Roasted

Hey there guys. Long time mountain biker here who had a sick opportunity to grab a road bike at a cyclist market yesterday and did - I now have a 2010 GT GTR Three Series road bike. So far I've put about 50 miles on it and definitely dig the "other side" of the cycling world I haven't experienced till this weekend.

Several questions. For one, I am running Tiagra shifters. From what I can tell, they work great. From the price point of replacement Tiagra's vs 105's and other higher up models, I can see I'll probably be using Tiagra level gear from here on out. I'm sorry but some of this gear is robbery with their prices! Anyway when I was riding earlier I noticed something. As I went to shift from larger ring to smaller ring (double ring setup, not a triple) I hit some ripples in the road which caused my bike to shake as I shifted. I noticed that the "downshift" lever I had pushed the entire way to the right, yet it obviously felt as though it didn't "catch" the downshift point. I was able to replicate this by sort of pushing the downshift lever forward and pushing it to the right. It is something that isn't easy to do, but the fact I'm able to do it made me want to at least ask anyway. Is this normal behavior?

Also - I saw some road bikes that have a 2nd set of brake levers at the top-most riding position on the bars. I would like that if it's not too much to do. Is there a special way to install a 2nd set of brake levers? Are there any guides on how to do it? I haven't seen much at all on this when I googled it.

Lastly - Those shifters seem to form some sort of "handle" that looks accommodating to lean on. Is it safe to heavily lean on these things? I mean, they're not welded onto the handlebars, so I wasn't sure if they should be avoided for leaning when shifting a lot while riding or what. Also - how are they even connected? I hate to disassemble my handlebar area when I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing with road bike mechanics yet...

ptle

I don't know about the shifter, it could possibly be that the cable has too much tension.

Those levers are called cross levers or in-line levers. Below is information about installing them.
https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=146

Also, it's fine to put weight on the shifters as long as the rings holding them to the bars are install properly so that they won't slip. If you peel back the hood, you'll see a groove leading to a 5mm (or possibly 6mm) bolt that tightens the ring holding the shifters onto the bars. If you have carbon bars, make sure not to use too much torque.

Kevin in TN

Don't have so much experience here ... I've been riding about a month longer than you have, but I do have a tiagra bike with a double.

And I'm already eyeing a 105, carbon frame bike ... you'll come around.


On the left shifter, you have the ability to do a "half click", by tapping on the shifter. This slightly adjusts the position of the derailler, without shifting the chain. The reason for doing this is that when you are in the small chainring and the small cogs, or the large chainring and the large cogs, the chain will rub against the derailler. Half clicking will eliminate this rub. However, it still is a best practice to avoid cross chaining when you can, because it's still stressful on the chain.

You can absolutely hold on to the hoods, and that's where you should spend the majority of your time on an average ride. If they're set up right, there is no risk of them getting out of whack by leaning or pulling on them. They're connected via a hose-clamp-like mechanism. If you pull back the rubber on the outer side of the hood, you can adjust it.

Roasted

Nice guys. Thanks for the info! Much appreciated. Yeah in time I'm sure I'll begin upgrading the road bike, but I feel like these Tiagra's are better than what I need anyway. I'll probably use them until I wear them out. I went to this market expecting to spend 300 on an older road bike, but as I walked around and saw all of these brand new road bikes I just began to cave. I was so lucky to snag this bike @ 550 brand new 2010. It seems the retail of it is 999. So glad I didn't pass it up. But I think my KHS with the 2.1 tires will still be my pride and joy. However road biking is hella fun and more practical with the days getting darker earlier, since I can leave the driveway and ride whereas I have to drive to a trail in my car to hit up the mountain bike.

kayakdiver

Nothing wrong with Tiagra. Enjoy the new ride and congratulations!

Roasted

"Replace cheap - replace often." Tends to be the way I handle drivetrain changes, and I've worn out a couple shifters over the years. I'd much rather have to replace Tiagra's that do the job just fine versus Dura Ace's at holy high costs.

@ Kevin - I didn't realize what you meant at first by half click, but I think I get it now. Yeah I noticed that and that seems to work fine. I figured it was there for some reason, but now I know! But the thing I was questioning was I could push forward on the black handle to downshift on the left shifter and I felt like it "missed" the notch to downshift, and I could push it entirely to the right while making zero changes to the cable tension. As I said, certainly not a big issue. It's hard to duplicate it, but I found it on accident when I was hitting those bumps unexpectedly as I tried to downshift.

Also - I assume that torque spec for road vs mountain components are the same, right? I.E. if Hollowtech II cranksets call for 30 ft lbs for cup torque on my H. II crankset on my MTB, that's the same on road bikes too right? I'm willing to bet my car it is but I hate to make a mistake when I had a fair chance to ask.

kayakdiver

Double post

pacificaslim

You can lean on the shift levers if you'd like, and lots of people do, but resist the temptation to put weight between your thumb and index finger, or you may be one of the people coming back on here and asking about hands hurting. Instead, pull the hand back towards you slightly, and rest the naturally padded outside of the palm on the bars just before the hood of the lever. You can still quickly and easily reach the brake lever and shift lever.

caloso

If your levers are installed properly, you can lean on them all you like. When you need to get out of the saddle to climb, that's the natural place to put your hands. Viz: