I prefer DT shifters, too, and agree with Andrew's 1-2-3 items along with other positive replies on the list. Like others have experienced, I grew up with DT's and just got used to them. Bar-con's were the next evolutionary step, but I never cared much for them for some of the reasons listed in this thread along with another reason that I don't think I've seen mentioned yet: you have to shift the front and rear by using two separate hands. Plus, if you're used to riding with hands on the brake lever hoods, as I assume most of us are, you still have to reach down to the end of the drops with one hand or the other. With the DT's only one hand is required to do all the shifting - and you only reach down once. My current road bike setup has an indexed DT on the right side and a friction DT on the left (since the front is only a double plateau).
I have had no experience with brifters, but it seems like the people I've ridden with who have them are always shifting back and forth all the time, which seems superfluous. As others have said, I more or less learned to stay in one or two gears, appropriate for the wind and terrain, and just stand up when starting from a stop or climbing. Now, I will say that when doing heavy duty off-road riding on a MTB it is nice to have shifters on the bar, but the one I own does not have bar-cons, but instead a pair of triggers mounted right next to the brake lever that you push to move the gear up or down. And those do work well. On Wednesday, December 17, 2014 4:32:28 AM UTC-6, Andrew Marchant-Shapiro wrote: > > Please allow me to dissent. I resisted DT shifters like the plague, but > three things brought me around to friction DT. You may or may not agree > with my rationale: > > 1. Simplicity. Other than having no shifters at all, DT friction is the > simplest approach. > 2. Relatedly, reliability in all respects. You go from a system with > moving cable housing to one in which the geometric relationship of the > shifters and the derailers is fixed, a function of the bike frame. > Consequently, there is no way in which movement of the handlebars can have > any effect on shifting, ever. > 3. Finally, aesthetics. For me, and perhaps only me, there is something > about DT shifters. I think it started with this photograph many years > ago: http://sheldonbrown.com/org//brown/pages/20browndampierreclose.htm. > It just seemed somehow *perfect*. > > I've used barcons, and just about everything else, but I like DT shifters. > So there. > > On Wednesday, December 17, 2014 5:10:16 AM UTC-5, ascpgh wrote: >> >> I'm with you Glen. When DT shifters were it, I was enjoying mountain >> biking and my shifters right there on the bar, by the brake levers. I have >> longer legs than my torso would dictate to production frame and my 60 cm >> road bike always had me feeling a little unsteady; those shifters were so >> far down there and the old school 42/52 rings with not much range of the >> five cogs didn't really reward those shifts either. Brifters drew me back >> and facilitated longer trips not limited by the mental fatigue, until >> things broke. That was more maddening than the wobbliness of reaching to >> what felt like my ankles to get another gear. >> >> Bar ends came to me via my Bridgestone RB-1 and an XO-2. That RB paved >> the way to my Rambouillet and its bar ends, switched into friction mode >> ever since. Aesthetes abhor the housing paths if a bar bag is intended. Me, >> I'll figure it out. I can't imagine greater happiness of the form and >> function. >> >> Andy Cheatham >> Pittsburgh >> >> On Wednesday, December 17, 2014 1:38:43 AM UTC-5, Glen wrote: >>> >>> As a tall guy I never liked shifters on the down tube, way too far to >>> reach. It took brifters to introduce me to bar ends, now i'm sold >>> >>> >>> On Tuesday, December 16, 2014 10:09:21 PM UTC-7, lungimsam wrote: >>>> >>>> If I love friction bar end shifting, will I find friction DT shifting >>>> just as easy and enjoyable? >>>> >>>> Never done it before, and seems like the reach may make it more >>>> difficult and looks like there's a big potential for knees banging into >>>> forearms while pedalling and reaching down to shift at same time. >>>> >>>> What's your experience been with DT shifting? >>> >>> -- 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 http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
