Originally Posted by
sstorkel
I don't have quite that many miles on my Ultegra 6600-series STI shifters and triple drive-train, but they've been been flawless. Setup was much less finicky than the indexed bar-end shifters they replaced. Bought the STI shifters as brand-new take-offs on eBay and paid about what good bar-ends and brake levers would cost. Handlebar bag works fine; just push the cables out of the way. Despite dropping the bike on numerous occasions and crashing a time or two, I've been unable to break the STI shifters.
Shhhhhh, don't say that too loudly (from both hexing us brifter lovers, or amongst the naysayers
Seriously though, I figure in non extreme use (exposure to lots of dust, mud over a long time), with regular non gummy sprays of stuff like jig-a-loo, they work fine for years.