Getting caught up, finally!

After returning from a weekend trip which turned into nearly 3 weeks,

I jumped right into a couple of projects I had left hanging.

I came home to a pile of boxes of parts I had ordered from various places and went to finish the Hunq right away.  I had ordered a pair of thumbshifter adapters from Velo Orange.  Of course the first step is to remove the shift levers from the bar ends.

Then it is simple enough to attach the lever to the handlebar adapter.  

I chose the VO adapter over the Paul's similar model for two good reasons.  

They are 30% cheaper than the Paul unit, and I haven't been disappointed with the components from VO yet.

They include 2 sets of shims as well as extra posts in case you are converting from downtube shifters.

For me, it was simply screwing the lever onto the clamp and deciding where to put it.

The handlebars are getting a little"busy" with the addition of the cross levers, 

so I  thought of putting the levers on the inside, but  I would be shifting backwards

and the cables and levers would be interfering with the grip areas.

I went ahead and crowded them in the normal way and stressed over their interfering with the brakes,

until, duh!, I realized I could rotate the brakes down nearly vertical without loosing any effectiveness.

Cutting new housings and routing them was a snap, the cables needed cut also since I eliminated about 6 inches of reach by moving them from the barends.

Of course, I had to do something with the bar ends so I stuffed a cork in them, 

wrapped the ends in twine and slathered them with shellac.

 I want to see how much fun this is in the snow, so I  put on the Alberts and added

a weird looking rear fender and am all set to play.  

I think it was a nice touch that SKS thought of me and added a support strap that not only matched the trim, but also coordinates with my hair.