Originally Posted by
Dave Mayer
I rode with downtube shifters for 30 years. Trust me - you want the brifters.
I prefer the ergonomics of the Shimano brifters with the separate paddle and downshift buttons - like in the ad. Fortunately these are the least expensive - a bonus. Plus they are among the mechanically simplest and lightest Shimano brifters. More benefits.
I also prefer the brifters in which the shift cables come out of the sides of the lever bodies and are not wrapped under the bar tape. It looks less clean, but the shifting action is crisper and lighter due to not having the extra friction involved in under the bar-tape housing runs.
For some reason Shimano went to under the bar tape shifter housings a few years back; I assume the marketing folks won over the engineers on this decision.
True fact. I prefer the action in my Tiagra shifters far more then my 105's.