Adventure Cycling Association Forum
Bicycle Travel => Gear Talk => Topic started by: ahorowit on October 14, 2006, 07:19:02 pm
-
It seems to me that STI shifters are more convenient and bar-ends a bit clumsy. Aside from style, why do many tourists prefer bar-ends?
-
From one tourist who rides both: for ease of use, I find STI easier on one- or two-gear shifts and bar-end easier on bigger shifts (think the start of a climb after a steep dip). The difference is insignificant, though, IMO.
Bar-ends are simpler to repair and adjust on the road, more rugged, and offer friction mode as a fall-back. Only once has a shifter (a down-tube model) blown up on me, drizzling what seemed to be dozens of little parts onto the pavement. Fortunately, the next town had a shop.
The difference in reliability is not terribly large, though, from conversations I have had with mechanics. It will not matter at all unless you would do roadside repair by yourself.
In sum, I'd say ride whichever appeals to you.
Fred
-
"It seems to me that STI shifters are more convenient and bar-ends a bit clumsy. Aside from style"
Its apparent from your pre-judgment you have never used bar-end shifters. I'd suggest using them and deciding the merits of each.
-
thanks for the input. My only bike, which I've had for over 10 years, has bar-ends, and they've been fine but I don't love them. I'm considering the Trek 520 and Cannondale T2000 and one of the differences between these bikes is the shifters, so I was trying to get a sense of other people's preferences.
-
I had STIs that give out after 1,000 Miles .While current Bar Ends Have given 30,000 miles not one problem .I would not use STI for Touring although many people have good luck with them. They are one reason i purchased Trek 520 .
Jim
-
Been riding a Fuji performance bike with 105STI shifters for two years. They appear to be reliable and user friendly--have about 3,000 miles on them. I recently got a cross bike with bar end shifters--am by far no expert, but I like the fact that you can shift very nicely when you are in the drops. I can see where they would be a real plus on a touring machine. Alex
-
My wife and I have Cannondale T800's, and while we haven't used bar-ends, we wouldn't be in a hurry to switch to them. Our biles came with Tiagra STI-lower end. They worked great for over 5 years, then seemed to be getting a bit sloppy, so we upgraded to Ultegra's. As we, and I think most tourers, spend most time with hands on the hoods, not in the drops, the shifters are always handy. And still handy to shift when in the drops too. I think the reliability thing is really a small thing nowadays. The only time I've been riding with anyone, and had any shifter fail was years ago, and it was a MTB Gripshift.
I believe that you are a lot more likely to use your gears properly, if you don't have to think about moving your hands off the bar every time you want to shift. As for keeping them in adjustment-we do a three week tour every year, and have never needed to do more than turn the cable adjusters half a turn or so.I have nothing against barends, I just wouldn't bother putting them on my bike.
-
I've used both STI/Ergo and barend shifters extensively so I do have some background here.
STI/Ergo are certainly more convenient and are the only shifters that are accessible while you are standing. This is not a minor point.
My experience with their reliability has been very good. I've had two sets of 105 8-speed STI's last over 30,000 miles each and have 10,000 miles on my current 105 9-speed STI's. My knowledge of other rider's experience is equally encouraging. The only "premature" failure I'm aware of came after 9000 miles on the bike of a rider I consider abusive to his equipment.
If maintenance is a selling point, Campagnolo's Ergo levers are rebuildable and can be made to work well with Shimano components by using a $35 J-tek adapter.
Barcons are less mechanically complex and offer a friction option if all else fails. They are easier to access than downtube shifters but not nearly as convenient as STI's.
BTW, Fred's comment about barcons being easier for multiple downshifts is not really germane as STI's allow 4-cog downshifts with one lever sweep and two sweeps will cover the entire cassette in a split second. Even the pros think this is fast enough.
-
DaveB wrote:
BTW, Fred's comment about barcons being easier for multiple downshifts is not really germane as STI's allow 4-cog downshifts with one lever sweep and two sweeps will cover the entire cassette in a split second.
Thanks, Dave. I'm glad to hear about the newer STI. My 3-year-olds give me only two gears per push, but I'll live with them for a while!
Fred
-
I've just completed my first tour after changing from STI (ultegra) to bar end shifters (dura-ace) on my thorn tourer and I liked them a lot. I liked the fact that you could shift while on the drops and the fact you can be very precice with shifting on the front chain ring. I don't think I would ever go back to STI, although I find the STI's much more comfortable in my hands, especially on long decents than my new brake levers.
-
I don't think I would ever go back to STI, although I find the STI's much more comfortable in my hands, especially on long decents than my new brake levers.
If the minor weight difference isn't a big deal, you could continue to use the STI's just as brake levers and use the barcons as shifters. Just don't hook the STI's up to the shifters.
-
Four years, 7000 miles on my 105 STI including mountains of Northern Tier. Love them, but will I keep them on in another two years when I again do a long trip in the mountains? For a week around Wisconsin next summer fine, but I do worry about them for my next tour in the mountains in 2008 that will be harder on them. I'm thinking of using bar end from my city bike or replacing the STI with new ones before I head west.
-
I have bar-end shifters on my Litespeed Blue Ridge. After over 20,000 miles touring around the country they still work fine but the cables have gotten a bit stiff and I might get them replaced. All those nights with the bike out in the rain while I was in my tent have taken their toll.
-
After over 20,000 miles touring around the country they still work fine but the cables have gotten a bit stiff and I might get them replaced...
No kidding. I think your cables are about 10,000 or 15,000 mile past due for replacement. Cables are cheap, easy to replace and a real pain if they break on a ride or trip. What were you waiting for?
-
Good idea. I've never replaced the shifting cables on bar-end shifters but I ought to be able to figure it out. Or maybe I'll just take it down to Chainwheel Drive and let them do it.
-
Bar ends are just plain relible which is what i look for on a tour's. I do not want to be stuck because of equipment failure. :(
Jim
Jim
-
Litespeed, Bar end cables are cake to replace. Just put new cables on mine. Left the housings in place, shot some dry chain lube into the housings. Lubed the cable, and strung it through. Adjustment took a little time, but everything is on "go". Been riding bar ends a month now and just love them, Am giving serious thought to putting bar ends on the aero bars on my go fast machine. Beat regards, Alex
-
I spend a lot of time at the local bike shop--since it is only a block away and the owner is a good friend. He contends that the greatest enemy of STI shifters is dirt--saying the grit causes premature wear. His solution is to give the shifters a blast of compressed air weekly. If you don`t have a compressor, canned air like you use to clean your computer keyboard works just as well. Also a dry chain lube applied to the pivots with a hyperdermic syringe helps keep things smooth. Alex
-
I'm a bit surprised that no one has talked about the advantages of
Campagnolo Ergo levers as an alternative to the STIs. After a three-
week end-to-end tour in England, I replaced my Ultegra STI levers with
Campy Centaur levers (and a J-Tek ShiftMate to fix the velecity ratio).
The Campy levers are cheaper, rebuildable, and don't have the cable
sticking out the side to interfere with a handlebar bag. The front
shifter is infinitely adjustable, which is important for those of us who
push our gearing to the limits of the advertised capacity and beyond.
The rear shifter allows multiple upshifts as well as multiple downshifts.
I will never buy Shimano levers again.
I have also used bar-end shifters. They are certainly OK, but not as
convenient as "brifters". For example, braking to a stop at the bottom
of a hill, the brifter lets you change down to a lower gear while
braking; the bar-con leaves you stuck in top. I've actually had more
maintenance problems with the bar-cons than with the brifters.
This message was edited by professorsquire on 11-13-06 @ 1:28 PM
-
Thank you for the info on J-Tek Shift Mate. Looked it up on the net and found hearingoffice.com-do gives complete installation instructions--well illustrated. Harris Cyclery also has the conversion charts and parts list. When my 105 STI shifters fail-whether it is one or both, I will most certainly go with Campy. I hate disposable stuff- especially something as pricey as shifters. I rode a friend`s bike with Ergo Shifters andd loved them. My wife`s bike has Sora STI. Can they be adapted as well? I assume that 105 will adapt since you see lots of Ultegra and 105 mixes.
-
I think the answer to this question depends on where on the drops you spend most of your time. The majority of my time is spend on the hoods when I'm in shifting situations - STI works fine. I spend very little time in the lower drop position - mainly when coasting down a hill and I don't usually need to shift much.
Work to Eat
Eat to Live
Live to Bike
Bike to Work
-
I spend most of my time on the hoods as well. My concern is mostly that STI, for the most part, are unrepairable. So, when they do fail--everything eventually wears out--I would like to replace them with something that can be serviced. In earlier discussions the J-Tek Shift Mate was brought up which allows the use of the Campy Ergo Shifters to be used with Shimano components. Campy components have replacement parts and are not "disposable" like Shimano. I`ll look around and see if I can find a set on sale and then get the J-Tek device which makes everything compatible. I like the bar ends on my commuter but much prefer STI or Campy on my performance machine.
-
My Xtracycle is set up with barcons, but I have them intalled onto Paul Thumbies and use Northroad bars. My touring rig is currently set up with the Jones H-Bar (which is a type of flat bar) and Dura Ace downtube shifters mounted to Paul Thumbies installed, of course, on the bar. I prefer the barcons/downtube shifters for the primary reason other folks have stated - reliability and ease of adjustment and repair. I just thought I'd add my $0.02 since I don't use drop bars and thought this might be a slightly different perspective.
--
......... __ o
.........-\<,
......(O) (O)...........
...........................
i'd rather be biking.
-
Good insight. Love the bar-ends on my commuter/touring machine. They seem much more precise,especially when I get down into my "senior citizen" gears. They also are very intuitive. I do, however prefer STI type shifters on my performance machine. Regards, Alex