Just wondering what the strategy is for quickly and stable-y shifting with downtube shifters is? I can't help but feel slow, clumsy, awkward and unstable when I go to shift. Any veterans out there?
I can understand your feeling clumsy when shifting. I don't have an answer for you but do remember when I had to do that fifteen years ago with my old Nishiki bike. Hope someone supplies you with an answer.
Practice, practice, practice is the key. Will you ever really feel stable and quick when you have to move your hands from the bars to shift? Probably not, whey else would they make such a big change to integrated shifters. Not sure what to tell you that would really help.
Same theory as pulling a water bottle out of the cage while pedaling. Keep doing it until you're comfortable. tajcrews has it right. Practice, practice, practice.
You will get a little used to over time. One thing to keep in mind is trying to shift before you need to. Get in the gear you need for the hill-climb before you start torquing on those pedals.
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