They call it progress...

[Ti Designs]

I took out my retro bike the other day, it's a Peter Mooney built in the 80's with Nuovo Record stuff on it and Pave' tubulars. My position on the bike is still the same, so the differences I felt were 25 years of component advancements.

When Shimano came out with "new Dura-Ace" in '84 they claimed that more stopping power means you can run deeper into a corner, brake harder and faster and get out of the corner faster. I remember being at one of the Wheat Thins race series thinking that was such BS. OK, they were right, I'm not going to be switching back. Most things are like that on the bike. STI/Ergo - do you know of anyone who's gone back to down tube shifters? 1-1/8" forks with aheadsets - overkill? That's what I thought not too long ago, but stiffer, lighter and doesn't creak sounds like a good trade-off to me.

It seems over time there are lots of stabs at advancement, the good concepts live and get copied, the not so good die. There's a long list of ideas that people thought would be the next great thing. BioPace, Mectronic/Zap, Road GripShift, CycleBinding pedals... Time (no, not the company) has this way of sorting things out.

So now everything is going to 10-speed. Do I NEED 10-speed? I have a 12 tooth spacer holding the rest of my cassette on right now, why would I need an 11 to hold the 12 to hold the usable gears??? The chains keep getting thinner, they wear faster and they're more expensive. All this for a few cogs I don't want or need. I run a combination of Dura-Ace and Ultegra 9-speed right now, which I think works OK. I got more wear out of my 7-speed stuff, but the STI and working brakes make it all worth it. But I can't help but ask: What if they made a Dura-Ace 8-speed with the same technology and advancements that the 10-speed stuff now has. It would wear 50% longer, shift cleaner, run smoother, be lighter...

[dbrk]

I haven't given up on STI/Ergo but I've gone back to downtube shifters on two at least two bikes and won't be building anymore soon with brifters other than the 9spd ones I bought about a year ago that cost half as much as the current going price for 10. Shifting on the downtube is easy, fun, simple, works just as well as brifting as far as I can tell. Taking my hand off the bars to shift makes me a better, even safer cyclist. I have a couple frame projects in the shop now, none of which will get STI/Ergo. All of them will get friction rather than indexing downtube shifters. Why? Fun, works great, a fraction of the cost, sure to scare away anyone who even remotely thinks I am a "real cyclist."

Brakes are better now though there are many compelling reasons to disdain modern short reach brakes as far as tire clearances go. Why every road bike is not ordinarily spec'd with stnd reach (57mm) calipers and the short reachers are the exception rather than the rule is entirely beyond me. Fork clearances on carbon forks are a joke (and it's on us). I certainly agree that the new DA7800 brakes are really good but not appreciably better than the Ultegra-level-ish stnd reach (long reach) calipers--- Certainly not enough to make up the disadvantages of their tire clearance limitations.

Of course, I also went back to beautiful MKS and TA clips'n'straps pedals which were instrumental in healing some serious foot ailments.

dbrk

[cycleman_21]

8 speed, more durability, easier adjustmements, less finicky, less wheel dish, probably cheaper, sounds good to me. NEVER GONNA HAPPEN!!!, make way, here comes 12 speed. :confused:

RON C

[dirtdigger88]

do you know of anyone who's gone back to down tube shifters? ...

I hear you- but I am one who IS going back to DT shifters- I wish I could say I HAVE gone back- but I am still waiting on a Kirk :cool:

Jason

[Tom]

I know a few people that never left DT shifters and can easily outride me. With seven in the back.

[L84dinr]

Wow a few similar thoughts as mine. I have my old steel frame which a buddy of mine built for me after my Eisentraut broke. Campy six speed, 126 spacing, with the old corncob freewheel, with 53/42 up front. Down tube Mavic Carbon shifters. (i have wondered if they are really carbon, shrug). I have always enjoyed this bike. I recently installed campy dual pivot brakes. I had modolo speedys' installed for it's entire life. After a couple of hundred miles of riding the Campys, I like the speedys better. But it is probably due to the brake pad material more than the calipers. Anyway, I have never rode anything but steel. After twenty+ years I started wanting to get a Carbon bike. After thinking a couple of weeks I decided Ti would be better suited for me.

ANyway I recently built up a used Basso Ti frame with 8 speeds and a 52/39 up front. I really like the 39 gear. Really helps the legs on some days. Anyway. I might ride forty miles and would rarely use more than three gears, regardless whether I ride the 6 or 8 speed. If I could get a 39 for my old 144bcd campy I would be even more happy with six speeds. Why ten anyway? Seems to me that there is probably a lot of overlap, No?

What is amazing is I haven't noticed a big difference between my "frame by freddie" steel bike; and my Ti Basso. Both are set up similar, 32 hole rims with campy hubs, clinchers. I end up riding the Ti more than the steel bike because I want to protect my Baby, lol ANyway thought I would chime in. I like the 8 speed. But kinda depressing knowing that parts are gonna get as hard/expensive to find for 8 speeds as for the old freewheel systems.

rtp

[Fixed]

It's all in the legs Bro before I got fixed I rode only geared bikes then some guy from up north showed up on a fixie and blew us all away that was 15 years ago but I never forgot what he said it's all in the legs Bro.Cheers

[The Spider]

not retro, but has anyone done a project bike and removed the front brifter and replaced it with brake lever and then installed DT shifter for front ala "mountain time trial" machines?

A mate was mentioning that when your Lance does it, the Shimano shifters aren't even the same shape...

[GoJavs]

Could have (maybe should have) but won't. I just finished building up my 1997 Bob Jackson Nervex Pro and went 8 spd DA in the back and Campy SR NOS dts in the front. Friction, baby, yeah! :banana:

Seriously, since I am not a racer I don't really see a need for STI/Ergo across the whole stable. When I'm feeling saucy I go out on the Campy 10-spd equipped Waterford. Otherwise, it's an RB-1 or 2 and trusty old 105 dt shifters. Technology is nice, but unnecessary for a lot of us.

[toaster]

My biggest complaint with current drivetrains is the wear on chains and cassettes. However, if these components were made with more material (or thicker) essentiallly going back to 9 or 8-speed I don't think we'd gain that much more service life out of them. It's the prices of replacing the parts!