Changing from road bike friction lever gears to brake lever

Feathered
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Changing from road bike friction lever gears to brake lever

Postby Feathered » Mon Oct 30, 2023 8:24 pm

Just wondering if possible, I have an 86 Tange Infinity frame road bike owned by me since new I've just put back on the road after being in storage for close to 15 years, group set is Shimano 600 arabesque both front and rear derailleurs obviously friction not indexed, Shimano 6 speed thread on cassette, Suntour Cyclone cranks, is it possible to run modern style gearing as on the brake levers being as mentioned a friction gear system, or do I have to basically just buy a whole new modern group set and rear wheel to make that change, frame is modern 700c. Would be nice to to keep the arabesque group but to have the safety of break mounted gearing as reaching down to change at decent speeds or hilly areas is a pain these days.
Thanks đź‘Ť

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elantra
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Re: Changing from road bike friction lever gears to brake lever

Postby elantra » Mon Oct 30, 2023 10:27 pm

Yes can be done without spending a ridiculous amount of money but does require a bit of planning.
You will need to purchase a second-hand 8 or 9-speed R-hand “brifter” which is the Shimano STI combined brake lever and rear derailleur shifter lever etc.
ideally you need to buy the L hand one as well if you want to run a front derailleur.

Such items can usually be found on Fbook (Retro Cycling Marketplace Australia)
Not sure how many dollars, depends on if it is one or both, and whether it is Dura-Ace or lower level.
You need to specify that it has to be in working order !
Theoretically you can purchase a pair of Shimano Sora 9-speed brifters new.
But as far as I know they are ridiculously expensive purchased new - something like $ 300.
You are better off getting it 2nd hand.
Although there is a lower level one that used to be called Claris, if you can find one new, might be cheaper.
Any of these will (likely) work with your old Shimano rear derailleur.
But you MIGHT have to get a new rear wheel with the modern cassette style hub.
AND the new rear wheel MIGHT require a little bit of modification to fit within your old steel frame.
And if you get a new rear wheel you will also need a cassette. The dollars are starting to add up.
The 8 speed cassettes are sometimes as cheap as 30 dollars new and are available at many bike shops.
But do not buy one with a a big cog like 32 teeth because your old rear derailleur may have difficulty coping with that. A cassette with cogs from 13 to 26 or 28 should work.
But and here is another but - you might have to discard the second smallest cog and use 7 of the 8 cogs because your old derailleur may not have the lateral range to to cover all 8 (or 9) cogs.

This is not anything to be concerned about, you just have to understand how to set it up with spacers to make it work.

Hope that helps, I think it is a rewarding project that will ultimately require a bit of time and trial and error. But it shouldn’t cost a ton of money

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P!N20
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Re: Changing from road bike friction lever gears to brake lever

Postby P!N20 » Mon Oct 30, 2023 10:32 pm

The main problem you’re going to face is any shifting brake lever will require a 130mm rear spacing, where your frame is most likely 126mm.

Cold setting a steel frame isn’t too difficult, but some don’t like it for various reasons. You can also usually squeeze a 130mm hub into a 126mm frame, but the risk is your rear wheel won’t be centred.

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Thoglette
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Re: Changing from road bike friction lever gears to brake lever

Postby Thoglette » Mon Oct 30, 2023 10:41 pm

P!N20 wrote: ↑
Mon Oct 30, 2023 10:32 pm
Cold setting a steel frame isn’t too difficult, but some don’t like it for various reasons. You can also usually squeeze a 130mm hub into a 126mm frame, but the risk is your rear wheel won’t be centred.
It's all (both) dead easy. See Sheldon's page on upgrading
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"People are worthy of respect, ideas are not." Peter Ellerton, UQ

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Duck!
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Re: Changing from road bike friction lever gears to brake lever

Postby Duck! » Mon Oct 30, 2023 11:07 pm

Swap the 6-sp. cluster for a 7-sp; 6-sp. has slightly wider sprocket spacing that will not match the indexing of any integrated levers, however 7 & 8-sp. spacing is identical. 7-sp should still fit within the confines of 126mm sprocket spacing, but 8-sp. won't. Shimano A070 Tourney 7-sp. brake/shifters will be your friend, but you can also use 2200/2300 (unnamed, but became....) 2400/R2000 Claris, or 3300 Sora 8-sp, and tune it to lock the extra shift point out; they'll work with the existing rear derailleur, which will have enough adjustment with its limits to work with the wider 7-sp. cluster You cannot use any 9+sp shifters, as the index points in the shift stroke are closer together and must be matched to the number of gears in the cluster/cassette. You will need a front derailleur to match your chosen shifter set, as the leverage of the friction 600 will not match the cable pull of the indexed shifter with its longer lever/shorter cable pull.
Last edited by Duck! on Mon Oct 30, 2023 11:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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elantra
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Re: Changing from road bike friction lever gears to brake lever

Postby elantra » Mon Oct 30, 2023 11:17 pm

As Duck says above, a 7-speed Shimano screw on freewheel will probably give you acceptable shifting with any 7 speed or 8 speed Shimano brifter

OR along the same lines as what Duck says, there is one more option for getting “Brifter” gearshift WITHOUT the expense (and hassles fitting the frame) of a new rear wheel.

If you find a CAMPAGNOLO 8-speed brifter set, these usually work well with Shimano 7- speed screw-on freewheels.
This way, again to reiterate what Duck says, you WILL need to replace your 6-speed freewheel with a 7-speed one but you WON’T need to change the wheel.

7-speed screw-on freewheels are still available new (I think) and also they can usually be found second-hand. But not much use buying a 2nd hand one if it is “worn out”

Campagnolo 8-speed brifters might not be that easy to find however. They were never as ubiquitous as the Shimano ones.
I have been running Campagnolo 8 speed brifter with a 7-speed Shimano screw-on freewheel, but in my case the rear derailleur is an old Campagnolo one. The shifting is excellent.
I think it would also work with a Shimano rear derailleur, and bear in mind that if necessary, old Campagnolo rear derailleurs would not be too hard to pick up 2nd hand

Feathered
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Re: Changing from road bike friction lever gears to brake lever

Postby Feathered » Tue Oct 31, 2023 7:29 pm

Thanks for the replys guys, I'll start looking into the 7 speed screw on direction etc, as sounds the best option, my rear spacing as mentioned is roughly 126mm. I did see some break levers for sale that had a friction lever built in on the front, possibly a Microshift arrangement, cost was not cheap and by checking my hand placement on the bars seemed a fair distance to be reaching possibly put your hand in an awkward twist while trying to ride.

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bychosis
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Re: Changing from road bike friction lever gears to brake lever

Postby bychosis » Tue Oct 31, 2023 8:02 pm

This sort of stuff is why I love this forum.
bychosis (bahy-koh-sis): A mental disorder of delusions indicating impaired contact with a reality of no bicycles.

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WyvernRH
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Re: Changing from road bike friction lever gears to brake lever

Postby WyvernRH » Wed Nov 01, 2023 8:37 am

Have you considered using bar end gear levers?

Image
Image

These generally can be switched to friction so you can keep your 6 speed block or you can go to 7 speed and use the indexing.
Not as user friendly as brifters maybe but easy to use once you have ridden with them a few times. My 'goto' touring bike still uses this sort of lever as I've seen no reason to move to brifters.

Richard

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