[RBW] Re: From bar ends to thumbies
+1 on Ultegra bar ends on Paul's Thumbies. I was coming off a MTB to my Ram and the oem DT shifters were uncomfortably distant for me to shift properly. I set up an indexed 3x9 with thumbies which I am very happy with. I did get a 48cm noodle to mitigate crowding of all that hardware on top of the bars. Having the output cables of both shifters pointed towards each other so close to the stem necessitates having them mounted at odd angles to each other to allow them to cross effectively. Only a deal if perfect symmetry is important to you. I need to move my hands to shift from my normal ride position on the curves to downshift but can rotate my thumb across the bar to move to a higher gear. I also like the idea of mounting the thumbies under the bar as someone else suggested. Maybe a winter project. BC On Tuesday, September 24, 2013 12:54:13 PM UTC-7, Kieran J wrote: I run a Shimano Ultegra BE shifter on a Paul's Thumbie, on my 1x9spd riser-bar commuter. It's my preferred system, and works equally well indexed or in friction. Flawless shifting. My Ram is running the remaining BE pods, fitted with the spacers from Riv and Dura-Ace DT shifters mounted. Also great! KJ On Monday, September 23, 2013 7:33:05 AM UTC-4, Michael Hechmer wrote: Since retiring I have gradually moved my single bikes back from bar ends to down shifters. Now that I don't commute and rarely ride into heavy town traffic I find I prefer the speed and clean looks of DT shifters. But the tandem is still bar end because my stoker doesn't like me letting go of the handle bars, and we're never or rarely needing to shift rapidly. But I am considering switching these to thumbies. Has anyone made this transition, especially with drop bars? With friction? How did it go? Do you like it better or worse? My wife has been enjoying the albatross bars on her half of the tandem and so we have been talking about also switching her single and if I do that maybe I'll install thumbies there too. Do people use this combination and how have they likes it? Michael -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[RBW] Re: From bar ends to thumbies
Thanks everyone for the feedback. Absolutely no consensus here but I think the hand space issue on drops could be compelling. Cecily, could you post a picture of your setup? or just email it to me? Michael On Monday, September 23, 2013 8:54:20 PM UTC-4, Cecily Walker wrote: I didn't move from bar end shifters, but the mechanic who built my bike recommended thumbies because he felt they were easier to work with for intown riding. He also mounted mine upside down because he said they'd be easier for me to work with on those days when my arthritis flares up and my hands aren't working so well. My front derailleur is friction, and my rear is indexed. They're positioned right above my hand grips, so I don't even have to take my hands off the grips to use the rear derailleur. I can just tap it with a knuckle and it moves. On Monday, September 23, 2013 4:33:05 AM UTC-7, Michael Hechmer wrote: Since retiring I have gradually moved my single bikes back from bar ends to down shifters. Now that I don't commute and rarely ride into heavy town traffic I find I prefer the speed and clean looks of DT shifters. But the tandem is still bar end because my stoker doesn't like me letting go of the handle bars, and we're never or rarely needing to shift rapidly. But I am considering switching these to thumbies. Has anyone made this transition, especially with drop bars? With friction? How did it go? Do you like it better or worse? My wife has been enjoying the albatross bars on her half of the tandem and so we have been talking about also switching her single and if I do that maybe I'll install thumbies there too. Do people use this combination and how have they likes it? Michael -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: [RBW] Re: From bar ends to thumbies
You can also put your thumbies on the stem's quill, if you want to keep the handlebars clean for multiple hand positions yet have the shifters closer to your hands so you don't have to bend down to the down tube. RBW sells an adapter that allows both to be at the same height, or you can use the Paul's adapter and put the left one over the right one. René — Sent from Mailbox for iPhone On Tue, Sep 24, 2013 at 4:42 AM, Michael Hechmer mhech...@gmail.com wrote: Thanks everyone for the feedback. Absolutely no consensus here but I think the hand space issue on drops could be compelling. Cecily, could you post a picture of your setup? or just email it to me? Michael On Monday, September 23, 2013 8:54:20 PM UTC-4, Cecily Walker wrote: I didn't move from bar end shifters, but the mechanic who built my bike recommended thumbies because he felt they were easier to work with for intown riding. He also mounted mine upside down because he said they'd be easier for me to work with on those days when my arthritis flares up and my hands aren't working so well. My front derailleur is friction, and my rear is indexed. They're positioned right above my hand grips, so I don't even have to take my hands off the grips to use the rear derailleur. I can just tap it with a knuckle and it moves. On Monday, September 23, 2013 4:33:05 AM UTC-7, Michael Hechmer wrote: Since retiring I have gradually moved my single bikes back from bar ends to down shifters. Now that I don't commute and rarely ride into heavy town traffic I find I prefer the speed and clean looks of DT shifters. But the tandem is still bar end because my stoker doesn't like me letting go of the handle bars, and we're never or rarely needing to shift rapidly. But I am considering switching these to thumbies. Has anyone made this transition, especially with drop bars? With friction? How did it go? Do you like it better or worse? My wife has been enjoying the albatross bars on her half of the tandem and so we have been talking about also switching her single and if I do that maybe I'll install thumbies there too. Do people use this combination and how have they likes it? Michael -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[RBW] Re: From bar ends to thumbies
I run a Shimano Ultegra BE shifter on a Paul's Thumbie, on my 1x9spd riser-bar commuter. It's my preferred system, and works equally well indexed or in friction. Flawless shifting. My Ram is running the remaining BE pods, fitted with the spacers from Riv and Dura-Ace DT shifters mounted. Also great! KJ On Monday, September 23, 2013 7:33:05 AM UTC-4, Michael Hechmer wrote: Since retiring I have gradually moved my single bikes back from bar ends to down shifters. Now that I don't commute and rarely ride into heavy town traffic I find I prefer the speed and clean looks of DT shifters. But the tandem is still bar end because my stoker doesn't like me letting go of the handle bars, and we're never or rarely needing to shift rapidly. But I am considering switching these to thumbies. Has anyone made this transition, especially with drop bars? With friction? How did it go? Do you like it better or worse? My wife has been enjoying the albatross bars on her half of the tandem and so we have been talking about also switching her single and if I do that maybe I'll install thumbies there too. Do people use this combination and how have they likes it? Michael -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[RBW] Re: From bar ends to thumbies
I run thumbies on my Albas, Michael and love it. It took me a while to dial in the positioning of them and I'd frankly love to try bar ends some day to see if I prefer that, but it's not worth the expense of fine tuning something I love already. My one issue with them is they take up real estate in a way that makes the flowing use of hand positions challenging. I've settled on having mine near the stem just inside the hooks, which is great for all the hand positions I use, except it makes shifting from the ends harder but not a big deal. Hope that helps a wee bit. With abandon, Patrick On Monday, September 23, 2013 5:33:05 AM UTC-6, Michael Hechmer wrote: Since retiring I have gradually moved my single bikes back from bar ends to down shifters. Now that I don't commute and rarely ride into heavy town traffic I find I prefer the speed and clean looks of DT shifters. But the tandem is still bar end because my stoker doesn't like me letting go of the handle bars, and we're never or rarely needing to shift rapidly. But I am considering switching these to thumbies. Has anyone made this transition, especially with drop bars? With friction? How did it go? Do you like it better or worse? My wife has been enjoying the albatross bars on her half of the tandem and so we have been talking about also switching her single and if I do that maybe I'll install thumbies there too. Do people use this combination and how have they likes it? Michael -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[RBW] Re: From bar ends to thumbies
For drop bars, I can see it. For albas: I've been riding albas for many years on various bikes--always with bar end shifters. Every year or so, I get the thumbies bug, buy some Paul thumbies (I love Paul components), and set up a bike with them. Then a week or a month later, I go back to the bar ends. I sell the thumbie mounts cheap, only to get the bug again a year later and have to re-acquire them. I just mounted/unmounted some thumbies but this time, I'm keeping them in my parts box because it's getting expensive to keep buying high and selling them at a loss. ;) On albas, I can't think of any way that thumbies beat bar ends but lots of reasons why bar ends beat thumbies (more handlebar space, cleaner look, easier to shift with massive gloves/frozen fingers, less chance of flare up of carpal tunnel). So there's my 2 cents and yes, of course, ymmv (or your wife's for that matter). • Perry -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[RBW] Re: From bar ends to thumbies
I didn't move from bar end shifters, but the mechanic who built my bike recommended thumbies because he felt they were easier to work with for intown riding. He also mounted mine upside down because he said they'd be easier for me to work with on those days when my arthritis flares up and my hands aren't working so well. My front derailleur is friction, and my rear is indexed. They're positioned right above my hand grips, so I don't even have to take my hands off the grips to use the rear derailleur. I can just tap it with a knuckle and it moves. On Monday, September 23, 2013 4:33:05 AM UTC-7, Michael Hechmer wrote: Since retiring I have gradually moved my single bikes back from bar ends to down shifters. Now that I don't commute and rarely ride into heavy town traffic I find I prefer the speed and clean looks of DT shifters. But the tandem is still bar end because my stoker doesn't like me letting go of the handle bars, and we're never or rarely needing to shift rapidly. But I am considering switching these to thumbies. Has anyone made this transition, especially with drop bars? With friction? How did it go? Do you like it better or worse? My wife has been enjoying the albatross bars on her half of the tandem and so we have been talking about also switching her single and if I do that maybe I'll install thumbies there too. Do people use this combination and how have they likes it? Michael -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
Re: [RBW] Re: From bar ends to thumbies
If Perry or anyone else has some thumbies they would like to sell cheapish, please drop me a line! On 9/23/13, Cecily Walker cecily.wal...@gmail.com wrote: I didn't move from bar end shifters, but the mechanic who built my bike recommended thumbies because he felt they were easier to work with for intown riding. He also mounted mine upside down because he said they'd be easier for me to work with on those days when my arthritis flares up and my hands aren't working so well. My front derailleur is friction, and my rear is indexed. They're positioned right above my hand grips, so I don't even have to take my hands off the grips to use the rear derailleur. I can just tap it with a knuckle and it moves. On Monday, September 23, 2013 4:33:05 AM UTC-7, Michael Hechmer wrote: Since retiring I have gradually moved my single bikes back from bar ends to down shifters. Now that I don't commute and rarely ride into heavy town traffic I find I prefer the speed and clean looks of DT shifters. But the tandem is still bar end because my stoker doesn't like me letting go of the handle bars, and we're never or rarely needing to shift rapidly. But I am considering switching these to thumbies. Has anyone made this transition, especially with drop bars? With friction? How did it go? Do you like it better or worse? My wife has been enjoying the albatross bars on her half of the tandem and so we have been talking about also switching her single and if I do that maybe I'll install thumbies there too. Do people use this combination and how have they likes it? Michael -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- Cheers, David it isn't a contest. Just enjoy the ride. - Seth Vidal -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups RBW Owners Bunch group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
