Club Tour 4, Euro touring setup

[Far-Oeuf]

Wow! Respect!!

 

I'll get back to you on that, in a few weeks 

[Far-Oeuf]

and finally, the icing on the cake (which arrived just in time):

[Danneaux]

Yes!!!!

A lovely pair of Simplex retro-friction levers. Back in the day, a friend framed a spare set of his and mounted them in a shadowbox on his wall as Art. No argument from me, though their real beauty is in use, as intended.

Glad you got 'em, Doug.

All the best,

Dan.

[Far-Oeuf]

incredible to think these particular levers are thirty years old.   a little indulgence, sure, but at £40 not breaking the bank for what are probably the finest (functionally) friction shifters ever made.

cheers,

[Donerol]

I have had these on my Mercian for about 25 years. At one stage I thought they were giving up but a quick dismantle and regrease and they were as good as new.

A couple of points to note if you haven't used them before.
1. The barrels are smaller diameter than some other levers, and I find they wear the cables more quickly, which break just behind the nipple.
2. These days the nipples on most commonly-sold cables are just too big to fit into the recess.  They will still work fine but protrude above the lever, and can be a bit uncomfortable under the thumbs. If you find some that fit, stock up on them. Rohloff gear cables fit. You could always file down bigger nipples but it's a bit of a faff.

[Danneaux]

You could always file down bigger nipples but it's a bit of a faff.

I've filed 'em! Yes, a bit of a faff, but then they look and fit right till next time.  

Alternatively, I've overbored the bed-stop on a set to the owner's preference. Doesn't take much, and leaves the finish intact if you do it with care.

All the best,

Dan.

[jags]

why not just drill the hole bigger  counter sink bit should work.

anto

[Far-Oeuf]

Fibrax ('Science range') gear cables appear to fit perfectly.

[Danneaux]

Fibrax ('Science range') gear cables appear to fit perfectly.

Yay! Best solution yet...and no mods necessary.

Best,

Dan.

[triaesthete]

 You lucky man Doug. I still hanker for the smooth yet positive gear selection these gave with a Super Record mech and a Maillard 6 speed block in '84. Never bettered for me.
Can you give some feedback on how they work with your 8 speed please. Particularly regarding the arc of travel required for the rear mech lever.

Some nice background on them here  http://bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/retro-friction-part-one.html  

I believe Jan Heine (Compass Bicycles) likes these and has expressed a hope that someone would remake them with a little more cable pull. I'm wishing really hard now!

Beautiful line drawing showing external beauty and internal elegance here (down the page) http://janheine.wordpress.com/2013/09/09/autumn-2013-bicycle-quarterly/

Enjoy
Ian

[Far-Oeuf]

I'll certainly report back, in a few weeks.   I didn't transplant the 8-speed gearing onto the Club Tour yet, so I'm still on 10-speed.   Will be interesting to see how these levers actually work out, so far so good (fully extended to reach the largest cog, but OK).

Experimentation is all part of the journey


cheers,

[Danneaux]

Doug,

If cable travel proves to be a problem, you could always make and insert a simple leverage-changing bell crank midway in the cable run (as I did on a friend's bike) or install a TravelAgent-like pulley just before the rear mech.

These levers are certain worth the effort.

If you can get them to work as-is, so much the better. As long as you don't run out of travel, the smaller drum size will make it easier to engage each gear on the 10 - speed cassette...and it should work a treat on 8. The only problems I've had friction-shifting on 9-speed came from the narrow cog spacing and the difficulty in avoiding ovetshifts. Still, things came right in short order as I adjusted to the shorter throw. With the smaller barrels, these should be far easier.

Best,

Dan.

[Far-Oeuf]

triaesthete, good link/site.   this is a good opinion also, I think : http://bikeretrogrouch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/simple-machines.html

Dan, I think cable travel is fine.  Well, I know it is.  It just depends on if it feels ok to have the lever travel fully inline with the downtube, when at both extremes of travel (if that makes sense).   certainly no technical fouling anywhere.  we'll see, looking forward to living with it and seeing how I get on (as well as with the whole bike).

good help/suggestions all round though, thanks! 

[Far-Oeuf]

Ian, great line drawing too!   I'll include it here as an image, incase anyone misses the link

[triaesthete]

 Experimentation is definitely part of the fun   But some of it has to be vicarious or it gets too expensive. I look forward to your report Doug. 

Dan I wonder if making them with a bigger drum would spoil them  as it would give the rear mech spring more leverage against the clutch spring requiring it to be stiifer? It would reduce the radius of the cable bend and extend cable life though. Interesting thought I'd never had that the small drum increases lever throw per shift and therefore gear separation!! (Despite this being the corollary of insufficient cable pull,duh!).
Thanks again for yet another thought provoking post.

Happy shifting
Ian