Originally Posted by
zeppinger
You are probably correct that you will shift more often with STI but the big question is, does it matter? Shifting often and not shifting so often has more to do with riding style than actual efficiency in my opinion.
Do this experiment: Ride a typical route that you often take, such as to work or the library, and count the number of times you shift, round trip, and record your time. The next time you take that route do the same thing except cut the number of shifts you do in half and see if it makes a significant difference in time or pleasure for the ride.
??? Timing your ride won't tell you whether you are burning more calories than needed or damaging your knees from grinding too big a gear. There is a best gear for every situation. Sure, that best gear may be different for different people in the same situation, but for any given person there is a best gear at all times. If you are one or even two away from that best gear and you know it, but there's a change in terrain up ahead 150 feet where you can tell you'll have to change gears, a barcon or downtube user may elect to skip the shift he should make right now, knowing that in a few seconds he'll just have to shift again. I know that has been my practice when using barcons and DTs in the past. Now, I have but to think that I might be more comfortable in the 15 than the 17 and my hands are hard-wired to my brain in such a way that I'm instantly in the 15. Ten seconds later I'll go to the 19 if warranted.
I may not finish the ride faster this way, but I will have spent more time in the correct gear, which either matters or it doesn't. I think it does.
If a person rode on the flat part of the drops all the time, of course, the Barcons would have the same advantage over Brifters that Brifters have over Barcons if you ride on the hoods or the flats. But even in the regular drops, up on the curves where you can grab your brakes, the brifters still have the big advantage of not making you move your hands to shift.