My inclination fron your parts options is to try the 3x RapidFire on the front (it may work with that derailer) and buy an 8-speed RapidFire for your Altus rear derailer and an 8-speed cassette. But it would help a lot to know what system she's used to.
On Saturday, November 26, 2022 at 3:03:26 PM UTC-8 Paul Clifton wrote: > What do y'all think about putting friction bar end shifters on Albatross > bars for a new rider? > > I'm just looking for opinions since I'm stumped on this build. > > My options are more-or-less indexed or friction 9 speed Microshift > thumbies, friction bar ends, or buy some rapid fire shifters. > > I (selfishly) want to keep the thumbies for a different build for myself. > And I'd have to buy a set of rapid fire shifters - which has its own > problems (derrailer/cassette mismatching ...). > > So I want to know - Do you think a new rider would be irritated by > friction bar ends? > > Here's the long story: > > I have a very short friend (4'11" - PBH is 72). If money and availability > were no object, I'd buy her a 45cm Clem and be done with it, but I can't do > that myself, and she'd never spend that kind of money on a bike (at least > not until she catches the biking bug from this bike I'm building her since > it'll be the first bike that's ever fit her). > > So my goal is to build a bike that fits her and is so fun to ride that > she'll want to ride bikes all the time and eventually just buy a Clem. > > I finally found a frame that will fit her. It's a tiny (41 cm) 90s > Hardrock step through with 26" wheels and Shimano 200ES drive train, which > is low end 90s 7-speed stuff. It has a triple crank that I will leave in > place (buttery smooth even after 30 years). Both derailers are in good > shape, but they're low end 90s stuff, so I doubt they feel great, but I bet > they'd work with friction just fine. It came with junky old rapid fire > shifters, so those are definitely getting replaced. > > I'm planning to put Albatross bars on this bike, so my quandary is about > the drivetrain. I'd like to use as many parts from my bin as possible, but > I can't decide which combo is gonna work best and be the most fun for a > timid rider. Buying new parts is no big deal, but I don't see the point in > spending a bunch of money in the event she doesn't ride it much, so here > are the relevant parts from my bin: > > - Rear wheel options - 7 speed cassette wheel with good cassette. > 8/9/10 speed wheel with no cassette. > - Shifters -Microshift 9 speed thumbies (I kinda want to keep these > for another build). Shimano bar ends that no longer index. > - Derailers - New Altus 8 speed RD. Old Sora 9 speed RD. Shimano 600ES > 7 speed RD. > > So here are my options: > > > 1. Keep the old 7 speed stuff. Friction bar ends or friction thumbies. > 2. Buy a new 8 speed cassette. Use the Altus RD from my box. Friction > thumbies or bar ends. > 3. Buy a 9 speed cassette and a 9 speed derailer. Indexed Microshift > thumbies. > 4. Buy a 9 speed cassette, derailer, and rapid fire shifter. The > Sunrace 9 speed stuff comes out to about $60 for the whole set up. > > I have a new 3x rapid fire shifter for the front, but I hate how those > shift, and I don't think I have a matching derailer - I can test the 200GS > FD that is on there, but I personally think friction front is the way to > go, and I definitely prefer a bar end for that over a thumbie, because the > leverage feels better to me. > > Since bar ends are just such a joy to use and have so much leverage, I > suspect the Altus derailer and a 8 or 9 speed cassette with a friction bar > end will be fantastic for her, but I'd love some second opinions, and since > it's winter, I'm sure there are plenty out there, so feel free to make blue > sky suggestions :) > > Here's the bike before I tore it down to grease everything[image: > signal-2022-09-20-09-24-24-645.jpg] > > Thanks, > Paul in AR > -- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/e61a7644-5a65-4db1-a8b2-cc07e63a243en%40googlegroups.com.
