About to buy bike with bar end shift levers?

[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.

[OakLeaf]

Yay! Enjoy!

[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!

[k8t]

Glad to hear you're so excited about your new bike! Do you have it yet? Do you love it? It's like magic when you find one that fits!

I haven't seen a recent post on this but thought I'd chime in.

I bought a touring bike with bar end shifters, the Novarra Randonee, for the gearing ratio and the fit. I love the bike but after trying to adjust to the bar ends for about 6 months, I gave up and had our local bike shop swap them out for brifters. Best thing I ever did!

I'm short so on the small frame I'd hit the end of the bar ends with my knees now and then, and I'm also a returning bike rider who gained a lot of weight so my balance and confidence are not what they used to be. My husband has the Trek 520 with the bar-end shifters and patiently coached me though several months of bar end tips and tricks but I just never got comfortable. We tried adjusting the tilt of the handlebars and stem length but that messed up the fit, so back to the shorter stem. Most importantly, I noticed I was trying to push up hills without shifting because I didn't want to take my hands off the bars. My knees started to ache and I wasn't as excited about riding my new bike with the awesome gear ratio. So, we switched out to the brifters.

I noticed immediately that I'm shifting all the time and getting better and better at climbing hills! We live in a pretty hilly area so even short little rides would affect my knees if I didn't shift more regularly and take advantage of the gears I have available.

I ride for exercise and pleasure, and I'm aiming for my first metric century by the end of summer 2015. And I'll probably use this bike. With over a 100 pounds to lose, a few extra pounds on a touring frame compared to a fast road bike frame won't make a difference. We're also looking forward to touring a bit and our first target is the Willamette Valley up in Oregon, and other rides such as that. We'll rarely if ever be far from civilization and bike shops so the on-road fixability of the bar ends is
not a factor.

My husband swears by his bar ends. Absolutely loves them, but was very supportive when he saw the difference the brifters made for me.
I hope you get used to the bar ends, but if you don't, don't be afraid to switch out to the brifters. Its kind of expensive, but worth it if it means you'll enjoy riding your bike more.

[ny biker]

Glad to hear you're so excited about your new bike! Do you have it yet? Do you love it? It's like magic when you find one that fits!

I haven't seen a recent post on this but thought I'd chime in.

I bought a touring bike with bar end shifters, the Novarra Randonee, for the gearing ratio and the fit. I love the bike but after trying to adjust to the bar ends for about 6 months, I gave up and had our local bike shop swap them out for brifters. Best thing I ever did!

I'm short so on the small frame I'd hit the end of the bar ends with my knees now and then, and I'm also a returning bike rider who gained a lot of weight so my balance and confidence are not what they used to be. My husband has the Trek 520 with the bar-end shifters and patiently coached me though several months of bar end tips and tricks but I just never got comfortable. We tried adjusting the tilt of the handlebars and stem length but that messed up the fit, so back to the shorter stem. Most importantly, I noticed I was trying to push up hills without shifting because I didn't want to take my hands off the bars. My knees started to ache and I wasn't as excited about riding my new bike with the awesome gear ratio. So, we switched out to the brifters.

I noticed immediately that I'm shifting all the time and getting better and better at climbing hills! We live in a pretty hilly area so even short little rides would affect my knees if I didn't shift more regularly and take advantage of the gears I have available.

I ride for exercise and pleasure, and I'm aiming for my first metric century by the end of summer 2015. And I'll probably use this bike. With over a 100 pounds to lose, a few extra pounds on a touring frame compared to a fast road bike frame won't make a difference. We're also looking forward to touring a bit and our first target is the Willamette Valley up in Oregon, and other rides such as that. We'll rarely if ever be far from civilization and bike shops so the on-road fixability of the bar ends is
not a factor.

My husband swears by his bar ends. Absolutely loves them, but was very supportive when he saw the difference the brifters made for me.
I hope you get used to the bar ends, but if you don't, don't be afraid to switch out to the brifters. Its kind of expensive, but worth it if it means you'll enjoy riding your bike more.

Thanks for posting this, and welcome to the forum!

[Jolt]

Interesting to read about everyone's different experiences and preferences...count me in with those who like their bar end shifters. For me they were easy to use right away and there never was a problem getting used to them. Downtube shifters, on the other hand...no thanks! I had a vintage bike for a bit that had them and never did feel completely comfortable reaching down to shift. That bike was also a little big, which probably didn't help. Hope the OP is enjoying the new bike!

[nuliajuk]

I had bar end shifters on my last touring bike, and used them for 23 years. At one point I was even comfortable enough to shift while standing up to climb or start from an intersection. When I got my current tourer and switched from the Sora brifters that I couldn't get comfortable with to Dura Ace bar ends, I didn't find them quite so easy - they seemed a lot stiffer then I remembered the old Sun Tour bar-cons being. Now I have some older 105 brifters that I found on eBay and get on a bit better with them. Mind you, part of that is that the levers are a much better fit for my hands than the huge brake levers that the shop fitted when they put on the Dura Ace shifters.
One drawback to bar end shifters is that they add about 1" to the length of the bottom of your handlebar. If I had kept them, I think I'd have had to have the bars trimmed back, because I occasionally found myself shifting with my knees by accident.