming loose, and you'll get really sweet shifts. I keep 'em so loose that I may have to tighten them a tad when cold weather shrinks everything, and they start to shift on their own (just my thoughts).
Happy trails Matty,
Dan Artley in Parkton, Maryland USA
Archive-URL: http://search.bikelist.org/
Regarding the classic Suntour bar-end shifters with ratcheted retro-frictio= n: 1) Install: When installing these on drop bars, must one always trim the ba= r flats to avoid bumping one's knees? If so, what is the appropriate amoun= t to cut off? 1"? 1.5"? =
2) Cable Routing: I have seen two ways to route the cables with the above = (drop bar) set-up. One is to run a loop which pokes out through the bar ta= pe just beyond where the bar flats begins to curve into the hooks. The oth= er is to follow the bend of the bars all the way toward the stem and exit w= ith the cable very close to where the bar tape would end, next to the stem'= s bar clamp area. Is one of these functionally better than the other? Or = used for different applications (Cross vs. Touring vs. Crit racing, etc.)?
3) Cable Housing: Is it optimal to use the stainless steel (Campy style) d= erailleur cable housing? Or is there a better alternative? Will the moder= n (teflon-lined) stuff get the job done?
4) Do you happen to have a CLEAN pair of said barcons to sell me?
Matthew Bowne
Brooklyn, New York