learned quite a bit by doing this work by myself. Removed my STI shifters and brake interrupters, along with the cabling and housing, and a stem riser and replaced the stock volpe drop-bars with albatross bars with shimano MTB brake levers and silver shifters.
Got everything working just great, glued on some cork grips, twined and shellac'd and am totally enjoying my new ride. Friction shifters are smooth as could be and make a whole lot more sense to me than STI does. Only glitch I ran into was not realizing exactly where the front derailleur cable should fit, so when i first attached it the front shifting was very difficult to do. All better now thanks to some web-sleuthing. Will try to take and post a photo tomorrow from my commute... On Monday, June 11, 2012 3:53:30 PM UTC-7, Joe Bernard wrote: > > It'll be interesting to hear your thoughts on friction shifting with > power-ratchet shifters..I presume you've been shifting index on your Volpe. > I thought I would never adapt to friction, but kind of stumbled into it > when I bought a couple of bikes with the old Suntour shifters (bar-ends on > one, thumbies on another). I figured I would deal with it because that's > what they came with, but would prefer indexing if given the choice. > > Until I bought a couple more bikes with clicks. Nope. Now the loud, clunky > index shift drives me crazy. I love the silent, smooth action of power > ratchets, and find it just about impossible to miss a shift. > > Joe Bernard > Vallejo, CA. > > On Monday, June 11, 2012 8:41:41 AM UTC-7, lumpy wrote: > >> now let's just see how funky this volpe will look with albatross >> bars :) >> >> Ordered albatross bars, cork grips, silver bar end shifters, brake >> levers, and cabling…. >> >> >> >> On Jun 10, 8:47 pm, charlie <cl_v...@hotmail.com> wrote: >> > My first nice bicycle was a Bianchi Campione D'Itatlia in about 1982. >> > Grant is right on that's a good bicycle and with a few mods you will >> > get comfy. You'll then have something to ride while you save for a >> > Rivendell. This will also give you time to figure out what you want. >> > Time will always refine your tastes and needs. Tis a good decision you >> > are making. >> > >> > On Jun 9, 8:02 pm, lumpy <davele...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > > so got a chance to meet Grant this afternoon for a quick spin on a 56 >> > > Sam Hillborne and a look at what can be done to make my Bianchi Volpe >> > > a bit more comfy. Very nice experience there with everyone - Grant >> > > assured me that the Volpe is an excellent bike, and gave the >> > > suggestion of albatross bars with a longer stem to get me more >> > > upright. I think it's worth a shot, and while it is a further >> > > investment in a bike I don't yet truly love.....Grant's conviction >> > > that the volpe can and will serve me well has me with a $200+ >> shopping >> > > cart on rivbike.com >> > >> > > oh, and my PBH was more accurately measured at just below 85. >> > >> > > On Jun 8, 12:01 pm, lumpy <davele...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > >> > > > Pretty sure a 56. Heading to RBW tomorrow and should know better >> then. I >> > > > measured my PBH at just under 81cm and I'm just over 5'8" >> > >> > > > On Thursday, June 7, 2012 3:48:49 PM UTC-7, pb wrote: >> > >> > > > > What size do you ride/need? :-) >> > >> > > > > On Jun 6, 3:52 pm, lumpy <davele...@gmail.com> wrote: >> > > > > > Hey now, >> > >> > > > > > Looks like a fun group here. I live in the bay area and am >> taking my >> > > > > first >> > > > > > trip out to Rivendell this weekend to take a look at some of >> these >> > > > > beauties >> > > > > > in person. I currently ride a Bianchi Volpe, and even with a >> stem >> > > > > extender >> > > > > > can't get the more upright comfort I'm looking for. Doubtful >> if I can >> > > > > > afford a Rivendell this weekend, but I'm certainly going to >> start saving >> > > > > > and scouring craigslist! >> > >> > > > > > Mostly a commuter, with occasional longer rides. Commute is 18 >> miles >> > > > > round >> > > > > > trip, and a longer ride for me these days is 20-30. I've >> ridden steel >> > > > > > frames since I started biking in 2003, but mostly on a Marin >> aggressive >> > > > > > bike...only switching to a bianchi last year. >> > >> > > > > > Looking forward to learning how comfortable a bike can actually >> be ;) >> > > > > > Dave > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/_YCMFogiBKMJ. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
