About to buy bike with bar end shift levers?

[redmustardseed]

I think it's been about a month since I originally posted. I'm getting back into biking after many years away. Previously I commuted about 10 miles each way.

Now I will be riding with family and using bike for fitness - we have lots of short steep hills where I live.

After some advice on here I branched out from just looking at hybrids to trying road bikes and thinking about all options and my needs. To my surprise, I found the drop down handlebars on the road bikes much more comfortable than the hybrids. And I realized I wanted a bike for fitness and building strength climbing hills - I bike that will work with me.

Liked some WSD road bikes I tried - especially the Specialized Dolce Elite. But I'm planning to ride on roads with lots of potholes, occasional gravel, railroad tracks and maybe occasionally a flat dirt trail. And I may want to carry groceries. I want a light bike but a tough bike too.

So I think I've found my bike and about to order it it's a pretty light weight touring bike with women's frame (there are no bikes in my area that fit and have slightly wider tires than the road bikes and meet my needs - I've tried all the bike shops and I definitely only fit on the WSD bikes). My one hesitation is bar end shift levers. I wasn't able to try these out in any shop.

Any of you have these shifters - how hard will this be for me as a newbie getting back to biking and given that I have a lot of short hills?

By the way, this is my only hesitation about the bike - I think it's going to fit well and be a great bike otherwise.

Thanks!
Sadie

[azfiddle]

It took me about one ride to figure these out on my Surly. I just had to keep repeating- up is easier (on the right). It will become instinctive after just a little while. Take a short flat ride where you can practice shifting.

[Veronica]

My first two bikes had bar end shifters. It's not hard to get use to. I currently have 3 different bikes and I ride each pretty frequently. They all have different shifting - oncluding one with bar ends. I never seem to confuse one with the other. You just get use to it.

Veronica

[ny biker]

I don't have a bike with bar end shifters but I would think that balance and confidence in your balance might be involved, for someone who is relatively new to cycling or just getting back into it. I say this because for years I was not comfortable taking my right hand off the handlebar. I could ride all day with my left hand off the bar, to signal turns, reach for a water bottle, etc. But when I took my right hand off the bar I felt very unstable. I had to practice it in order to get comfortable with it. If I had bar-end shifters I would have had problems shifting on the right. Things like steep hills and rough roads would have added to my feeling of instability.

Just something to think about.

[rebeccaC]

agree on flat ride to practice...It should be easy for you to get use to them. They are very reliable, less maintenance than brifters and you can also use them as a friction shifter if needed. Those are some of the reasons they are on a new touring bike. Lots and lots of climbs and descents and many miles on all kinds of roads/paths have been ridden with bar end shifters over the years!!!!

I had them on an older trek 520 touring bike that i used for brevets during my college years, no problems even on a 600k. I only needed a slight push with the heel of my hand or hook my pinkie under to change gears, all while being able to keep my hand on the bar. For me there wasn't really a stability difference over brifters and for me they were easier than the down tube shifting that came with the trek.

[OakLeaf]

I took a quick test ride on a bike with bar end shifters a couple of years ago. I didn't buy it, so that was the extent of my experience with them. My hesitation was the same as yours - how in the world would it be possible to shift without upsetting the steering? But I found them much more stable and easy than I expected. Now, I didn't get to ride any steep hills. But, if you've been away from riding for a while, that probably means what you're used to is downtube shifters, and if you could shift those without upsetting the bike, you'll be fine with the bar-ends.

Still, if you really prefer brifters, most shops will swap them out for you and just charge you the difference in price. Which will be substantial, brifters are expensive and bar-ends are cheap, but if it was me I'd probably do that.

[Veronica]

Any of you have these shifters - how hard will this be for me as a newbie getting back to biking and given that I have a lot of short hills?

By the way, this is my only hesitation about the bike - I think it's going to fit well and be a great bike otherwise.

Thanks!
Sadie

The OP asked how hard it would be to learn to use bar ends, not about any perceived risks. If you haven't used them for whatever reason, how can you answer her question? I appreciate people wanting to give their opinion about safety, but if you haven't used it, how can you speak with authority? There are inherent risks in just about anything and i get the feeling that folks who haven't used bar end shifters are trying to scare her away from them. Maybe that's not the intent, but comprehension occurs in the mind of the reader. She thinks the bike is perfect otherwise, let's get her on a bike.

Veronica

[rebeccaC]

Sadie….get a bike that fits!!!....then just enjoy the learning experience of using bar ends if thats the case and more importantly, enjoy riding with your family!!!!!

this thread needs that song.......don't worry be happy.....playing in the background

[redmustardseed]

Thank you everyone - wow, I'm grateful for all the input!

I've decided to buy the bike - so looking forward to a bike that fits and figure I'll either adjust to or love the bar ends.

And I'll take the advice to practice first on flat. Will probably drive to a bike path off road for that. Since the bike doesn't have pedals, I'm going to get toe clips - that's what I used to have so I won't have to adjust to new pedals as well.

Have fun riding everyone!

Sadie

[Blueberry]

I've decided to buy the bike - so looking forward to a bike that fits and figure I'll either adjust to or love the bar ends.

Yay! I had missed this thread, but when I purchased my Trek 520, I was very reluctant to have bar ends. I had had bad experiences with down tube shifters, and figured these would be the same. Totally different. I now love them so much I only have one bike without them (haven't wanted to retrofit it yet). Sometimes I plan a little ahead on shifting if I might need to brake at the same time, but that seems to come pretty naturally for me (and it's a rare situation anyway). I love being able to tell by feel what gear I'm in without having to take my eyes off the road, and the reliability. DH and I have both had lots of failed brifters, and they are so expensive to replace I doubt we'll go back to them since they've never shifted as precisely for me!

[IBrakeforPastry]

Congratulations! And I'm curious to know what bike you're buying.

[GLC1968]

Oh, I missed this thread too but I'm glad you got the bike!

I had a bike that had a bar end shifter for the front and a brifter for the rear...on the same bike. That was fun! Actually, it was totally fine and when I eventually switched the bike to only bar ends, I liked it even more. My other two bikes had different types of shifters and outside of the first couple of minutes on each bike to remember which one I was riding, I rarely had any difficulty with any of them. The nice thing about bar ends for smaller people is that smaller hands are not a problem. My first road bike was too big for me and it was hard to operate the brifters in some situations.

Anyway, enjoy the new ride!

[emily_in_nc]

I have bar-end shifters on my Bike Friday and find them very easy to use even though I had never used them before I got the bike. I have different types of shifters on all three of my bikes, and it only takes a few miles of a ride to get back in the swing of using any of them if I haven't ridden that bike for awhile.

If I've been riding my Bike Friday, I find myself reaching for the "phantom" bar ends on my Trek (which has Shimano brifters), but I quickly correct myself!

The only problem I've ever had with them, as another poster mentioned, is very occasionally hitting my leg on one of them in certain maneuvers, since I am petite and have a short effective top tube.

Enjoy your new bike!