eastbay71

I've tried several of the STI/ Dual Control levers on the market including Campagnolo Veloce 8 speed, Shimano ST-3600 Sora 9 speed, 4700 Tiagra 9 speed, 5700 105 10 speed, 6400 600 Tri-Color 8 speed, 7700 Dura Ace 9 speed, 6800 Ultegra 11 speed and Microshift 9 speed. I used each for a good amount of time to get a good feel for them and actually still have most of the bikes except the Taigra, Ultegra and Campy setups.
I feel like the newer ones aren't really any better than the original ST-6400s. The 600 Tri-Color are very nice to look at, shift smoothly and allow for front derailleur trim better than the new ones do. The closest runners up would be the Tiagra and Sora levers which are very similar to the ST-6400s. These would be quickly followed by the Campy levers because of the ability to quickly dump several gears at once. I felt like the newer levers with the internal cable routing were too fat and kind of ugly. I liked the thumb levers on the Campy and Microshift levers but the Microshift levers just aren't ready for primetime - specifically the left lever does not shift the front derailleur consistently.
Am I the only one that feels this way?

obed7

I don't think it matters... if you like it... go with it...
I have one 6500 set, one 6700 set and three 6800 sets... and i feel like each generation got just a wee bit better...I think of lot of it is our perception based on our feel... they all get the job done with no issues for me.

Stucky

I like my 9-speed DA 7700 better than any of the more modern stuff- but I'd imagine the 600 is even better. The older stuff was built better; had a better feel to it. More substance. The newer stuff is more frills- like carbon levers.....that don't do anything positive; just give stuff a cheaper look/feel- like plastic. (I had 6700 Ultegra- it eorked O-K...but I didn't like it. No style; no "feel")

In my opion though, downtube shifters have any STI beat by a mile. No more STI for me- downtubes from now on. It seems virtually every modern feature on bikes are just gimmicks; I want the real deal...the things that add function, but which do so the simplest way. No more modern bikes for me; C&V all the way!

Downtube shifters
Quill stem
Square-taper BB
Real metal

These things all worked fine; looked and felt good; were very durable; and rarely had problems.

andr0id

I love nostalgia and ride a steel frame, but no way is any of that stuff better than what is out now.

Stems: Now I can quickly and easily swap a stem when my riding position needs to change throughout the season. That is a GIANT pain in the ass with a quill stem.

Downtube shifters: Sorry no, when you pedal with a proper cadence, you shift frequently. I don't need to be reaching for the down tube all the time. In a group, my hands can be near the brakes and I can shift at the same time. Much safer and comfortable situation.

Square taper BB: No, way too flexy, used to get FD rub out of the saddle all the time with old style BB. No more with Hollowtech II.

Real metal: I don't think there's much composite bits on 6800 series at all. Just the pedals.

I rode several seasons on 7700 and 7800 DA. 6800 Ultegra is better than both of those.