shifter opinions...bar end conversion and anything goes?

I purchased a pair of Shimano M700 MTB shifters from the 1980's, which are arguably the best MTB friction shifters ever made, thinking I could adapt them for my 24mm handlebar somehow.  So I did.  What you are looking at underneath the shifters is a pair of Control Tech Terminator Plugs for a MTB 22mm handlebar.  They grip the end of my 24mm road bar like a vise, and I imagine the piece of handlebar tape we all stick into the end of the bar will make it even better.

What do you think?  The shifters are really big and bulky, but they are meant to be used with the M700 group set which came with the bike.  Do you think I should just get regular bar end shifters instead?

I would like to be entertained with your opinion, whatever it is....

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Permalink Reply by Tricolor on September 16, 2014 at 1:26am

If you are going to buy new friction bar ends take a look at Rivendell's website.  Craigslist may turn up some nice Shimano bar ends for even less, of course.

Permalink Reply by Doug Haynes on September 16, 2014 at 3:15am

It seems a lot fo extra stuff to end up with an inferior version of something that is already out there.  

You are never going to be able to get as clean a cable run with those as with proper bar end shifters and it's always going to look kludged together.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on September 16, 2014 at 3:22am

Dude, you are always coming up with janky bike projects. Save your money and buy the right stuff the first time. 

Permalink Reply by Bikefreeek on September 16, 2014 at 3:45am

If you like the micro-ratcheting mechanism of the old Shimano M700s, find a pair of old SunTour Bar-Con friction shifters. Come to Open Shop on Saturday and I'll hook you up with a pair for a good deal.

Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on September 16, 2014 at 10:42am
yeah. I pretty much decided to go with the Dia Compe bar ends after I posted this. Those thumbies are just too huge, and also look weird. Out with the janky, in with the slick.

KevinM said:

Dude, you are always coming up with janky bike projects. Save your money and buy the right stuff the first time. 

Permalink Reply by Matt M. 18.5KM on September 16, 2014 at 10:47am
I've got to be somewhere that day....but damn, that's tempting. Would you consider a trade?

Bikefreeek said:

If you like the micro-ratcheting mechanism of the old Shimano M700s, find a pair of old SunTour Bar-Con friction shifters. Come to Open Shop on Saturday and I'll hook you up with a pair for a good deal.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on September 16, 2014 at 12:52pm

It may seem like a lot of money but you can buy the Shimano  SL-BS64-8 friction/index 8-speed bar-end shifters on Amazon for $83 shipped.  

Like I said, it sounds like a lot of money, but they come with ultra-high-end cable & housing, the adjustable cable-stops that you'll need to go on the downtube lugs (these cost $10 alone), and also the flexible tunnel stand-offs that you can use to route the cable under your bar tape and still be able to slide it out again later to replace it without removing the bar tape.   


These are super-nice bar-ends, about as nice as they come, and while they will work perfectly fine in friction mode for your current derailleurs are ready to go for an 8-speed indexed system if you ever want to upgrade to that in the future (cheap actually.)

The Suntour barcons are nice, but you are still going to need to buy cable and housing, and cable stops on the downtube.  You start adding that all up and you might find the little bit extra for a brand-new high-end SL-BS64-8 shifter kit is a bargain. 

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