New way to shift?

[marinoni62]

So perusing the local classified, i came across an Eddy Merchx, looks pretty good, C-Record cranks and rear derailleur, Chorus monoplanar brakes....then the shifters..... looks like a new setup. Kind of made me think about the pull on those shifters, assuming the shifting remains smooth, does the left shifter connected to the rear derailleur make the shifting slower?

link to add: https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/nvn/bik/d/classic-eddy-merckx/6233164167.html

[oldpotatoe]

So perusing the local classified, i came across an Eddy Merchx, looks pretty good, C-Record cranks and rear derailleur, Chorus monoplanar brakes....then the shifters..... looks like a new setup. Kind of made me think about the pull on those shifters, assuming the shifting remains smooth, does the left shifter connected to the rear derailleur make the shifting slower?

link to add: https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/nvn/bik/d/classic-eddy-merckx/6233164167.html

Yee gads....

[johnniecakes]

Don't know how it shifts, but I do know how to fix it. :D

[donevwil]

Before his name was on frames Eddy Merckx was quite an accomplished professional racer and, rumor has it, used a shifting system very similar to this. The name escapes me however.

[Seott-e]

Looks like classic down tube shifters to me..What am I not seeing ? :help:

[jumphigher]

Looks like classic down tube shifters to me..What am I not seeing ? :help:

They're inside out. ;)

[eBAUMANN]

Looks like classic down tube shifters to me..What am I not seeing ? :help:

On backwards...

[donevwil]

On backwards...

Ugh, totally missed that.

[dustyrider]

I'd like to think they shift perfectly in their configuration because of some kind of logical reasoning, not just dumb luck. While the cynic in me figures this is just some yester-year version of the modern hipster's brand new upside-down king headset. :D

[Tickdoc]

Seems fine to me
http://www.recordholders.org/images/backwards-cycling1.jpg

[Seott-e]

On backwards...

Funny ! But the cables look right, from what you can see anyway.

I think I have a set of those, have to dig them out. :eek:

[bikinchris]

They're inside out. ;)

That's a good way to put it. The cable groves should be on the inside. So he has the left shifter on the right an vice versa.

[ultraman6970]

Can you put the hardware backwards??? I dont think so, one side is flat and the other side is not... wonder if the dude did that because had friction problems?

[Louis]

I think they're for this bike:

http://pop.h-cdn.co/assets/15/19/640x320/landscape-1431010130-dumb-bike.gif

[Fatty]

It look right to me, but then again I'm left handed.

[choke]

For those of you who aren't seeing it, look at the top of the shift levers. The angled end should be higher next to the downtube and lower on the outside, like these in the pic below (which aren't the exact same shifters but you get the idea).

http://hampco.ciocctoo.com/070416d.jpg

[oldpotatoe]

For those of you who aren't seeing it, look at the top of the shift levers. The angled end should be higher next to the downtube and lower on the outside, like these in the pic below (which aren't the exact same shifters but you get the idea).

http://hampco.ciocctoo.com/070416d.jpg

Oooo, big barrel Campag retrofriction shifters(mounted correctly)...NICE and very rare.

[marinoni62]

OK, i just found another one. (https://nanaimo.craigslist.ca/bik/d/cinelli-supercorsa/6735068462.html)

Both times on some really nice bikes. Maybe the same mechanic?

[pasadena]

Both times on some really nice bikes. Maybe the same mechanic?

I know him well.
Mr. Nophucs Togive

[Road Fan]

I'd expect them to shift well as long as the friction works with the washers stacked up, however they are stacked up.

[enr1co]

...and he/she likely has the left lever set up to brake the rear and right lever, front- what a wacko!:eek:;););) :D

[bobswire]

Aero!:banana:

[dddd]

There is a good functional and safety-related reason for mounting the levers "topside".
Many times I have had a gloved finger nearly get pulled under the fork crown while shifting, and on some bikes the proximity is simply dangerous.

I once witnessed a following rider crash, a crash for which no explanation could be found. But there was a clue, in that after the crash (on a perfectly flat and smooth portion of the bike trail), the rider's Colnago was found to have the front fork bent rearward to the point of the tire hitting the downtube. The rider remembered nothing and was hauled away by emergency responders (after appearing severely traumatized in the first minutes after the crash).

There simply was no other explanation for what happened, since the rider didn't touch my wheel, and because there was nothing on that broad portion of the paved trail for the rider to hit. A following group of riders who fortunately were some distance behind us said that they saw the rider suddenly go over the bars.

One particular bike that I sold (with a warning to the buyer) was a late-80's Specialized Allez, and on that bike I nearly got my finger pulled under the crown on about three of the six rides that I ever rode it. It hopefully got fitted with some other type of shifters!

Not something that you'd want to happen I can tell you!

[oldpotatoe]

Many times I have had a gloved finger nearly get pulled under the fork crown while shifting, and on some bikes the proximity is simply dangerous.


Really? been to a lot of rodeos and have been using downtube shifters, in all kinds of weather with all kinds of gloves and I've never had my hand/fingers come anywhere near the tire/fork crown...:eek:

[bikinchris]

OK, i just found another one. (https://nanaimo.craigslist.ca/bik/d/cinelli-supercorsa/6735068462.html)

Both times on some really nice bikes. Maybe the same mechanic?

If he can't mount the shifters correctly, there is NO hope he set up the delta brakes correctly. And that is why they have their reputation.

[oldpotatoe]

If he can't mount the shifters correctly, there is NO hope he set up the delta brakes correctly. And that is why they have their reputation.

I hear ya brother..if set up right, deltas work just fine.

[Mark McM]

Really? been to a lot of rodeos and have been using downtube shifters, in all kinds of weather with all kinds of gloves and I've never had my hand/fingers come anywhere near the tire/fork crown...:eek:

I've used, and ridden with riders who've used, downtube shifters for decades, and I also have never heard of this problem. And I don't see how mounting the shifters "inside out" does anything to move the hands/fingers further from the tire/fork crown.