After much travail and a little sorrow, it’s done. This is the new 9-speed drive train and it works as intended. The shifting is crisp and sweet and the new chain fits the parts better.
I ordered both new shifters, but only the rear one works. The matching front one is designed for a dérailleur with a longer arm, so the index is too large for the one I have. I had to put the old one back on, and it wasn’t that easy. However, the combination works okay and I’m not likely to change anything else for a while, unless something breaks.
The overall effect has made it just a little more low-geared, but there’s no problems. I’ll be heading out to Draper tomorrow to see what progress on the bikeway they have made.
Update: By snooping in the dealer’s manual online for those shifters, I found there was an adjusting screw that reduced the lever stroke, which also affected the indexing. I was able to make the left-hand shifter work with the front dérailleur and now we are in business. Thank You, Lord!
That gear switcher with the numbered gauge, on the right side of the handlebar–I’ve never seen one of those before. The ones I’ve seen are the shifters on the inside of the handlebar that you twist, and sometimes they get de-calibrated and you can’t tell what gear you’re in, or the numbers are too small to read without direct sunlight. Huh.
I’ve used the twist grip shifters and they can be moved unintentionally. This one is rather new good quality, so it’s unlikely to trouble me. I’ve gotten adept at reading them as needed, but tend to keep track in my head anyway.