these are a few of my favorite things:
Shimano BR-MT63 brake levers: simple functional bomb proof no bullshit. they'll work with any caliper and make it feel better. the reach adustment clicky clicky flat head underside is pretty cool
Shimano SL-M732 thumb shifters: any derailleur any time any place. fuck finicky front derailleurs with friction shifting it's all over-rated horseshit ramps and pins whatever whatever
Prestige cro-moly flat bar with some serious sweep: gives any refurbished bike credibility instantly retroactively. this bar is too cool to use on any old bike.
when the pods blow when the grip shifts when I'm not feeling sram I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad.
if only I had an endless supply of cockpits from 1989. or cases and cases of NOS thumb shifters and brake levers. all y'all think I'm a luddite curmudgeon stuck in the past and maybe I am but I'm not just blowing my own bike horn I'm trying to refurbish hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of bikes every year. bikes with blown shifters bikes with blown everything bikes stripped down to nothing. simple versatile proven technology helps the rebuilding process. no fluffy trendy shit.
visualize an old road bike made in Waterloo with blown first generation STI levers. I'd chuck the drop bar and levers keep the stem and insert a dignified flat bar then add thumbies and these levers and then you'd have a great all-around urban utility bike.
how about an even older touring bike made in Japan with non-aero levers and down-tube shifters. I'd chuck the bar and levers and shifters. add el diablos. insert dignified flat bar add thumbies and these levers and you've got the ultimate super commuter.
picture a Rock Hopper 24 a kid-size mountain bike with a 6-speed shimano cassette and shit shifters. I'd ditch the whole cockpit and the worn out cassette. add a hacked-down handlebar with thumbies and these levers. replace the cassette with a new Shimano 7-speed but leave off the small cog so it fits on the rare non-uniglide 6-speed free-hub body and limit the derailleur accordingly and the 7-speed indexing is right on. Your kid rolls away on the coolest kids bike ever.
dig if you will a picture of a 63cm road bike with down tube shifters and suicide levers on 38cm drop bars. I'd strip it down and build it up with el diablos and these thumbies and these levers on a big fat riser bar so you can keep your chin up and keep your hands where I can see them and ride around the city seriously sincerely really.
finally take a look at the steady stream of aluminum front suspension upright comfort city bikes grip-shifting rapid-rise rear derailleurs on mega-range freewheels. I will not waste these thumbies and levers on those projects.
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