Originally Posted by
Six jours
It was either 1989 or 1990 when several teams used brifters in the TdF for the first time - and LeMond still won, using friction downtube shifters. I won't claim that brifters are worse than other choices, but I don't see them as a serious advantage, either.
Probably one of the worst arguments ever against brifters.
Pros sometimes are suspicious of new technology and prefer something they have grown up using. I worked with 2 top pro riders in San Francisco (Paul Watson - a TdF rider, and Doug Shapiro, who was a team mate as a Junior with Lemond). They had some great stories and insights into the life of the top guys in cycling. The fact that Lemond won the Tour on friction shifters over lesser riders only means he was that much superior. Gearing isn't so important when you have that much torque and power on tap. I was racing in the Bay Area and northern California when STI first came out, and would laugh at the weight weenies with their DT shifters (STI had a 12 ounce penalty when first introduced) as I shifted while standing and climbing.
Pros would, 20 years ago, sometimes climb in a bigger gear than necessary to establish dominance and psyche out the competition.
It doesn't matter who you are, you will climb faster up anything significant with brifters.
Let's talk about TITANIUM: Worth every penny for almost any application in my book, including loaded touring, but that's just me.