Category Archives: Components

Silver Downtube Shifters

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Well I’ve been running the Silver downtube shifters on my Surly Cross Check for a week, so and I think I can probably write a review now. I purchased these from Rivendell recently for $42 (looks like they’re $44 now). This is the first time I’ve run friction DT shifters on a bike since the mid-80s, which I was riding Campy Super Record (though I do I still have some friction Suntour barcons on my old Bonty cross bike…).

Why go back? Well, I run DT shifters on my two other bikes, but they are both index shifters with 7 speed Dura Ace. The Surly is 8 speed and I had been running it with flat bars with the Pauls Thumbies and 8 speed index shifters. But I just switched to drop bars. I was trying to decide between DT shifters and the Shimano barcons that I already have. I looked for 8 speed index DT shifters on eBay a bit but didn’t find what I wanted quickly and got impatient. Plus, I was curious about the Silvers.

These Silvers are probably the best friction shifters to come along since Simplex. But is that good enough? I definitely found myself not shifting as much with these. I remember the special overshift and correct motion you needed to do to get Campy Super Record friction to shift smoothly. You don’t have to do that with Shimano derailleurs. For some reason that made shifting a bit less satisfying for me. After a week I think I’m comfortable saying I don’t think I want to go back to friction. So I’m probably going to put those 8 speed Shimano barcons on there. Plus, I admit, a “cross” frame looks kind of weird with DT shifters… However, if you are looking for simple and dependable, you’re not gonna find something better than the Silvers. More pics after the jump!

Used for: 1 week
Price paid: $42
Purchased at: Rivendell
Rating: 3 stars!

Silver Downtube Shifters on Surly

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Pauls Thumbies

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Until recently I was using my Cross Check to commute to work, and I had it set up with flat bars in order to better navigate through all the idiots on the MUT (I just switched the Surly to drop bars, but more on that later). For shifters I was using the levers that came with some Shimano 8-speed barcons, combined with Pauls awesome Thumbies. These things totally rock. I like Rapidfire, can tolerate Grip Shift, but I think thumb shifters are still my favorite. Paul’s solution isn’t cheap, but it sure is cool. More pics after the jump.

Used for: 5 years
Price paid: don’t remember
Purchased at: Bikeman via eBay
Rating: 5 stars!

Pauls Thumbies

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Campagnolo Pump Head

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I bought this pump head for a Silca pump that never ended up on a custom frame because a) I didn’t manage to get the pump to the painter in time to have it match the frame and b) I started using mini pumps. These were the best pump heads on the market back in the 80s, and I always felt they’d be good against dogs if it really came down to it. Those little blue feet never lasted long, though…

Used for: 10 years
Price paid: don’t remember
Purchased at: Palo Alto Bicycles
Rating: 5 stars!

Campagnolo pump head

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Suntour Freewheel

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Thought I’d do this as a quick follow up to the Dura Ace freewheel post. These were pretty much the standard freewheel for a few years in the mid-80s. Note the two prong removal tool (they went to a four prong a little later). The cogs were not evenly spaced so you could not use these with index shifters. The bodies were pretty durable, though. I remember having a huge Suntour cog board at Palo Alto bikes where you could make basically any combo you could think of.

Used for: 5 years
Price paid: don’t remember
Purchased at: Palo Alto Bicycles
Rating: 4 stars!

Suntour freewheel

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Mavic MA3

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As you can probably guess by my post on BrokenBikeParts, I’m not a huge fan of Mavic MA3s. Cracks developed around the eyelets after just 5,000 or 6,000 miles, which apparently is pretty typical for these budget rims (and I don’t think it was the result of too much spoke tension). But this is the first time I’ve had an issue with a Mavic product in over 25 years, so I’m willing to keep buying their stuff. You can see the pics of the cracks at BrokenBikeParts.com

Used for: 2 years
Price paid: was included in a wheelset
Purchased at: Cambria Bike
Rating: 1 star :(

Mavic MA3

Shimano Dura Ace Freewheel

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The Dura Ace freewheel is one of my favorite bike parts of all time. They are basically indestructible. I have six or seven of these either on bikes or in boxes, plus a ton of extra cogs. I don’t weight much, so I was never one of those guys breaking axles on freewheel hubs. But before Dura Ace freewheels came along, I had to suffer with Suntour freewheels, and before that, Regina freewheels. The Dura Ace freewheels lasted longer and shifted better. The cogs were evenly spaced, shaped better, and were easier to swap out. The freewheel bodies never seemed to crap out. And the splined freewheel tool was a huge improvement over the old two-pronged design used by just about everyone else. More pics after the jump!

Used for: 25 years
Price paid: don’t remember
Purchased at: don’t remember
Rating: 5 stars!

Shimano Dura Ace freewheel with removal tool

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Surly Cable Hanger

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My only complaint about my Surly Cross Check is the rear brake cable routing. The slotted cable stops run down the right hand side, which makes no sense unless you want to run your rear brake to the left brake lever motorcycle style, or enjoy having the brake housing rub the paint off your head tube. My Cross Check is about five years old, though, and since then Surly has moved the top tube cable stops to the to the 12 o’clock position, which is an improvement, but I still think they should just move it over to the 10 o’clock position like just about everyone else.

Surly also decided against brazing on a rear housing stop (perhaps thinking that lots of folks would use V-brakes?) and instead went with a cable hanger. My Cross Check came with a generic one that is kind of short, and I know a lot of people had trouble getting the housing cut to just the right length (I found it worked best to cut the housing on the short side, and run it under the seat post clamp). Surly has tried to rectify the cable hanger issue with their new cable hanger. These come with the new Cross Check frames, but if you have an old one like me, it’s gonna cost you $11 at the LBS. Worth it? Well, I just installed mine, and it looks kind of cool, but I didn’t notice much improvement in brake feel (then again, mine wasn’t that bad to start with). But if you’ve been struggling with the old hanger, or would like a barrel adjuster, it might be worth it. More photos after the jump!

Used for: 1 week
Price paid: $11
Purchased at: Free Range Cycles
Rating: 4 stars!

Surly Cable Hanger

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My Recent Bikeman Order

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Aside from the 3T bars on my first decent road bike (a Bianchi Nuovo Racing which I purchased new in 1983 at age 15) I’ve only ridden Cinelli bars, and mostly the 66 model. Well, the 66 is long gone and so is most of the NOS supply. I was pretty leery to try any of the newer bars on the market, especially with the ergo bends, but I decided to suck it up and stop being such a retrogrouch. So I ordered some Ritchey Comp bars and a matching Comp stem. 31.8 seemed like overkill, but whatever. I did stay with the Cinelli tape. Oh, and of course Shimano brake levers. I love Shimano brake levers. Continue reading…

Bikeman Order

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My Latest Rivendell Order

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I’ve always had a hate/love relationship with Grant Peterson. I love him cause he helped kill off the ridiculous Biopace chainrings back in the 80s. Some of you may remember Bridgestone’s MB-2 ads proclaiming “round chainrings!” Yes! Sweet! However, Grant’s dislike of Shimano caused him to spec a lot of weird crap on his bikes, and I regularly cursed his name while building up Bridgestones back when I was a lowly wrench in bike shops. The Giants and Treks went together easily, while those B-stones with their crappy Suntour derailleurs, Ritchey cantis and crummy wheels were a pain in the ass. I think Grant was the last person on the planet to switch to the Shimano cartridge BBs. Anyway, I wasn’t sorry to see B-stone go away, and find it humorous that they have such a following today. Yes, the catalogs were cool and the colors were cool and lugs are cool and the X0 bikes were cool but for the most part Bridgestones were inferior to the garden variety Giants and Treks from the same era. Continue reading…

Rivendell Order

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Shimano XT Rear Derailleur

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Found this in the bottom of a box the other day. One of my favorite derailleurs ever, it lived on my old Bontrager Race for a while, then on my Merckx. Then it got retired, but I’m not sure why. Short cage 7 speed FTW!

Used for: 10 years
Price paid: can’t remember
Purchased at: can’t remember
Rating: 5 stars!

Shimano XT 7-Speed Rear Derailleur