William, You can find the Shimano bar-cons on Amazon for ~$60, so almost $35 if you compare to the RBW price, but RBW is not Amazon so what do you expect! And to be fair the dia-comp "version" of the sprint bar-cons are only a little bit more expensive the the best shimano bar con price. Given all that i would still support RBW and buy from them as a sort of indirect royalty for helping to keep these things around.
Now that aside, i personally would still buy them at the $35 difference, why? Well i owned the shimano ones and while they were fine in friction mode, and i did not keep them because i never intended to switch to friction (my bike at the time was 6 speeds and now my bike is 7 speed) and i like the friction action on the sprints. They also look nicer but that's an aesthetic thing to me. Also please keep in mind that this whole thing started over a small plastic washer. We're talking about bike parts here, and a mechanical one at that, things wear out when you use them, the question is whether you get useful life. I'm going on 10 years on my original sprints and no issues, maybe others only get 2-3 years but so what, fix it and move on, if you like the sprints they're worth the few minutes of aggravation to "fix" them. Functionally, yeah, you're right, no real difference between the two, they both shift fine. Maybe some of us are holding onto some sense of nostalgia, maybe it's just wanting to buy stuff that we think was the best from an era that's gone...Meh buy what you like and your budget allows, don't second guess too much if what you have works for you! On Mar 6, 5:39 pm, William <tapebu...@gmail.com> wrote: > I don't know where you get a $35 price difference. Maybe if you find > some used ones on ebay you can get Shimanos for under $60, but Riv > sells Silvers for $92 and Shimanos for $82 or $92 for 8 speed and 9 > speed respectively. I don't think anyone in their right mind would > ever claim that Shimano indexed barcon shifters don't work > fantastically when you have the right combination of derailer and > cassette to go with you shifters. If, like a lot of us, you don't > want to be tied to having to match your cassette and derailer to your > shifter, then you can go friction. It's a longstanding Rivendell > opinion that shifting a bicycle is incredibly simple. Index might be > even simpler, but the task was already ridiculously simple to start > with. Clip on ties are simpler to put on than neckties that you tie, > but I know how to tie a tie, so the benefit is negligible. Friction > shifting is incredibly easy, and index is even easier, but I know how > to shift in friction so the benefit is negligible. Silvers feel a LOT > better in friction mode, I think. Both are fantastic. In my garage > at the moment there are 3 bikes with Shimano bar ends, and 3 with > Silvers (or Suntour Sprints). They all shift great. If Shimanos > really are $35 cheaper to you, and if you like them, then I'd stock > up, because indicators tell us they will not be around for long. > > On Mar 6, 1:09 pm, Mike S <mikeshalj...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > > I have Shimano Ultegra bar end shifters on a bike of mine, and in my > > opinion they work splendidly. I've never had any mechanical problem > > with them in two years, they're made in Japan (I think) and I don't > > know of any plasticy vulnerabilities. They are also $35 cheaper than > > the Silvers, so I'm wondering why/if people think the Silvers are far > > superior? > > > I was going to get the SIlvers when I was setting this bike up, but > > the price tag was a bit hefty compared to the Shimanos. ANybody got an > > argument as to why Silvers are worth it? > > > On Mar 6, 2:05 pm, charlie <charles_v...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > > Its okay Grant.......I'd say most of us are sensible enough to realize > > > the insignificance and accept the commonly available substitute born > > > of Yankee ingenuity. > > > > On Mar 6, 10:30 am, grant <grant...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > Nobody should be horrified, shocked, or even disappointed that we > > > > "spec'd a part with fragile plastic." There's more to it than that. > > > > We don't get lab results or long-term test results for every part on > > > > every component we use. There's a certain amount of faith involved, or > > > > else you can't move. In this case, the same sources were used for the > > > > Silver washers as were used for the SunTour Sprint washers, and I've > > > > had them last 5 years. "Failure" means they crack or a chunk falls > > > > out, but they are failsafe----meaning safe when they've failed. We > > > > don't use plastic forks (except for eating with sometimes), but a > > > > plastic washer now and then....it's not horrid. > > > > Two years ago we offered a 3-piece metal and plastic mix of washers > > > > you could get at a hardware store. We provided them free for the > > > > asking. Beyond that, we told the maker Hey Please Do Better, and > > > > before we OK'd the "improved" part, we hung it and an old one out in > > > > the sun, zip-tied to a bike rack where it could get sunbaked badly. > > > > Then we tried to mash both. The old cracked, the new didn't, and those > > > > are the ones we got now. > > > > > Grant "this is as defensive as I get, and sorry 'bout it" Petersen > > > > > On Mar 5, 2:23 pm, Justin August <justinaug...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > Took out the Bleriot with Hetres for a spin and while hanging out > > > > > reading a book it fell over and now one of my compression washers is > > > > > cracked. Annoying, can't believe Riv specced a part with fragile > > > > > plastic, etc…. > > > > > > My question: Do I wait for VO to get more in stock or can I use > > > > > something else? Can I use a leather washer instead of a compression > > > > > washer? > > > > > > Or am I boned? > > > > > > Pics of the Bleriot: (ignore my front derailler cable > > > > > fray)http://www.flickr.com/photos/justinaugust/5500751630/in/set-721576245... -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
