Anyone know if I can get hold of Campag 9 speed downtube shifters? If not, could I bodge 8 speed to work?
Worth trawling the LFGSS and retro bike classifieds.
FWIW,
Couple of years back I purchased a winter hack with down-tube shifter convinced I wouldn't need anything 'fancy' for commuting etc. How wrong, I wondered how I ever survived negotiating obstacles such as the Meadow Head round-about, or Whittington Moor (AKA Exocet junction) round-about…or any other form of traffic management for that matter. After a few crappy changes 'on the fly' I chickened out and purchased a really old (yet kinda cool) pair of 7sp sti shifters - best thing I ever did….love riding it now….well turboing coz it’s cold outside now….and rainy.
Then again, I'm a wimp!
Good quality shimano shifters can be set to run friction shift. If you're really wanting to go old school why bother with indexing. It can only go wrong. Friction shifters can run anything!