I think the flip side is,.... is spending $250 worth being able to shift out of the saddle in traffic? I think so.

I ditched DT shifters years ago and have not looked back. 2 of my 4 bikes are SS so, they don't even have shifters at all.

There were cheapers options back in the day. Suntour offered a wing-nut style shifter that mounted inboard of the brake levers. They sucked. If you want the functionality its totally worth it. If you don't need it, then its probably not worth the expense. It all depends on what your needs are.

That's what I'm talking about. You spend $160 and your brake levers are still Sora/Tiagra level. Whereas if you watch and wait you can get Ultegra STIs from Nashbar for $150. Granted, those are probably more likely to need to be replaced at some point....

The retail prices (and apparently wholesale!) on brifters are ridiculous though.

I agree. I think $150 should be the TOP price on STIs. $250 for Campy, since the Super Records are actually made at Campy in Italy, including the carbon-making.

Probikekit.com has 9-speed Dura-Ace downtube shifters for $45 and bar-ends for $69. Price includes free shipping to USA.

Epic fail.

If you're depending on your shifters to keep you safe in traffic, then you're doing something wrong. In nearly any activity, your goal should be to never get into a jam in which you are dependent solely on your equipment to keep you out of danger. I think that improving your technical riding skills and learning to ride strategically will enable you to avoid getting into situations in which you must use out of saddle shifting to get out of a mess.

He didn't say anything about safety. Try reading the post before composing your sermon.

I can read. I also have the critical thinking processes that enable me to clearly see the inferences that the post's very first sentence was meant to impart.

I ride between 30-35 mph in downtown traffic since there is no bike lane and the shoulder is basically a bunch of parked cars waiting to door me.

Rather than riding on the margin, I take the lane. But I am not strong enough to go from a stoplight to 35mph at the same rate as cars w/o getting out of the saddle.

I am not depending on my shifters to keep me safe, I am depending on my legs. But since my legs can only spin so fast, I need my gears and taking my hands off the bars at speed and in traffic is not something I love to do.

When you are basically sprinting in a straight line from a dead stop, what technical skills do you suggest I brush up on?

Interesting word choice. I think you made my point for me.

You're strange. And you have no point.

Back to the point at hand...

One of the problems with brifters is that they are perhaps the most mechanically complex gear on your bike. Consequently they are the most prone to wear and tear that leads to a breakdown. And all those little precision parts drive the cost up...

If you like riding brifters, then you have no choice but to accept the cost. But it's sort of solving a problem that doesn't exist for many riders. I guess I got so used to riding downtube shifters over the years (began riding seriously about 30 years ago) and just stuck mainly with them. Of course I'm cheap too.

My dad, who does cross country rides anually (East/West not North/South) had probaly 20-25k miles on a set of Dura Ace 9 sp shifters and they are still going strong, no mis-shifts, and no issues. He is working on his 10sp shifter's mileage now...

I personally have 10-12k miles on my DA brifters with not as much of a sneeze.

They may be complex, but they are pretty stout in my book. Are you guessing or do you have any real world experience with brifters?

I didn't say that they are crappy... just that the complexity makes them more prone to breakdowns than other typical bike components.

And I have no long term experience riding brifters. I rode a set for about 1000 miles a few years ago, but decided to go back to my vintage Shimano 600 "Golden Arrow" DT shifters. Brifters don't suit me because I ride with large front loaded bar bags set up with decaleurs... and brifters require that you reroute the cables with noodles and other such gadgets.

If brifters work for the way that you ride, then ride them. But I guess I'm pretty old school... they don't fit my style. I like friction shifters... trimming my derailleurs after a shift gives me something to do...

Every shop in town here has stories about people who let their bike tip over and the brifter bends or gets dinged and then the pair needs replacing. Those have to be the exception more than the rule or they'd be driven out of the marketplace but I guess people have to have a sense of the rate at which their bike accumulates those kind of dings, the rate at which brifters would need replacement, and their tolerance for the size of the overlap.

Every shop also has stories about people who drive into garages w/ their bikes on top of their car, there are some things that just happen. I don't know what the relative rates are.

Red light running.



(just kidding)

+1. I thought they would be a downgrade on my new bike, but I am never going back.

If we really address the question the OP is asking, then I suppose the answer is yes, brifters have to cost a lot. Consider that nice aero brake levers cost at LEAST $50 on their own and all they do is incorporate a bar clamp and a pivot into a single package that is comfy to hold.

Brifters are asked to do a lot more with similar size constraits as a standard aero lever.

Back to the discussion with Hydrated, I ran friction of years, and was happy when indexing came around, and even happier when STI came out. Cal me crazy, but going down a hill at ~50mph does not make me want to fiddle with my shifters. I agree that DT shifters are pretty much bulletproof, but STI and its variants offer so much more in efficiency, safety, and rider confidence. I can shift just fine w/ friction DT shifters, but it does not mean I want to. With STI, I can go on a full sprint out of saddle, and ease up just a fraction of the power for a fraction of a second and switch gears. No way that is even close to possible with DT shifters

Just a side note, the only thing that died in the 10-12k miles on my DA groupo was the BB bearings. Everything else is working just peachy, so for my particular case, the brifters were no more prone to breakage than any other part.

And as for running reds.... I was wondering if that was going to come up. I guess that is, of course, a technical option

When I'm going 50MPH, it means that I drove off of a cliff and spun out of my top gear 20MPH ago!

Why would you need to shift at 50MPH?

People who complain about the price of brifters = poor.

LOL @ poor.

My top gear on my bike is a 53/11 which means I can pedal easily in a 53/12 on a steep downhill and hit 45. To get to 50, I usually have to shift to my top gear and pedal harder on the same hill. I normally can't hit 50 in a tuck,... I have to be pedaling.

That you spin out at 30 mph in your top gear probably means you are carrying WAY more than I am. I normally ride with a water bottle, tube, levers, patch kit, iPod, phone and wallet (even when I commute).... I am carrying a lot when I have a shell stuffed in my rear jersey pocket

From what you have written, our riding styles are not very similar.

I'd say that you're most likely correct! (And this is before I mounted my BIG handlebar bag and decaleur!)

To me since a Shimano brifter lever can pivot toward the center of the bike as well as forward and back, it would be less likely to get broken because a bike fell over than a regular brake lever. You might get some scuffs and an accidental shift, but breakage would require something pretty freakish.

There's also no reason to replace both levers just because one broke.

Now it could be that there are some people who've spent $5,000.00+ on a bike and can't stand the idea of a scuffed up lever so they decide to get a new set.

I've got a 105 brifter that somebody crashed into a sand trap or something because it was literally packed with grit and functioning badly when I got it (for pretty much nothing). I had to take the lever off the shifter body and clean it out. That along with a bit of tri-flow got it working well again. It's not the prettiest but it does the job.

I used to work for a Fortune 300 financial services company that audited payment arrangements between auto dealerships and the car manufacturer's financing units (GMAC, Ford Motor Credit, etc.). You would not believe the mark-up on auto parts... Or, maybe you would...

downtube friction shifters for me. i can shift with my knees!! lol