Bar end shifters

[JohnS]

Can someone explain their purpose? For the life of me, I can't figure them out. I can understand DT shifters for old times sake, but brifters do everything better and yet I see lots of new bikes, usually tandems or tourers, with bar end shifters. Seeing as you spend so little time in the drops, they seem really inconvenient. Am I missing something here? :confused:

[Fat Robert]

perhaps they simply like them

fat robert used them on a cross bike, pre-sti

they look cool

[Fixed]

bro in the old days crit riders used them.. in the old days we learned to stay in the drops try it. i think bikes ride better with the body lowwer and more weight up front . but I don't know much i ride a lot though .

[Smiley]

Well glad you asked , as a Captain on a tandem ( a sailing vessel as well but thats another subject ) the bar end shifters I use are a great indicator as to what gear I am in and I never have to call out and ask my stoker. Also with Bar ends you can drop or gain many gears in one motion and I feel the shifts are more positive.

[fiamme red]

Less complexity than STI/Ergo, therefore easier to repair on the road. Tourists should have the ability to repair anything on their bike even when the closest shop is hundreds of miles away.

And they're less likely to get damaged in a crash.

[goonster]

Seeing as you spend so little time in the drops,

That's part of the problem right there. I spend plenty of time in my drops.

Here are some of the Pros:

- cheaper
- simpler
- more reliable*
- can tell what gear you're in by feel
- friction option
- easier to service in a cold, wet, dark ditch
- usable on bars other than standard drops (e.g. moustache, albatross, aero etc.)
- closer than downtube shifters

(* I really like barcons, but it's not necessarily because brifteurs are unreliable, because they're not. Barcons are probably more reliable under adverse conditions, such as extended touring or cyclocross.)

[Johny]

http://www.cycle-smart.com/Articles/find.php?search=33

"There're no two ways about it; integrated brake/shift levers like STI and Ergopower are by far the fastest, easiest way to shift your 'cross bike. You don't have to take your hands off the hoods, they shift with a small, precise movement, and the levers themselves are big and comfortable. But they have their drawbacks. For starters, they are expensive. 'Cross is hard on your equipment, which is a concern if you're paying for it. Since most of us are, it's a drag to have an STI lever fill up with mud and never work right again, or have a cable freeze, pop out of the STI slot inside the lever, and jam permanently when the derailler does finally drop (both of which have happened to me). They are also considerably heavier than standard brake levers and bar-end shifters.

Like all equipment considerations, this one is also a matter of personal preference. I've used both STI and standard brake levers and bar-end shifters. If you are paying for you parts, I prefer the light weight, simplicity, and reliability of bar-ends over integrated shifters. Bar-ends last forever, and if you're buying your equipment, that's important. If you race in conditions that aren't going to be hard on your equipment, or money is less of an issue, integrated shifter are the way to go."

[fiamme red]

That's part of the problem right there. I spend plenty of time in my drops.I once heard a Serotta-certified fitter say that recreational riders spend about 5% of their riding time in the drops, which surprised me, since I'm in the drops a lot more. (But looking around on club rides, I saw that he was probably correct.) He didn't seems to think anything was wrong with this, and actually set people up so that their hands would rest on the brifter hoods almost all the time.

[Marcusaurelius]

Can someone explain their purpose? For the life of me, I can't figure them out. I can understand DT shifters for old times sake, but brifters do everything better and yet I see lots of new bikes, usually tandems or tourers, with bar end shifters. Seeing as you spend so little time in the drops, they seem really inconvenient. Am I missing something here? :confused:

Trying to shift STI levers with thick winter gloves was not a pleasant experience. Bar end shifters are easy to shift no matter what I have on my hands. Bar end shifters offer simplicty, fiction option and are inexpensive. Also if you have a touring bike you probably want a mountain rear derailleur and shimano isn't make many 9 speed 105 or ultegra sti shifters anymore.

[Johny]

Hey there is only one (cheap) way to find out: http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=17452 . Thanks for reading. :)

[Serotta_Andrew]

Can someone explain their purpose? For the life of me, I can't figure them out. I can understand DT shifters for old times sake, but brifters do everything better and yet I see lots of new bikes, usually tandems or tourers, with bar end shifters. Seeing as you spend so little time in the drops, they seem really inconvenient. Am I missing something here? :confused:

All of my touring bikes have barcon shifters. It is a guaranty that a full loaded touring bike will fall over and it is extremely difficult to fix a brifter out on the road. I had a bar shifter break off and was able to replace it with a wine cork that I threaded the cable throuugh and turned the shifting into a friction shifter till we made it to a country where spare parts were available.

[obtuse]

johns-

a couple of things:

on a touring bike they give you a friction option so you can put whatever wheel in the bike you would like; when you can't find a nine speed cassette wheel in deepest darkest africa; or when things go out of adjustment you can keep rolling.

bar-end shifters were preferable to dt shifters for cross bikes; when sti came out some people still insisted on using bar end shifters because the early brifters were expensive and delicate and cross bikes do crash sometimes and you usually don't want to spend a ton of money on'em

bar-end shifter let you shift with your knees which is an obtuse trick for any huritng crit rider.

obtuse

you up for the provo grouse hunt?

[Serotta_Andrew]

bar-end shifter let you shift with your knees which is an obtuse trick for any huritng crit rider.

obtuse

this also let the others riders shift for you and drop the gearing during a race!!

[Smiley]

Serotta Andrew = Magiver without the swiss army knife , Cork bottle plug , nice one :)

[scrooge]

Well glad you asked , as a Captain on a tandem ( a sailing vessel as well but thats another subject ) the bar end shifters I use are a great indicator as to what gear I am in and I never have to call out and ask my stoker. Also with Bar ends you can drop or gain many gears in one motion and I feel the shifts are more positive.

So, should I switch from the stock STI on the new Co-Mo to bar ends?

[JohnS]

Serotta Andrew = Magiver without the swiss army knife , Cork bottle plug , nice one :)
The Leatherman tool is the new Swiss Army knife.

[Bill Bove]

Barcons were originally better for touring bikes because with all the weight on the front of the bike, lowriders and a bar bag you didn't want to take your hands off the bars to shift, they stay popular on touring bikes in the day of STI because you can't run a bar bag with STI cables getting in the way. Bar bags are great places to carry things you may need in a hurry like a map or a revolver.

[Jeremy]

In addition to all of the listed reasons why bar end shifters remain viable, gearing options must be added. Tandem riders and tourists often require gearing that is substantially out of the norm. While it is possible to set up non-standard gearing with STI, it is not always easy. I have seen a tandem with a 28/42/56 up front and an 11-34 on the back. This works fine w/ bar end shifters. The front friction shifter also gives the rider complete trim control, unlike STI.

Bar end shifters can also be converted into thumb shifters for your MTB, a must have for the true retro-geek.

Jeremy

[Ray]

...but brifters do everything better ...
I think brifters do exactly ONE thing better. They're easier to shift when you're out of the saddle. That's a nice thing to be able to do on a race bike or even a pseudo race bike. But on a touring bike, rando bike, or various others, it's not great shakes. I actually prefer barcons on any bike that's not meant for faster rides. For all day bikes where I should be spending less time out of the saddle anyway, barcons are better. They have a friction option for rear shifting, which is rarely useful but occasionally critical, and they're all friction all the time for front shifting, which I find invaluable with the goofy triple setups I ride on all but one or two bikes. They're every bit as easy to shift while seated (once you get used to not trying to shove your brake lever to the side) and they pretty near never die (although I have seen the indexing function blow up on one of them after many years of use). They handle dirt, crud, grime, and crashes better. And they're dirt cheap relative to brifters. Lighter too, for the weight weenies.

Funny, I answer this question from the other side all the time on the IBOB list. They can't understand why anyone would use brifters when barcons do everything so well. I think shifting while standing is a real benefit on some bikes and so I'll always have one or two bikes set up with brifters. But for anything else, barcons pretty much rule.

-Ray

[Fat Robert]

sti/ergo have two advantages over dt shifters or bar ends:

* shifting during a sprint

* shifting while out of the saddle on a climb to attack

these are racing applications. if you're riding recreationally and need to shift out of the saddle on a climb, you were in too big a gear to start with. if you feel you must have your hands on the brake levers at all time, or you are afraid to reach down for fear of falling off, you don't need to be riding a bike.

bar ends are better for touring bikes and tandems. sti/ergo is a racing tool.

[JohnS]

if you're riding recreationally and need to shift out of the saddle on a climb, you were in too big a gear to start with Or the gradient changed or the climb was long and you tired. By the way, where is Climb?

[Bradford]

Previous replies nailed why I have them on my touring bike. If you ride a fully loaded bike, something will break or come out of adjustment on every ride, usually far away from a bike shop. I prefer STI on the tandem, but wouldn't even consider them on the touring bike.

I have a 26-40-51 on the touring bike. Try to make that work with STI. Works like a dream with bar end shifters.

I did a week long tour with a friend a few years ago. He had a new Cannondale with STI, I had the IF with Bar ends. He tried to adjust the STI everyday and could not get it to shift correctly the entire ride. Mine was perfect. And this guy is a fantastic wrench.

Things are just different on loaded touring bike; there is no rational reason at all to have STI on one.

By the way, the bar end shifter on my Tandem is not connected to the gears, it operates the drum brake. With a bar end, you can set the brake as a drag and leave it be while your hands are on the bars.

[Grant McLean]

Can someone explain their purpose? For the life of me, I can't figure them out. I can understand DT shifters for old times sake, but brifters do everything better and yet I see lots of new bikes, usually tandems or tourers, with bar end shifters. Seeing as you spend so little time in the drops, they seem really inconvenient. Am I missing something here? :confused:


Also for time trial bars if you are going to spend most of the time in the
aero position. Depending on the course, brifters or bar ends could be
preferred.

g