come on really, do they?

It's a relatively complex mechanism compared to DT or bar end shifters, so I understand it. Smaller parts, more work to make them, have to be finished well inside to work properly, etc...

It's also what the market demands. If people weren't willing to pay it, they'd probably cost less.

If you don't want to pay that much, get some downtube or bar-end shifters. You can buy Shimano's top-of-the-line (Dura Ace) DT or bar-end shifters for much less than $100, and chances are you will never wear them out.

$100? Where are you finding that? Other than Sora brifters it seems like everything is in the $300+ price range to me. I agree, it's ridiculous. You look at the top of the line mountain RapidFire shifters and they're a fraction of the cost. Is adding a brake lever really that much more engineering and complexity and cost? I highly doubt it.

About twice a year Nashbar blows out Ultegra 10 speed shifters for $150.

Downtube or bar end friction shifters. Simple. Dependable. Repairable.

You'll never wear them out.

$100?

Where? I'll buy 20 sets for the store....

I spent $150 for new 105 brifters. No regrets, I hate fooling around with vague controls.

I bought some new Dura-Ace brifters for $200 from Nashbar when they were phasing out 9-speed equipment. Bought another set for about $240 from a British on-line web store. In general, you can buy components for much less from British bike stores such as Wiggle, Chain Reaction, Ribble, SJS and some of them offer free shipping for orders over X amount. Probikekit.com has free shipping to the US for any size order.

Oh, they cost that much! Yikes & UGH! My rapid fires upside down are fine - just hard on my right thumb.

I recently got some Ultegra 10sp/triple brifters from nashbar for $150, I'm not sure if they still have them at that price, but they were selling for less than Tiagra

Shimano only has Dura Ace for their bar ends and downtube shifters IIRC.

Nope. About 5 months ago I bought 8spd Ultegra bar-ends from Jenson for $56. Included the shift levers, pods, cables, housing, and cable stops.

I was wondering about that; I guess if they're only going to have one model, why not give it the best label?

Was fixing them an option? I've heard campagnolo are the only ones w/ replaceable parts.

I have D-A barcons on my brevet bike. They're cheap, field serviceable, and dang near impossible to break or wear out. Plus, I leave them on friction mode so I never have to worry about a poorly trimmed shift (like with an out-of-adjustment STI). I also have friction shifters on my utility cruiser MTB.

My other solution is to forego the shifters altogether and just run a singlespeed freewheel.

Shifters are a big reason for road bike prices being so high.

Nashbar's 2008 model 10 speed shifters are now on sale for $120. They have dual paddles instead of using the brake lever as a shifter.

Anyone tried them? What did you think?

I find it interesting that on Ebay Ultegra 9 speed shifters often sell for more than Ultegra 10 speed.

The Nashbar shifters are Microshift, which come stock on low-end Fujis. They're horrible.

As for the 9-10 difference in price, that's because Shimano changed the ergonomics of the shifters when they went to 10 speed, and they suck now. I have a NOS set of Dura-Ace 3x9 brifters on my touring bike. I have 10 speed Ultegra on my Masi, and it's getting put on eBay soon cuz I can't stand it.

I got my Ultegras from Nashbar for $135 ($150 + 10% off), and I was thrilled. It's about the same as I paid for my XT shifters + Avid SpeedDial SL brake levers ($110 total).

Barcons 4 life. Oh, and downtubes. How could I forget downtubes? Cheap reliable, simple, can run in friction mode if indexing gets hosed up. Boo-yah.

He said bar end or downtube shifters. They are not brifters.

I like the convenience of brifters as much as the next person, but I prefer to do my own maintenance wherever possible. Bar ends provide the convenience of shifting without taking your hands off the bars. They are pretty close to indestructible too. They are my personal preference, but I also know plenty of people who don't like them.

Maybe after electronic shifting goes mainstream, we'll see brifter prices come down to earth. Hopefully they will hold up better than the quick fires on MTBs. I've never come across a bike more than 5 years old with working quick-fire shifters. They are designed obsolescence, pure and simple.

Can somebody quote me a price on Ultegra level bar ends + Ultegra level brake levers?

And that is why I have a bazillion sets of perfectly-working Shimano RapidFire shifter sets here at the house. People replace them when they don't need to be replaced. When RapidFires stop working, it's because the grease they used to lubricate the pawl that grabs the toothed cog solidifies. Remove the cover (one or two screws), spray the crap out of the pawl(s) with T9, dry silicone lube, or even CleanStreak, move the pawl a few times with a pick or screwdriver, put the cover back on, and it'll work for another 5-10 years.

People don't want to pay to have me do that at the shop though, so they get shiny new shifters. The old ones come home with me, I clean and lube them, and use them on my own bikes or pass them on to one of the bicycle "charity" groups.

Unlike STIs, RapidFires (or Crapidfires, as they're also known) CAN be easily repaired.

I would love to know what the bike manufacturers pay for them. Per reports I have seen their quantity price for components is far below retail.

I worked in manufacturing for years and the rule of thumb was that MSRP was 10x actual direct production cost, parts and direct labor. Also about 3x our wholesale selling price. Wholesale was based on production costs, ALL overhead costs, and a reasonable profit margin.

Dura Ace are the only Shimano bar-ends that my shop can get (for 10 speed). OUR cost on them is $55.05. Dura Ace 10 speed DT shifters are $60.05 our cost. Our COST on DA ST-7900 brifters is $455.05. That's more than they sell for on PBK.

As for a price quote on bar-ends and brake levers.....

We can only get Sora/Tiagra level brake levers (Shimano) They'd go for about $60.00
The DA Bar Ends would retail for around $99.

Campy Record brake levers cost us $152.49, and would retail for about $250.
Campy Bar End shifters cost us $145.49 and would retail for about $225.
Campy Record ErgoLevers, on the other hand, cost us $329.69, and would retail for about $500.