This thread has gone on long enough that I must confess that I never heard the rod-actuated front shifters referred to as "suicide levers," starting in '62 or so. We always called them "slap shifters," but that might have just been out group in the hostile hinterlands (Houston). "Suicide levers" came later, in the form of the crazy-stupid adaptations to dropped-bar levers so you could nominally brake from the tops of the bars. If the extensions didn't hit the handlebar before engaging. If you could do it w/o going over the bars because your center of gravity was higher. Etc.
harvey sachs mcLean va
In a message dated 4/26/06 7:19:21 PM, classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org writes:
>> No, but when I ride my Cambio Corsa bike I time shifts
>> for stretches with no driveways or intersections!
>> David Feldman
>> Vancouver, WA
>>
>
>
Ahh, the Cambio Corsa... if anything actually DESERVED the name "Suicide Shifter" (especially if you're left-handed ;-)....
Bob Hovey
Columbus, GA