[LarryG]

I'm looking for a little info here; I am NOT looking to sell these now. What is the story with Suntour Power Thumbshifters? I see some selling on eBay for $20, others for $75. Is it market vagaries or are there different distinct models?

I have two sets of the ones pictured below. Are these the good ones or not?

BTW - I used to run these on the underside of road bike bars, next to the stem. I would grind down old Weinman brake lever bands to fit on the road bars. Worked great before I got spoiled by STI.

 

[DeeEight]

they make a nice clicking noise, and they're friction shifters. People who like thumbies like them. I like mine.

 

[ibike4fun]

I am fan of the original Suntour Power thumb shifters and use them today. Yours pictured above are the newer generation. The originals do not have the rubber pad, are slightly less ergonomic and have no plastic, but have the same basic mechanics. I prefer the originals over what you have. In my opinion I think they are superior to anything made today. The most field reliable of any shifter made. The only problem is that they only work up to 7 or 8 speeds. :thumbsup:

 

[LarryG]

I am fan of the original Suntour Power thumb shifters and use them today. Yours pictured above are the newer generation. The originals do not have the rubber pad, are slightly less ergonomic and have no plastic, but have the same basic mechanics. I prefer the originals over what you have. In my opinion I think they are superior to anything made today. The most field reliable of any shifter made. The only problem is that they only work up to 7 or 8 speeds. :thumbsup:

Yeah, I had a pair of the older-generation ones too. They didn't pull as much cable as these; the drum was smaller in diameter.

 

[82Sidewinder]

I also swear by the original Suntour Power thumbshifters. I have them on many of my vintage bikes, including my '83 Ritchey Annapurna and '84 Diamond Back Ridge Runner.

The ones with the rubber on the ends are newer, as Ibike4fun mentioned. I have a set of them on my '85 Mongoose ATB. They definitely pull more cable, but I find the originals to be smoother.

I've seen sets of the originals sell for as much as $120 on Ebay. It's not surprising, since they are well made, last forever, and can work with freewheels up to 8 speeds,with triple chain rings in the front.

Craig

 

[Fillet-brazed]

I also swear by the original Suntour Power thumbshifters. I have them on many of my vintage bikes, including my '83 Ritchey Annapurna and '84 Diamond Back Ridge Runner.

The ones with the rubber on the ends are newer, as Ibike4fun mentioned. I have a set of them on my '85 Mongoose ATB. They definitely pull more cable, but I find the originals to be smoother.

I've seen sets of the originals sell for as much as $120 on Ebay. It's not surprising, since they are well made, last forever, and can work with freewheels up to 8 speeds,with triple chain rings in the front.

Craig

Im not sure of the names, but the original Suntour thumb shifters were right side only and did have a plastic/rubber cover on the end. Then came the second generation with a pretty small barrel and still had the cover. The third version is the one that gets the money on ebay and is the one you guys are talking about. They are identical to the ones pictured above except for the end as its not made to accept a rubber cover. The cable pull is identical. My favorites (and its mainly a cosmetic thing) are the later XC versions with the little aluminum hood over them. Theyre pretty rare as I think Shimano started taking over at that point and not many were sold. But I agree, the ones without the rubber cover are very cool and work super good.

 

[DeeEight]

Mine don't have the rubber ends, though my suntour powershift barcons do have the rubber ends.

 

[DeeEight]

There's also shimano's old thumbies which were bulkier but ripped the light-index ratchet noise from suntour.

 

[ibike4fun]

I also have the Shimano version and don't care much for them. They slip alot and have plastic interanl parts. They are dumbed up version of the Suntour. Although, polished up, the Shimano's look SWEEEET!

 

[Fillet-brazed]

I also have the Shimano version and don't care much for them. They slip alot and have plastic interanl parts. They are dumbed up version of the Suntour. Although, polished up, the Shimano's look SWEEEET!

If they slip you just need to tighten down the D-ring on the top. Same with Suntours. I think the Deer Head shifters feel pretty good. I agree though, Suntours do feel a bit nicer mechanically.

 

[Guest]

I'm looking for a little info here; I am NOT looking to sell these now.

hmm, there are some one ebay right now that look very much like yours and the seller is from Lexington as well

http://cgi.ebay.com/Suntour-Power-Thumb-Shifters-Thumbshifters_W0QQitemZ300007640526QQihZ020QQcategoryZ42330QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Carsten

 

[bushpig]

I'm not saying anything

 

[DeeEight]

In an unrelated to anyone here coincidence, there's a set of the suntour barcons on ebay canada right now too that are already higher in price than what I got mine for (off ebay) a couple months ago.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Suntour-Bar-End-...ryZ36140QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[mwr]

The early rear-only Suntours were Mighty shifters.

 

[LarryG]

hmm, there are some one ebay right now that look very much like yours and the seller is from Lexington as well

Carsten

Hey - I asked for some information on the shifters, found out they were fairly generic, and then popped them up on eBay along with some other stuff. I did NOT use this forum to advertise them or point to them in any way. (You just did that.) In the past, I have sold other items in the MTBR classifieds (an IRD titanium fork, a Minute 2, a White Brothers fork, etc.) so I'm not averse to paying the $2 if I use MTBR to sell something.

 

[DeeEight]

fairly generic is you put the opening bid at $1.00, not $15.