Downtube Shifter

[Ontherivet77]

Will any LH friction downtube shifter work with a Shimano Tiagra 4500 front mech?

[KM2]

It should do, if it pulls the correct length of cable.

[Ontherivet77]

It should do, if it pulls the correct length of cable.

How do you establish what cable pull is needed?

[philvantwo]

Brucey will know!

[mercalia]

usually they have a stop/clickless mode so will work, though why any one wants to use a downtup shifter these days escapes me.

[foxyrider]

usually they have a stop/clickless mode so will work, though why any one wants to use a downtup shifter these days escapes me.

Why? because its the only running bike i have at my disposal? Yes indeedy was out today on my very old skool commute/hack bitsa which is running 2x7 with d/t shifters, the LH is friction, the RH is indexed. Was very surprised at how easily i adapted to using the old technology again after decades of using Ergo's / STi's.

[reohn2]

Will any LH friction downtube shifter work with a Shimano Tiagra 4500 front mech?

A friction lever/shifter will work with any front mech,or rear mech FTM.

[freiston]

Will any LH friction downtube shifter work with a Shimano Tiagra 4500 front mech?

A friction lever/shifter will work with any front mech,or rear mech FTM.

Aren't there some mechs that require a total cable pull (to get the full range of gears) which is greater than some friction shifters can manage?

[scottg]

If you are running 11s rear, you may need a larger shifter barrel.
the front shifter is normal size.
Retro-friction on both levers.

https://velo-orange.com/collections/shi ... t-shifters

[rjb]

If you need to pull more cable increase the diameter of the lever. Easy trick to do this is to slip a suitable short length of pvc tube over the cable at the shifter end. The insulation you strip from 3 core mains cable when wiring a plug is a good source.

[DNC123]

If you need to pull more cable increase the diameter of the lever. Easy trick to do this is to slip a suitable short length of pvc tube over the cable at the shifter end. The insulation you strip from 3 core mains cable when wiring a plug is a good source.

Didn't Shimano supply something like that to allow 7 speed shifters to be used with 6 speed mechs and blocks? Came in the box didn't it?

[Gattonero]

Will any LH friction downtube shifter work with a Shimano Tiagra 4500 front mech?

Mostly, yes.
The travel on a double-chainset is not that long so almost any Lh friction shifter will do. The problem arises when the shifter is not able to hold the tension.
That is the reason why old Shimano thumbshifters (so are my old Deore Xt and DX) had a "reversed" spring that made the lever a bit harder to go down (to compensate the spring pulling down), this also made it a bit easier to win the spring of the derailleur.
Micro-indexed (or "retrofriction", as some of the Simplex were) will work well too.
Just avoid a shidter that is a bit loose and won't hold the cable tension, of course you ought to have the plastic concave washer inside the shifter, that's correctly fitted and not too worn

[reohn2]

Will any LH friction downtube shifter work with a Shimano Tiagra 4500 front mech?

A friction lever/shifter will work with any front mech,or rear mech FTM.

Aren't there some mechs that require a total cable pull (to get the full range of gears) which is greater than some friction shifters can manage?

Not that I'm aware of,but I stand corrected if there are.

[Brucey]

Will any LH friction downtube shifter work with a Shimano Tiagra 4500 front mech?

yes, pretty much.

BTW there is something to be said for the simplicity of DT friction levers; once they are set up and working, they might outlast everything else on the bike.... And is there any substitute for the little glow of satisfaction that accompanies a well-executed one-handed double-shift...?

cheers

[nsew]

If you need to pull more cable increase the diameter of the lever. Easy trick to do this is to slip a suitable short length of pvc tube over the cable at the shifter end. The insulation you strip from 3 core mains cable when wiring a plug is a good source.

Didn't Shimano supply something like that to allow 7 speed shifters to be used with 6 speed mechs and blocks? Came in the box didn't it?

This one. I concur with Brucey’s comments above. I use 7 speed bar end shifters fired from the centre of drop bars but they don’t quite match the positivity of 7 speed downtube shifters.