Is there a way to prevent shimano ultegra shifters/brakes from scratching when the handlebars hit the ground or whatever?

Wrap them with several layers duct tape. It comes in a variety of colors these days for a personal statement.

No, (maybe .. if you stick to cross races on soft turf).

Just don't crash , or get used to buying new parts,
or cheaper ones so you don't shed a tear when you do.

There's really no delicate way to put this: Improve your skills.

No. When smooth things come into contact with harder, sharper things, they will scratch.

Scratches = street cred

The shifters shouldn't come into contact with the ground. I can see two situations where they would- the bike's falling over when moving, or it's falling over when it's stationary. The former is solved by not crashing, the latter can be simply solved with a kickstand.

I'm a little intrigued about the thought process that goes into a question like this.

Haha.. As am I.

Hey there Danagrams!

Perhaps a better question would be:

How can I restore the appearance of scratched brifters?

Answer: You can paint them with rustoleum brush paint, model airplane paint, or fingernail polish. If your brifters are gouged or deeply scratched, then you should fill the gouge with either epoxy filler or some type of permanent glue. Lightly sand it down with fine sand paper the next day. Then just paint it! Wait another day, before riding the bike...

- Slim

Is there any way to prevent me from scratching my head when I read this question?

let me guess, you had a BMX and you think the proper way to work on a bike is to flip it over onto the saddle and bars. It's a bad habit. Stoppit.

As for an answer to your question, how about laying it on grass, or wrapping your bar tape around it a few times, or plastidip the whole thing, or glue packing peanuts to them, or...

Yes, put Sora brifters on the bike so when you wreck the high dollar parts are on the shelf in the garage.

I suppose I should explain myself. I have two bikes, one is a beater and this one is not. I've never crashed on this one, even though it will inevitably happen. I never had a BMX, but grew up in the 90s with a mountain bike like every other kid. Yes, I do flip the bike upside down to work on it if there is no stand. What happens occasionally is that I'll haphazardly rest the bike against a wall or something like that, and it'll tip over. Or I leave it locked in a public area and someone knocks it over. No big deal, bikes get scuffed. I don't really care about the appearance of the bike, I just don't want to have to go through the trouble of replacing parts one day.

I just know that on some saddles there are plastic guards on the sides that prevent the saddle from scuffing and are replaceable. I was curious if someone had invented this for brifters.

That tip about applying epoxy, painting, and sanding them sounds useful though.

Also, in retrospect, Shimano 105 would've sufficed as opposed to Ultegra. But at least I didn't get that new fancy electronic Dura-Ace and break the bank.

+1. No scratches means the bike spent its time in the basement collecting dust.

Lots of kids didn't grow up in the 90s.

You just did. Get some adhesive-backed plastic sheet (mcmaster.com), cut it into whatever shapes fit your shifters, and stick it on. Cut out more sets, offer them for sale and make your first million. (Feel free to buy me a bike when you get the first million.)

good idea, not looking to capitalize on this right now haha

Scratches=excuse to upgrade.

You know you want to.