Question for the Derailleur-Heads

wintermute

wintermute

Joined
Oct 18, 2007
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I'm switching out the cables and housings on my 1984 Panasonic Sport 1000 project bike. Will SIS housings fit into my brazed-on cable stops? I assume that the diameter of brake cable housings haven't changed much in the last 26 years?
 
The housing size has increased a bit from back then to make it stiffer; a lot depends upon the brand but I believe that the SIS stuff will work. You're more likely to run into problems with derailleur housing than with brake housing.
 
I "do" a lot of old bikes and haven't had any problem. Every once in a while, if I'm using cheap cable (Walmart....) the braze-on fittings will be a bit tight. Never with Shimano products.
If that's the case, and the braze-on is slotted, it's easy just to tweak the slot slightly with a screwdriver or something.

I DO NOT like the plastic cable-ends that Shimano seems dedicated to these days. I have had any number of them break or split. I always replace them with metal ends.

Oh yeah... If the cable-stops are not slotted (common on cheaper bikes) you can pretty easily cut a slot with a Dremel and a cutoff wheel.
 
A lot of times on the older friction shifts, its quicker and easier to just run the regular "brake" style housings- especially on the bikes where the braze ons function as the ferrule as well.

Of course, the opposite of that is running SIS housing with a modern 8 speed chain may significantly improve your shift performance, arguably at the cost of longevity.
 
I know there's a bit of a fad for both single-speed conversions and "fixed gear" bikes.... We have active threads on these at Bikeforums.
I see a lot of the single-speed conversions here at the university; it's pretty easy to take an old road frame with horizontal dropouts and install a single-speed "kit".

Advantages... It's simple, light, reliable. Hop on the bike and ride. If you have chosen a gear ratio that gets you around where you ride, you're golden. (the university is pretty flat, for the most part)
Disadvantages... Hills. If you are young, strong, and/or light, then you can muscle your way up a decent hill by either mashing or standing.

However.... If you are like me... Old, hefty (200-ish) and with wonky knees, then gears are your friend. I LOVE gears. The more the better, thanks. I'm a mechanic so my shifting is always spot-on and crisp, and I do it constantly and without thinking.
Tullio Campagnolo did not invent the derailleur for no reason.

Fixed-gear. What can I say? For many years, the paradigm for the pro road racer was to spend a portion of Spring (early-season) training on a fixed-gear bike to develop "spin".
Of course, if one puts the bike in a lower gear and simply doesn't shift... You accomplish the same thing.
As far as I know, this traditional training method has gone by the boards.

For the enthusiast, I suppose there might be some charm in learning to ride a bike similar to what our ancestors used. Even going so far as (alluded to above) to have no brakes.
For those not familiar, this means that the fixie rider must either backpedal (apply back-pressure) to stop, or apply the soles of one's feet to the tire....
A hazardous undertaking at best.
It was not at all unusual for our ancestors to "loose the pedal" when going downhill, which almost always resulted in a severe crash.
Again, I suppose there might be some charm to mastering these arts; much as with riding a unicycle or "giraffe" bicycle.
However, as a practical form of transportation, we again note that such inventions as freewheels and efficient brakes were enthusiastically embraced by the cycling world.
 
Mwerner raises some good points. Technological advances are adopted for a reason... they work. :)
To be frank, I ride both fixed and geared bikes. I just prefer the brakeless/fixed for getting around town and for short trips. Philadelphia is reeeeally flat, so I really don't need gears unless I go on a ride out into the 'burbs.
I find that fixed gear is a really nice option for snow. It gives you more control over your rear wheel, to avoid slipping out, and when you use a couple brakes in addition to your leg-powered speed modulation, it's a very safe and reliable vehicle.
That said, I don't bother with brakes on my fixed gear bikes.

Mwerner: I'm skinnyland on bikeforums; what do you go by? (Haven't been there in ages, though...)

edit: giraffe bikes... haha, nice term. My tallbike is brakeless/freewheel. It's a double-decker death-trap! :D
 
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I'm "Bikewer", which is the case on almost all the forums I frequent. For some reason, that handle got corrupted on Bladeforums, and the software suggested my actual name... Never bothered to change it.

I think "giraffe" bicycle is an old circus term, they still use a lot of specialized bikes in acts. Most all the high-wire bikes are not only fixed gear but 1:1 gear ratio.
 
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