3 questions

1. Which brands make the best mechanical brifters that are able to interconnect with each other?

2. How do these mechanical brifters work anyways? Are these types of brifters easier to malfunction?

Honestly I'm having difficulty understating what you're asking. There are no mechanical drivetrains that allow for a single derailleur to be controlled by multiple shifters, and I can't think of any way it could be done. If this is what you need, then you need an electronic drivetrain.

You could put as many as you want on(I'm not sure why you would...) as far as hand positions go. But only one will have shifting capability.

What exactly are you envisioning?

There are levers called "cross" or "interrupter" levers, which are BRAKE levers which allow for additional braking positions, but none for use interconnected with brifters for shifting.

Yep, "interrupt" or "cross top" levers for braking.

If the OP wants multiple shift positions then he needs to go electronic.


-Tim-

What's the 3rd question?

Seriously count the question marks.

"Are these types of brifters easier to malfunction? Just because there isn't a number in front of it doesn't negate that it is actually a question.

Then why number them at all? Not a big deal but it's raining and cold here this morning so I've got the time for snarky remarks.

Don't you know there are three kinds of people in the world?
Those who can count and those who can't!

Steve

I understand. Relieve your stress/boredom and snark away
BTW, the two questions in question 2 are more related to each other than to question 1, which is why I chosed not to separate them.

That made sense.

Brifters don't interconnect with each other. A brifter's shifting mechanism connects to a derailleur, and its braking mechanism connects to -- you guessed it -- your brake caliper.

As for brands, Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo all make good brifters. Microshift is another company that makes brifters, often an lower price points. I haven't had my hands on any of their products, but feedback seems to be generally positive.

For any given model of brifter, you need to be aware of what brand/model(s) derailleur they'll interface with and how many cogs ("speeds") they'll work with. You can't just cobble together random combinations of parts like a 10-speed SRAM shifter with a Campagnolo derailleur and an 11-speed Shimano derailleur, for example. Sorta like you can't just throw an alternator from any Nissan into a Toyota. You need to cross-reference what'll fit and what'll work.

Generally speaking, they're just an indexed shifter and a brake lever in the same housing. Click the shift mechanism one way and it'll pull just enough cable to and you upshift a gear. Click the other way and it'll release just enough cable to downshift a gear.

They're intricate little devices, with a number of pawls and springs. With such a complex mechanism in a tiny little housing, occasionally something will go wrong. "Occasionally" is pretty darn rare, though. They're reliable devices.

If you search these forums, you'll probably find that the most common malfunction is dried up lubrication. Flush with solvent, re-lube, and you're back in business. Another common issue is cable fraying/breakage. It can be a pain to remove a cable once it's damaged, but once it's out, just replace it and you're back on the road.

<EDIT> Oh, and as for "different hand positions" as mentioned in the thread title... All of the major brands make their brifters such that you can brake and shift from multiple hand positions. With the exception of some older lower-end Shimano brifters, you can reach the brake lever and shift paddles/levers/buttons from the hoods or drops.

There are actually 10 types of people in the world.

01 Those who know binary numbers
02 Those who don't know binary numbers
10 Those who weren't expecting base 3

Nobody expects Base 3!
Steve

1- no brand makes brifters, or just gear only controls, that are meant to link together to allow more then one control location. The cable movement needs for shifting is different then that for brakes. Now one could daisy chain some and find out easily enough and report back here. (Excepting the previously mentioned electronic controls)


2- The lever rotates a cylinder which the cable is wrapped around. Some sort of rotational position holding device (ratchet teeth and pawl or G spring/ball and detent/"index gear") to trap the cylinder at a point that the cable has moved only enough to make the der move enough for one shift. The unit has advance and release functions which "undo" the holding device allowing further shifting in either direction when the holding device re engages. there are many on line images of the internal workings if one were to do some searching.


?- This, and other, forum has dozens of threads about the malfunctioning of every type of shifter control. The more complicated the control is the more likely of more types of problems, from wear, incident, poor maintenance or manufacturing issues. So I would say that brifters have more to go wrong. Given the number of friction levers I see that are falling apart from not being kept tight, that have worn/broken bits, that are broken from impacts I am unable to say any one design is more idiot proof. Andy.

Derailleurs with Electronic shifting allows for multiple shift button locations..


Just dont ask how much it costs to satisfy your desires , here, they are priceless ..






I thought the Troll at the bridge was who required you answer 3 questions, questions 3, before you were permitted to cross..






....

I miss octal boots and hexidecimal

The only mechanical one I have seen is not designed for brifters. I bought an XTR M-950 shifter and it came with a remote shifter (SS-95). Never did anything with it, but I think it connected to the trigger shifter to make the shifts.

What do I know, it's still in the box... lol.

John

Is CHOSED the past-tense for CHOSE?
Jon

No 'chose' would be. My mistake