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I'm new. I'm 26, from the UK and until last year I'd never cycled more than 10 miles before. Then in September I cycled 2700 miles from Maine to Florida. It was great.

I've just bought a Dawes Galaxy, I believe made in about 1997. It's got a Shimano RSX rear derailleur, 7 speed, indexed shifters. Three cogs on the front with friction shifting. Shifters are on the down tube.

My plan is to buy some Shimano brifters. I was hoping to upgrade the down tube shifter into the integrated brake shifter. Could anyone give me advice on which Shimano sets would be compatible? I imagine any Shimano 3x7 would work. Is that correct?

Would these work?

  1. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-ST-3300-Sora-7-Speed-STI-Lever-/291470495079?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item43dcfecd67

  2. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Shimano-Sora-ST-3300-7-7-Speed-Right-Hand-Side-STI-Shifter-Brake-Lever-/281698654774?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item41968c5a36

Other equipment I believe I'll need is: cable housing, wire, crimp tool, end caps, bar tape, cable tensioners ... What do I put in place of the current shifters, some sort of cable stop?

Anything else I would need? Anything else I need to consider?

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    By "main stem", I assume you mean the down tube. You might find a diagram like this helpful since the names aren't always obvious. For the cable stops, you're looking for something like these to bolt into the existing shifter braze-on.
    – Useless
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 12:38
  • Thanks and yes i meant the down tube, woops. and thanks for the second link too!
    – James
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 12:51

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You can buy any 7 speed Shimano brifter (or compatible ones made by Microshift). The ones you link to are fine. The front derailleur needs to be Shimano road.

You'll need: - Cable stops on the downtube - New cables and cable housing (brake and shift) - Probably new bar tape

The tools will be cable and housing cutters, an awl, a file and some screwdrivers/hex keys.

Not sure what you mean by cable tensioners.

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  • Thanks very much. I think i meant cable stops when i said tensioners. Still getting used to the terminology. Can i clarify what you mean by shimano "road" for the front deraileur? thanks again for the help!
    – James
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 12:25
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    Shimano makes mountain bike parts (altus, acera, alivio, deore, etc.) and road parts (claris, sora, tiagra, 105, etc.). In the pre-10 speed days, you could put whatever you wanted in the rear so long as it was Shimano. But the front had to be matched with the type of shifters (so road shifters, e.g. brifters, need a road front derailleur). RSX would be in the road group.
    – Batman
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 12:28
  • I imagine it would be road on a dawes. I know its a Shimano rsx rear deraileur and a hyperdrive crankset. I didn't realise the front deraileur would have a name as well. I guess what you're saying is that the brifter on the right side will work with the 7 speed rsx but unless the fron deraileur is a road one i wont be able to have a left 3 speed brifter. Did i get that right? thanks again, much appreciated batman!
    – James
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 12:32
  • Yep. But front derailleurs are less than 20 USD (e.g. Shimano Claris FD-2403, which should work is 19.99) if you don't have a road FD. Friction shifters don't care what kind of derailleurs you throw at it, so it could be anything.
    – Batman
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 12:36
  • Thanks Batman. Potentially last question... what would i need the awl and file for, i understand the rest.
    – James
    Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 12:39

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