STI retrofit to old Dawes

[Johnno]

Hi there, since my nice bike was nicked a while back, I've taken my trusty Dawes Horizon out of retirement and given it a lick and a promise to get it roadworthy. Now, about the only things that haven't been replaced over the years are the seatpost, frame and drivetrain. The shifters are the old friction type mounted on the downtube operating an Acera set and it's all a bit ropey after many thousands of miles. I'd like to upgrade to a reasonable STI arrangement without spending too much dosh and was thinking of the 'Sora' setup. I expect I'll need to change the cassette to an eight-speed, but what else should I change / take note of? And do you think I should go for a higher spec in the first place?

Any advice gratefully received, thanks.

[Brian73]

You could stick a set of bar end shifters on.

The 8 speed ones are about £40 a set http://www.tweekscycles.com/components/ ... 80-8-speed

You can keep your existing brakes using bar end shifters.

My Horizon has the 9 speed shifters.

If you have a 7 speed freehub it will be too short to mount an 8 speed cassette, you can buy 8 speed freehubs, but you may need the wheel dishing to make sure everything works OK. If you go with Shimano's Tourney STI kit you can stay with the 7 speed stuff http://www.singletrackbikes.co.uk/m7b72 ... wwod5JIAjQ You can then use a 7 speed screw on freewheel if that's what you already have instead of a freehub.

[Brucey]

if you are going for 8s then there is much to be said for Claris shifters (but perhaps there is no triple option for the LH shifter...?). Another option is to use some campag 10s shifters; these will work a shimano 8s rear mech and cassette with no worries.

If your Horizon is old it may have a 126mm back end; in any event you should check the OLN at the rear and consider resetting it if needs be.

The Sora stuff is OK, not too expensive. STIs in general are fine but they are a little bit heavier, much more prone to accident damage, and can limit your compatibility options in the future. If you want to fit a bar bag the 'washing line' versions just get in the way.

So quite a few riders have come to the conclusion that DT shifters and bar end shifters are not so bad after all....

cheers

[student]

http://www.rosebikes.hu/article/shimano ... aid:669594 claris has triple eight levers, of course. Bar end shifters are also a good option. I have a m8 who actually just drilled a hole to a brake lever, for M5 screws and used old SIS thumbshifters on his CX bike..

[Johnno]

Thanks for your replies, guys - that give me a few things to follow up on. I'll do some measuring and investigating and let you know how I get on.

Cheers.

[Tonyf33]

Cheaper would be a flat bar conversion and using butterfly bars gives you loads of options hand position wise (or a flat bar with bar ends)
You can buy rapid fire pods with integrated brake levers that operate cantilever/centre pull/caliper brakes or just buy the pods seperately to a set of brake levers. All you'll need then is either a band on cable stop or a set of cable adjusters that go on your DT lever braze ons, total cost should be less than £50 including bars, new seatpost & chain.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SHIMANO-ST-EF ... 258c8d913a
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Xlc-Trekking- ... 5d446c3b33