Have you ever broken an STI lever?

[pdxtex]

I mean utterly wore it out beyond all serviceability (is that a word?) ? After a spirited post-work ride with one of my franken-commuters I was marveling at how well the sora, yes SORA shifters performed. Im pretty abusive to my drive train on purpose sometimes, just seeing how well Ive tuned it up and it didn't miss a beat today. Ive got better, or I guess just expensive STI set ups on other bikes but barring any gripes with their ergonomics, those old 8 speed shifters keep on trucking, thumb shifter and all. I guarantee they have seen 20k + miles and with a little wd40 are still going strong. so have you ever really worn out an STI? How long did it take? Epic wipe outs do not count......

[banerjek]

Sure, a few. I typically get a bit more than 20k miles out of one. Lost one defective Rival lever after about 6k miles

[GP]

I think I've broken two. A 105 and an older one.

[pdxtex]

ive never ridden sram but i think id like to give it a try when i kill this groupset. the bike i rode today is shimano mega mix, 105 derailleurs, ultegra brakes, sora cranks/ultegra rings and sora shifters. hey at least everything is silver....

[banerjek]

ive never ridden sram but i think id like to give it a try when i kill this groupset. the bike i rode today is shimano mega mix, 105 derailleurs, ultegra brakes, sora cranks/ultegra rings and sora shifters. hey at least everything is silver....

Here's my take on SRAM. Love the ergonomics, love the weight. Hate the reliability. In fairness to SRAM, they stand behind their product and are good about sending replacements. But having levers break off at the most inconvenient times sucks donkey balls.

Just bought new brifters for one of my bikes and went for 6700. When my warranty replaced Rival fails again, I'll replace it with Ultegra unless it gives me a much more decent lifespan.

[bitingduck]

I've gotten about 25K miles out of the 105 9-speed STI levers before they go. I'm on my first set of DA, so I'm not sure how long they last.

[byte_speed]

I had a Rival right lever break off when the group was just less than two years old (roughly 4000 miles).

SRAM replaced it under warranty, no problem.

For the first couple of months with the group, I had the shifter cable fighting the limit screw, both too tight and the shift to the largest cassette cog was very hard. I think that may have damaged the shifter, but the failure was much later, so maybe not.

[pdxtex]

^^^we're talking the shift lever right? that does not seem as robust as shimano or campy levers, plus its doing all of the work, up and down shifting. the sram brake levers seem extremely stout to me tho.