Originally Posted by
maxmad
mechBgon: I have a cassette with 9 cogs and triple cranks. The rear derailleur is Tiagra and the front one is Sora
Ok good, I'd suggest the Tiagra 4503 shifters are worth looking into. They're the 3 x 9 configuration and the lever blade can be brought about 1cm closer to the bars with a rubber shim that comes with them (or is available separately). Another option is a 9-speed flavor of 105 or Ultegra, they should be floating around on Ebay... current example:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shimano-105-...item4cff48d370 . As a side note, in cold weather, my relatively loose-fitting gloves can make the smaller shift paddle a little tricky to operate reliably on these designs.
You also may want to consider a handlebar that lets you get your hands forward a bit more in the drops; ironically, I think the traditional curved drop bar may be better in this sense than ergonomic-bend drop bars.
Tangentially, Sora will be
abandoning the thumb-button design shortly. Sora will also be sticking with 9sp for now. So if you wait a little longer, Sora 3500 will be another option.