8 speed shifter compatibility with vintage dura ace

cycletothesea":3uno8tu4 said:
I have a lovely Pinarello with a 7400 dura ace groupset, however the shifters recently gave up working properly. Rather than buying some more expensive Dura Ace downtube shifters, I tried to fit some more modern SL-R400 shimano 8 speed shifters. Trouble is, I can't get them to index properly with the old Dura Ace derailleur. Should this be a problem? Are they likely to be incompatible?


I've been having a thunk on this, why dont you go mad and fit a 10spd cassette/ chain and fit 10spd shifters? I've been doing this myself and wanging on to whomever would listen

Heres an old mountain Deore MT-60 rear mech via some Dura-Ace 10spd shifter. It indexes nicely and certainly chains wont brake the bank

file.php


cheapish bits

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-Dura ... rk:25:pf:0

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M-Wave-10-Sp ... k:156:pf:0

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BBB-Drivetra ... rk:38:pf:0
 
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legrandefromage":2imbdjf1 said:
cycletothesea":2imbdjf1 said:
I have a lovely Pinarello with a 7400 dura ace groupset, however the shifters recently gave up working properly. Rather than buying some more expensive Dura Ace downtube shifters, I tried to fit some more modern SL-R400 shimano 8 speed shifters. Trouble is, I can't get them to index properly with the old Dura Ace derailleur. Should this be a problem? Are they likely to be incompatible?
I've been having a thunk on this, why dont you go mad and fit a 10spd cassette/ chain and fit 10spd shifters? I've been doing this myself and wanging on to whomever would listen
Heres an old mountain Deore MT-60 rear mech via some Dura-Ace 10spd shifter. It indexes nicely and certainly chains wont brake the bank
file.php

cheapish bits
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-Dura ... rk:25:pf:0
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M-Wave-10-Sp ... k:156:pf:0
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BBB-Drivetra ... rk:38:pf:0

Well, it's an option, haven't decided yet though, always room for an upgrade. But it's my first bike build from about 6 years ago, so I'd like to try and keep it as near as possible to what it was.
 
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Okay, well I have all sorts of options now. Either new 9 speed shifters OR fit 8-speed Claris derailleur and take the opportunity to put a bigger range cassette on, might help me ride it a lot more. Be shame to remove all of the Dura Ace stuff just because I can't find an 8 speed DA shifter set though - so that makes just switching to friction shifting the best thing. Oh - I don't know. Original build thread here:

viewtopic.php?f=23&t=289336&hilit=Pinarello
 
The other question I have is what's wrong with the old shifters? Can they be fixed?
I've a set of thumbies I've used for 29 years, the things are bombproof! The indexing works the same in all types: on a small ball bearing engaging into a dimple, secured by a sprung washer.
 
Re:

My 9 speed levers most certainly didn't work with 8 speed Dura Ace. Shame as it would have made a nice set up on my TT bike.
 
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