Downtube shifters are so much better than the original Campy shifters that were mounted on the seat stays. But even they were breakthroughs for the time--for the first time ever, a rider should shift remotely. We have a bike here with those "Cambio Corsa" shifters, and anybody who comes by can try it. It's a mindblowing.crackup.
But it WAS the first cable-actuated shifter, so you didn't have to get off the bike and change gears on a stopped bike with your fingers. Putting shifters on the downtube made shifting 10,000 percent easier, and if you think that's an exagerration, you just haven't shifted the Cambio Corsa. Shifters could have stopped at the downtube, but whether it's a good, excellent, or fantastic place to shift depends on how far away they are, the state of your lower back, and how smooth the terrain is. They're pretty good for low-bar road bikes, because you're already leaning, and reaching down there is actually relaxing. But whether you ride an upright or a drop bar, when the bars are higher the reach is longer and they're less convenient. So, as you do the things that generally increase comfort and get the bars higher, your hands get farther away from them, so it's less convenient. Since our bikes are skewed for comfort (at no expense anywhere else, of course I'd say...), it wouldn't make sense to invest in a "classically shaped" downtube shifter. We do have Silver-1's in...and Dia-Compe has the Campyish ENE downtuber, and Shimano still makes 'em--probably for triathletes--and those are all great shifters. So it just made sense for us to develop a shifter that works on the downtube while looking out of place with the classics; and works great as inboard or outboard thumbies, bar-ends, or the underestimated ultra-position on the sleeves of a drop bar. Anyway...they're not meant to be divisive. We sunk our loot and time into a shifter we're jazzed about, and it will do no harm and won't exactly duplicate what's already out there, which is also key..! On Wed, Oct 19, 2016 at 7:19 PM, Dave Johnston <jdi...@gmail.com> wrote: > For the downtube you could always get the ENE Ciclo Gran Compe Downtube > Shifters. I think they look cooler and they haven't been made for 17 yrs so > presumable the mold isn't near wearing out. > > http://store.somafab.com/enecidosh.html > > Hard to believe we have choices in new friction shifters. > > -Dave > > > > On Friday, October 14, 2016 at 2:08:31 PM UTC-4, Bill Lindsay wrote: >> >> The BLUG has a long write up and description of the Silver 2 shifters. >> One big take home is the Silver 1 shifter mold is shot, so those will be >> going away. So, if you love Silver shifters, stock up now. The Silver 2 >> looks like it'll be a way better thumb shifter, a somewhat better barcon >> shifter, and an amusingly ironic downtube shifter. Most importantly (to >> me), is that if you want to embolden Rivendell Bicycle Works to keep >> putting their money where their brains are, then reward them by buying a >> pair or two of Silver 2's and put them into your personal inventory. When >> the need arises, get them from your stock. If Riv gets a lot of early >> adopters buying them, then they'll have the confidence and the money to >> make the next part that you can't get anywhere else. Grant tells you on >> the BLUG how to get on an email list for updates on the Silver 2. >> >> Bill habitual-early-adopter Lindsay >> El Cerrito, CA >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit https://groups.google.com/d/ > topic/rbw-owners-bunch/vvqZUhQdaoM/unsubscribe. > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, 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. > -- 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.
