Where can i mount my road bike shifters.?

Question

i recently bought a 20 year old road bike that has old school friction shifters mounted on the stem for the handlebars. are there any other places i can put my shifters that would be more convenient/better looking. any suggestions?

Answer 1

they used to put them on the downtube.  you can also get barends and brake/shift levers.  more than likely the ones on the stem wont mount anywhere because the clamp diameter is too small.  you would likely need new shifters to change locations.

Answer 2

Put them at the top of the downtube.

Answer 3

Barstem shifters... Wow!  That is real old school.  I think you are likely to have issues with cable routing and indexing.

As I recall, most cables for most stem shifters ran down the downtubes.  If this is the case for your bike, you ought to be able to use STI type brake/shifters, bar end shifters or even down tube shifters.  If you have to change cable routings, you'll need clamp on cable stops.  You may also have to replace your front derailleur.

You may or not be able to go with indexed shifters.  I think if you have a 5 or 6 speed hub, indexed shifters are out and you are going to have to go with friction shifters..  (I may be wrong about that, though.)   Otherwise, Shimano 8 speed shifter will work OK with a 7 speed shimano hub.  Other brands???

You may want to check out Harris Cyclery and Sheldon Brown articles to get a handle on what you need.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/shifters....

Hope this helps.