Wednesday, March 31, 2010

NAHBS - Part 3 - Three on the Top Tube

One of the things that caught my attention at the NAHBS were the many unique components that the builders custom designed and crafted to suit their particular need or desire or whim.

I should note that more often than not, the function of these custom components could have easily been satisfied by commercially available and mass produced devices. However, that would have been too easy. Even the more obtuse among us perusing the many booths that constituted the NAHBS could not help but conclude that these builders didn't know how to find the easy road, much less take it.

Case in point - shifters. There are a plethora of shifters to choose from. You have thumb shifters, grip shifters, STI shifters, bar end shifters and trigger shifters. You have friction activated shifters, index activated shifters and electronically activated shifters. You have shifters that range from 3 speed to God knows how many speeds (14 or 15 or ??). You have shifters that mount on the down tube, stem and various places on the handlebars. If you have a shifting need - I don't care what it is - there is a shifter for you.

Yet with this veritable hoard of high quality, readily available, commercial products that are more than sufficient in satisfying the form, fit and function of shifting, CYKELMAGEREN opts to add their own twist to the "shifting" landscape.Why not? If cars can have "4 on the Floor" then bikes can have "3 on the Top Tube"!

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