So, for some strange touring-related reason, I fancy buying an old steel frame with down tube shifters and then swapping my SRAM Rival drivetrain over to it. Aside from the general idiocy of this, will my lovely SRAM gearing even work with ye olde down tube shifters?

Not sure about SRAM but you can (or could until recently) get Dura Ace 10sp downtube shifters that would work with DA/Ultegra/105.

Andy

Thanks Andy – will investigate…

Or run with friction-only both sides and be real retro.

PaulD

Yes it will. Go for later friction shifters. Not 100% sure if later Shimano ones had a friction option.
What makes you fancy these?
I have them on a full winter training bike. Absolute trouble free shifting and infinite trim. I also don’t make many or need speedy shifting, plus I’m not wearing out £400 worth of STIs.
Scouring the ads for some of these Mavic/Simplex levers. I used them in the eighties they were luverly

Cheers all

oldgit – I want something cheap, easy to repair and not very nick-able for a touring build. Currently my cx doubles as tourer and I’m nervous parking it anywhere as it looks a bit too bling, so I fancy an old steel frame.

I have some old 80s Suntour shifters that should work a treat. Just need to find a nice old frame from ebay…

I got my frame from Ebay, but I missed loads or rather wouldn’t bid high enough, very silly prices for old junk there.
Retrobike is far more sensible.

Yep, seen a few go for silly money on Ebay, so will wait for a bargain. Cheers for the retrobike tip though.

I’ve got an old Condor frame that’s a bit of a conundrum. Not sure of it’s age, it has 127mm spacing so it takes either 120/127/130mm hubs. It also has canti bosses and no one knows if it was built for 700c or 27×11/4 wheels. The ends are long plain Simplex ones, so again it can be run as a singlespeed. The other odd thing is that it was built with fancy Nervex Professional lugs, only tasty builders used those and Mercian was one of the last. It has a mech hanger, down tube lever bosses, one bottle cage boss set, mud guard eyes, over bottom bracket guides but three top tube cable guides. My guess is early eighties. It has a matching four digit frame/fork number that the MD of Condor said ‘could be their’s’ and sent me decals for it’s recent respray.
I was selling it later as a singlespeed so I could get rid of all my bits. About a 54/55 if you fancy a look.

Not 100% sure if later Shimano ones had a friction option.

Every SIS downtube shifter that I’ve used has been purely friction on the LH shifter, and switchable friction/SIS on the RH shifter.
Although I will admit that they did keep making them well after my last one (very possibly even 10-11sp versions too?)

Still got my ye olde worlde 531c ridgeback roadbike, but these days it’s just something that uses up storeroom space. Considered many times to “upgrade” to STI levers etc. but it’s just far too uneconomical. Splaying 126mm out to 130mm for the hub might be interesting too.

Thanks oldgit, but I’m a 56/57. Sounds like a nice frame though!

Anyone know if an old 7 speed shimano down tube shifter in friction mode (i.e. not indexed) would work if used with a 9 speed mech and cassette?

Anyone know if an old 7 speed shimano down tube shifter in friction mode (i.e. not indexed) would work if used with a 9 speed mech and cassette?

Should do, worst that might happen is it won’t reach the last gear but mine have always had masses of slack at the end of the range.

Do can SRAM doubletap TT shifter be DT mounted for extra bling/pointlessness?

Well that’s my thinking too. I’ll give it a go tonight and see if I can get it to work. I did look at new downtube shifters and bar end shifters but at dura ace prices it’s really not worth it for what will mostly be a turbo bike.

Do can SRAM doubletap TT shifter be DT mounted for extra bling/pointlessness?

You mean R2C? Can’t find a definitive answer, be very cool though. If defeat the purpose of the exercise!

Not quite what you’ve got in mind probably…. 🙂

I came up with that when I searched! What was more epic was the dropper post levers used as brake levers on the Trek Madone commuter!

There must be some fashionista at the hand made bike shows doing it though, surely? Or even more pointless, Di2? Would require some sort of brain to convert a potentiometer output to an up/down signal, or even better figure out a way to make the mech analogue, friction shifted DI2!

In a JFK style………

“We do these things, not becasue they are easy, but becasue they are utterly, utterly pointless!”