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Anyone?
I would have thought bar end shifters were more pratical for sprinting and climbing in exchange for only a small weight penalty.
I'd guess that no one had invented an effective bar end shifter?
'Cos they weren't invented?
I am not sure you would have moved enough cable with bar end shifters in pre indexed system days.
I think I first used them in about 1967. Decent ones weren't around much before then and we would only use whatever Raymond Poulidor, Barry Hoban, Tommy Simpson, Jaques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx were using anyway.
They were all right, but as most people were on the hoods most of the time, it wasn't much of a benefit.
I am not sure you would have moved enough cable with bar end shifters in pre indexed system days.
Mine (Dura-Ace 9 speed) have a friction mode so I don't think it's that.
They were used as BigJohn points out, about right on the dates I guess.
MSP quite the opposite, you can shift handfuls and they had the cables taped up further than they do now.
They're still nice to use in friction actually and very easy to operate from the drops.
My customers receptionist is wondering what I'm doing as I'm doing the hand actions as I type into my phone.
small weight penalty.
For men who climbed an Alp in 42/18 nah!
They were common on cross bikes until relatively recently, but friction levers were just a lot easier to use when anchored to a solid down tube than on the bar ends. There was also more drag when running the cable through the extra foot or so of outer taped to the bars.
Downtube levers were right next to your hands the way we used to have our drops. 🙂