Indexing compatability?

Evening all,

I have been happily going along gathering up bits and bobs to build up my new retro road bike, until i was suddenly hit by the worry "will it all work together?".
My intention was to use a suntour superbe pro rear mech in combination with some shimano 7 speed indexed DT levers, figuring that the mech doesn't care if it's controlled with a friction lever or one with pre-set stops.
Am i right?, or am i a foolish optimist who's about to have an annoying reality check.
Your thoughts/opinions expert or otherwise will be gratefully received Matt

p.s. the reason i'm asking is that the levers i'd intended to use are knackered, so i've got to source some new ones, and thought i'd better check it was all gonna work before spending yet more money on t'bay!

Just get some friction downtube levers.........and man-up

Shaun

i have my suntour superb pro mech
and have some suntour xc expert thumb shifters friction and indexed on the bars much better to use than downtube shifters
there not the cheapest shifters but they re superb quality and i have 5 pairs theyre great
im in sufflok too

I run a Superbe Pro rear mech on a 7 sp Shimano freewheel in index and it's slick-as. I do however use the SSP 6/7 sp index levers. Fair point above though, I quite often will run it in friction simply because it's so nice to do so. Ligh, fast, quiet, intuitive.

superb pro mechs are lovely ive had one for about 20 years and wasnt new when i got it for 15 quid and its still going strong and super slick
and every time i need to put shifters on i fit
suntour xc comp ,expert pro ,accushifts ,on theyre great and silky smooth

Thanks for the responses guys , it sounds like i'll be tracking down some replacement indexed shifters shortly.

As for manning up and going full friction... well for the last few years i've been riding in luxury with 9speed ultegra/dura ace sti shifters, so indexed downtube levers are 'man' enough for the moment.... and period correct of course! phew!!

Matt

you could also try to source a pair of TOP MOUNT self trimming suntour shifters. The radius of the cable on the shifter body is larger so very little movements is required to shift. I have mine combined with a cyclone rear mech and it makes for fast and intuitive shifts. Highly recommended set up.

Why not try it first?
Older indexing was a lot more forgiving than modern stuff and different manufacturers were less concerned about making their products different from the rest.

Does this help? http://www.ctc.org.uk/desktopdefault.aspx?tabid=3946