Hi I was wondering if anyone could give me advice on the shifters on this Schwinn Caliente (From 1980s). I just bought it from a guy I found on craigslist, everything is in great condition and the shifters work, they're just a little tricky seeing as how this is my first road bike and I am used to the cheap mountain bikes you get from walmart. I will post the only pic I was able to get before it got dark, if you need better pictures some direction on what pictures I should get would be great. Thanks in advance!! I'm basically wondering if I should look into replacing them if there is an easier option? Or if someone could give me good advice on how to learn to use the current shifters!
Thanks in advance!
Friction shifters are actually not that bad. Somebody suggested as a learning experiment to try and deliberately misshift between two gears (on a really quiet road with no traffic!). Once you realise how difficult this is (in the rear) you will feel much more comfortable. Riding friction shifters off-road is... more challenging, though.
The only weird thing is that you need to take the hands off the bars to shift... and there downtube shifters are actually easier for me than stem mounted ones (but then I guess it is a matter of taste / what you are used to).
As Nigel said: changing to STIs is costly. Replacing the brakes is however very sensible. The single pivot ones are... bad. Also get really good brake pads (like Koolstop salmon coloured). Replacing the rims would also improve braking, but this again would be costly - unless you get some used ones at the local bike shop. I picked up a pair of wheels for... dunno... 25 EUR or so. They probably will need to be trued and tensioned and the bearings need to be overhauled, which not difficult (esp. the latter).
(I don't see the point of cross levers, I had them on one bike and never ever used them, but that is just me.)
Keep in mind that the cost to upgrade the brakes to dual pivot will most likely exceed the $100 mark, which by itself is more than the value of the bike. Of course it's your decision, but I don't think you derive much benefit for the amount spent. That bike is not going to be tearing down a hill at 40mph, and unless the rider has limited hand strength low speed braking will not improve all that much.
More important first is to have the bike shop do and estimate so they can tell you what needs to be done. Prioritize, match to your budget, and then see if the brakes still make sense.
The foam grips are easily removed with a box cutter, then padded tape can be put on. I would strongly advise if you don't change the levers to have the suicide levers removed.
I would also recommend trying to do as much as possible yourself. Wrapping bar tape is one of those jobs that are not too difficult... Sure, wrenching costs time and sometimes nerves, but doing some of the mainenance yourself is rewarding (and you save some money). You will also get a good feeling of how things really work and be able to judge after a while which jobs make sense (brake pads!), and which don't (replacing shifters), and which ones you'll do anyway.
Many people in this forum have a bad habit of sinking money in their bikes (me included)...
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