Can I fit a downtube gear shifter on a surly cross-check frame?

i'm wondering whether they might be fittable on the downtube where there are mountings for cable guides already?

Dont see why not-if no a band-on attachment should be good too. I think.

i've no experience with down tube shifters - is there any reason i wouldn't be able (if i could mount one on the frame) to use it with a modern 10 speed dreailleur/ cassette?

They look like standard down tube bosses to me, so you should be able to fit levers on them. Check with Nhatt at Brixton Cycles though.

A quick Google turned up 10 speed Shimano Dura Ace downtube shifters. Pricey!

Why would you want them anyway?

bar end shifters, shirely?

my surly is set up as a single speed but am doing the dunwich ride on sat and i fancy some gears -

i've got a 10 speed road bike which i could use instead but would rather not.
one option is to strip the road bike of its rear mech and sti lever and use these on the surly -

then i thought would be easier to leave the brake / gear levers out of it completely and simply fit a down tube lever on the surly which would mean all i would have to do would be to fit the rear derailleur and cable it (i could simply then use the rear wheel (with cassette on) from the road bike).

Good idea.

Tho I'd get barend shifters as you're more likely to use them in the future.

I have a set of unused dura ace bar end shifters that I would sell, if you're interested PM me.
Personally I wouldn't make massive changes to a bike 2 days before a long ride :-)

I have a set of unused dura ace bar end shifters that I would sell, if you're interested PM me.
Personally I wouldn't make massive changes to a bike 2 days before a long ride :-)

i take your point about the changes - tinkering wih the bike is all part of the fun for me though.

how much for the bar end shifters? are they 10 speed? i was just quoted £ 80 for a new pair so I dont really think I'm in the market for them.

have also been told i could fit a bar end shifter to the downtube by removing the lever from the bar mounting - apparently it's basically the same as a down tube shifter inside and would work fine.

DA bar end = £62.99

vs

DA down tube = £44

Personally I just stump up the £20 for a possibly more useful bit of kit.

have also been told i could fit a bar end shifter to the downtube by removing the lever from the bar mounting - apparently it's basically the same as a down tube shifter inside and would work fine.

I've heard this too.

Plus I like the idea, that you can do this with them too:

(although knocking on £100 for thumb shifters is a bit silly)

if i could get a ten speed, indexed DT or bar end shifter it seems i could do it easily enough but sorting it for first thing sat seems like its gonna cost too much - - - unless anyone has a spare on lying around they would part with for cheap and / or favours?

I've heard this too.

Plus I like the idea, that you can do this with them too:

(although knocking on £100 for thumb shifters is a bit silly)

found these
http://www.kellybike.com/2nd_xtra_takeoff.html

dunno if anywhere in the uk does them

I think my DA's are 9 speed, need to check - I do also have some Paul Component 'thumbies' that convert bar end shifters to bar mount - like those above but nicer..

hmmn - i'd ruled out friction shifters thinking that with a 10 speed cassette i'd just be up and down it the whole time - maybe a single friction shifter would the the cheap easy way to go -
its only one ride after all..

OMG!!! it only fucking works - yay!

got a pair of friction shifters off a forumenger for a tenner - i totally expected the shifting to be all over the place with a 10 speed cassette....but its not. ok its not (or perhaps i'm not) super precise but I suggest to the chain that it should move up or down and it selects a sprocket more or less where I was thinking and sits nicely there without click-click-clicking like I expected it to.

all I had to do was take the wheel (with cassette), deraileur and chain off my road bike and fit some cable to the new set up. took me 30 mins max and total cost was under £15.00

this is why i love my cross check frame - so many options :)

Been thinking about getting a crosscheck for a while now. selling all my other bikes and having one faithful, do it all bike. Gonna do it, well gonna build one, then see if I should sell the other bikes, wouldn't want to make any rash decisions!