Bicycle Mechanics - Will 8 speed STI left shifter suffice for on 9 speed FD & all 9 Speed bike?

Here's my situation:

Sorry for the long ramble, I just want to be clear what I have.

I originally purchased a 9 speed shifter (right hand) to setup a cyclocross bike with a single chain ring.

I then decided I wanted to go with a 2 x 9 speed option for cyclocross. For this, I shifted over my 9 speed shifters from another bike which was running a compact setup.

In the last 2 months, my wife has decided she's getting sick of her "comfort bike" and would like to go a bit faster.

Thankfully, we are both the same size and she can ride my Jamis Ventura Sport as an entry level road bike. All components on the bike are 9 speed, including the right shifter that I originally got (see above).

I'm just wondering if I can use an 8 speed STI type shifter such as the:

Shimano ST-2200 8 Speed left shifter

so that she can have a front / left shifter to interact with her 9 speed Front derailleur? Thoughts?

Won't the high and low limits and amount of throw I give the 8 speed shifter determine the shifting? I assume I can probably use any left shifter that is STI 8 speed? Left shifters are pretty dumb in comparison to right one's eh???

Dave

The left/front shifter doesn't care how many cogs you have; it cares how many chainrings you have. A double shifter can only handle a double crank. A triple shifter can handle a double or triple.

Mismatched brifters, however, may have different feels for your hands, which might be annoying.

Mismatched brifters, however, may have different feels for your hands, which might be annoying.
That was the only downside I could think of too.

Jive & HillRider - Thanks for the information.

I think you helped me save at least $50. Even if the feel of the brifters is a bit different, it won't be nearly the same as a bar-end shifter on the left. Both shifters will be shimano, thus I don't expect things to be too different for feel. If they are, who knows I might just get some matching covers that are capatible with both. Maybe that will help out on the feel.

Dave

Shimano seems to update the ergonomics of their brifters every couple years consistent across all lines. So, two brifters of different lines from the same year will feel more similar than the same line from different years. I don't think you can just replace the covers, the ergonomics are built into the structure.