Cycling UK Forum

Okay folks, I'm not genned up on the correct terminology so I apologise in advance.

After looking at various touring bikes I have, in my mind, decided to go for a bike out of the Dawes galaxy range. Not sure which model yet but hopefully these two queies will help me make up my mind.

1. On the Dawes galaxy the gear 'switching levers' are located at the end on the handlebar whereas on the super and ultra galaxy the levers are located on the brakes. Which are best? Pros and cons of both?

2. Is there any real difference between a compact and a standard frame? May seem a stupid question but I have no idea.

Your help and thoughts will be gratefully recieved.

The barend levers on the Galaxy are sometimes preferred by tourers for their simplicity and durability. They are reliable and can be repaired fairly easily if the break down on tour.

The combined brake/gear levers are more complicated and are much more difficult to repair even by bike shops. They are the choice of many however as they offer excellent ease of operation.

If you are intending to tour at home or within range of bike shops, then the brifters would be fine. If however you want to range further afield to remoter parts, then the barends would be the safer bet.

edit 28/01 for typo

I have a Dawes Galaxy - standard frame and a Thorn - compact frame.
The advantage of a compact frame is greater stand over height.
The bar end shifters on my Galaxy have lasted many thousand of miles without any problems - its very easy to replace the cable - and possible to change up or down several gears at a time - useful if you go round a corner and find a hill.
A problem with the shifters on the brakes, apart from the complexity and difficulty repairing them, is that it can be difficult to fit a bar bag without the levers fouling - depends on how wide your handlebars are.

to add to the above - if you semi-knacker your rear mech' indexing then the bar end levers can be switched to friction mode but the STI units can't.

The supposed advantage of a compact frame is that it offers more comfort and better power transference: because the seat post is longer than on a standard frame, and seat posts flex more than frames, it should absorb more road shock. As the frame is smaller than a standard frame if will flex less and absorb less of your power. This is the theory. Whether you can fell any difference what so ever is entirely another matter.

The real reasons, IMHO, that compact frames have become popular are that 1) they allow bike makers to make a smaller range of frame sizes and thus save money, and 2) fashion.

Grant

In addition to the excellent advice above: bar end shifters are a halfway house between what used to be pretty universal - down tube levers - and what is now pretty universal on road bikes - combined shifters and gear levers. Bar end levers are traditional levers, but mounted on the bars.

The big advantage of any gear change control on the bars is that you can usually change gear going uphill but doing so while riding one handed using downtube levers can be a problem. Bar end levers, therefore, are the old technology in an arguably better position. There is nothing wrong with them as levers, they are used on the bikes with fancy handlebars you may have seen on some time trial bikes.

Most of the advantages mentioned by others stem from their being old technology - cheaper, easier to fix, especially in the wild, so long as you know what you are doing. These levers probably also give you a bit more flexibility if you decide to replace bits and pieces on your bike but they might be the thing you most want to upgrade.

The advantages of combined levers stem from their being new technology. In terms of performance they knock the others into a cocked hat. But they are pricey. Depending on what type you get, they can be difficult or impossible to use with a different number of gears. It seems like only yesterday it was 5 or six sprockets at the back, now 9 is obsolescent.