Down Tube Shifters

Think really hard for a second, imagine when you won’t be able to ride anymore. What will you remember about cycling? If you’ve been riding long enough days of suffering start to blur and races start to feel like you are playing a song on repeat. 

If you’re like me, and the majority of your rides are solo, there are no conversations and riding isn’t a social activity. It’s a need, a way to decompress, focus my mind and plan. Drawings and design happen at those moments in the saddle and the soundtrack to those creations is the rhythm of cycling. If I get stuck on a assignment I go ride to open up and be more creative. 

Everything about cycling is audible, from the chuh-thunk of Sram to the rhythms of an out of the saddle climb. We use sound to asses bike issues, and also to asses the speed at which we are traveling. The one thing ill never forget about cycling is the sound of a perfect shift with an indexed down tube shifter. In my head, it is perfection. Maybe because the first bike I ever built from start to finish was a vintage road bike, or maybe it is truly that distinct of a sound, either way it’s one of those many little things that are unforgettable about cycling. When the sound fades, and we never pedal another stroke, what will remain for you?