Originally Posted by
jim p
I was talking to a bike shop owner that was in his 50's. I asked him about brifters and I was surprised at what he said. It was his opinion that (1.) the main advantage of the brifter was for racing while in team events. He said that (2.) some of the teams had riders that were out to take down other teams top riders by intentionally breaking and causing crashes. (3.) The brifter allows the rider to be in a position to shift and break without having to move their hands so that they can ride more defensively.
He went on to say that (4.) he preferred down tube shifters because he does not race and no matter what hand position he is using while riding he can just drop his hand to the shifter easily. (5.) He also said that most riders when shifting brifters want both hands at the same location on their bars while shifting. (6.) Maybe this is because there is a chance that the brake might be accidentally applied. I have only used down tube shifters and have never had my hands on a brifter so I am wondering if any of the above information is even close to being correct. It sure seems like most want brifters on their bikes.
(1.) Find another LBS!
(2.) Find another LBS quick!!
(3.) Find another LBS now!!!
(4.) Find another LBS with a younger owner!
(5.) Find another LBS with a younger owner that knows how to ride a bike!!!
(6.) Find another LBS with a younger owner that knows how to ride a bike and who's not a complete friggin' klutz!!!!!
Seriously.
Brifters are the simplest, easiest to use method of shifting gears ever used on bicycles, and if anything they should have come on all entry-level bikes first.
Originally Posted by
pdlamb
.....One of the disadvantages nobody seems to talk about is that you're pretty much locked into one hand position (on the hoods) to get those advantages -- sort of takes the benefit of "multiple hand positions" out of dropped bars.....
Sorry, FAIL! You are not required to keep your hands on the hoods to keep the bike in gear, so once you have shifted, you are free to move your hand however you please, just like with downtubes shifters!!!
Originally Posted by
Racer Ex
b) Advantages: being able to leave both hands on the bars, being able to shift and brake simultaneously, quicker shifts, not having pointy objects on your downtube, not having cables flying out there on most systems.
c) Disadvantages: None. Well maybe weight if you take lightest vs. lightest but we're talking about a really small amount......
+ 1
... 
...Twice!
Originally Posted by
Racer Ex
.....With Di2 it's a perfect shift, every time. Stuff's amazing. Front derailleur trims itself......
+ 1
... ...Cool stuff there, huh???
Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
Another conspiracy theory. That's one of the goofiest things that I've ever heard.
+ 1
... ...Doodoodoodoo, doodoodoodoo..... ... 