SHIMANOSora SL-R400 Downtube 8spd Shifter Set SP-3300 Braze

I used these as part of a flat bar conversion project on my wife's old Trek road bike. She has the Shimano RS deraileurs circa 1993. Three gears in the front and 7 in the back. Standard SIS spacing on the rear gearset.The shifters are nice quality, well machined, and have a nice feel.The front shifter has plenty of travel to handle the triple gearset. Getting in and out of granny gear and high gear is easy. There's a little clicky feel like a ratchet in the front shifter but it's not indexed, it's just for friction. Overall it's a nice feel for shifting.The rear shifter is indexed for Shimano 8-speed SIS. I was a little worried about this as my wife's bike has the old 7-speed rear gearset. No worries though. I set little gear as one, and set my deraileur limiter setscrew for the top gear and it shifts just fine. Gears 1-7 click in with precision. Unlike the Dura-Ace shifters, the R400 rear shifter does not have a friction setting. It's set for index shifting and that's all there is. But it does work for either 7 or 8 speed so it's all good. If you really want friction setting, spend the extra $20 and get the Dura-Ace shifters. Re-machining these to get friction is possible, I looked at it, but it might ruin them and I chickened out. As it turns out, my wife loved the index shifting anyway.So they're nice shifters. They're really well made and have a nice feel.

I bought these down-tube shifters because I like the classic feel of using ;them. I had ergo-shifters on the bike when I purchased it but when one of them malfunctioned I went to bar-end shifters. They worked fine but I changed handlebars and decided to go with these down-tube shifters. Haven't used them yet but I will add to my review when I start using them. They were very easy to install though.

I put these on my commuter bike for the old-school downtube shifter vibe. Also I'm running a disc brake up front and v-brake on the back, and I didn't want to deal with finding shifters with linear pull brakes for road bike handlebars.I've used these for 6 months and they're built solid. For anyone new to downtube shifters, just be wary: they require a bit more work than shifters on handlebars but there is a certain simplicity about them that can't be beat. After a few rides, shifting with these feels very natural.The indexing works well. I have no complaints about their function and workmanship. Quite the contrary.At the time that I got them, Shimano was no longer making them, so if you want them and can find them, snap them up. You won't be disappointed.

They work as expected. Cables are included. The front shifter is not indexed, but it has many soft clicks.

I replaced my sunrace downtube with this shimano set and it is night and day. Would recommend!