El Sapo I have one Sun Race shifter here on my desk. I have them installed on two bikes and I have an extra pair from my parts box. Since I anticipated there might be some of the dissatisfied who would assert "these are not friction shifters", I decided to bring one to work with me.
In the thumb-push direction, the shifter pulls the cable. In that direction there are...count them....18 total clicks for the full range of travel. The full range of travel is less that 180 degrees. So I'll call it something like 8 degrees per click. Each 'click' pulls approximately 1.4mm of cable. When pulling cable you can either shift to the next click or don't shift to the next click. In that direction only, it is not a friction shifter, it is a ratcheting shifter. To the dissatisfied, the ratchet clicks are too large. A Silver shifter by comparison is identical, except the ratchet clicks are even smaller. In the pull-the-shifter-direction, the shifter releases cable. In that direction there are no clicks whatsoever. It is a perfectly smooth continuous friction shifter. So, when I pull the cable I do as many clicks it takes to make it shift, and if it overshifted some I trim it back. Many people like me grew up shifting bicycles back when every shift (every single shift) in the pull the cable direction required you to overshift and release. It's second nature. It's nice that I don't have to do it on every shift, but I know how to do it. The clicks NEVER prevent me from being able to put the derailleur exactly where it needs to be. My job is to put the derailleur exactly where it needs to be. The shifter's job is to not prevent me from doing my job. I use these shifters (including on hills) and I know how to use them and I like them. To you and to anyone that doesn't like their shifters, just switch them out. Just because I like the SunRace shifters does not mean you have to like them. Just because you don't like them, it doesn't mean I have to hate them, too. If you decide to spend $100 on Shimano 8-speed indexed barcons, I'm here to offset some of the cost for you. If Rivendell's choice in spec-ing the Clem is one you disagree with, fix it. It's a lovely bike and you deserve to like it. I think Riv is in love with these shifters because they do their job as shifters in that they do not prevent the user from putting the derailleur in the right spot, AND they are very flexible in terms of allowing you to modify the cable housing exit path relative to where you have decided to mount them. The base piece that stops the housing is itself positionable in several positions, so you can direct where the housing is going to go. This helps when setting up with a handlebar bag or front basket. They love the versatility. One universal shifter that works with 8sp or 9sp, and works with several mounting positions on several Rivendell handlebars. It's a good choice for them. The IRD power ratchet shifters have smaller clicks in the pull-the-cable direction, and might satisfy those who cannot be bothered to correct overshifts with a small pull. I use powerratchet shifters on several bikes. The IRDs are about $100. Plop some silvers on your SunRace bases and you'll have your own power ratchet thumbshifters. I'd still take your SunRace shifters off you, because they also make nice barcons. Indexed shifters are nice, too. Shimano 8-speed barcons are getting scarce, but you can still get them, also for about $100, and you can also mount them on your SunRace base. Ironically the only thing I've found that does NOT fit on the SunRace thumbie base is a SunRace downtube shifter. Haha! Most importantly, I think, is that if your mind is made up about disliking an aspect of your bike, then change your bike so you will like it better. Bill Lindsay El Cerrito, CA On Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 2:13:41 PM UTC-8, El Sapo wrote: > > Hey Bill, just for my own clarification, these Clem shifters have "click" > indexed stops. My understating of friction shifters is that they are > without the indexing click stops. > > So what happens is that the shifter wants to find the click, the index > point and rest there. But that's not the right place so you have to pass it > and come back or find a intermediate spot. You'll see soon enough what > we're talking about especially if you are riding hills. > > there are plain friction and 8 speed indexed shifters available. I can't > figure out why Riv went this way? Can you? > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
