Read a statement on another thread that Shimano brifters favor smaller hands while large hand people find Campy brifters comfortable. Is there anything to this? Have been considering a change from bar-ends to brifters. Shimano seems OK, but no local LBS in my rural area stocks a Campy equiped bike for a brifter test ride.

I have smallish hands, but not enough to need the Shimano ST-R600's which accomodate especially small hands.

The old ultegra and 105 shifters were definitly too small. The DA shifters are nice.

OK I'll start with a disclosure. I don't ride a bike with either type of brifter but I have tried out a few in the shops and with my small hands I found the Campagnolo brifters to be quite good. The Shimano ST-R600's aren't different in anyway from their regular ones except for a small shim that reduces lever travel.

Something I've noticed is that Shimano brifters mount on the handlebars in such a way that the body is angled upwards. Campagnolo brifters mount with the body of the brifter more or less parrallel with the ground. This difference I believe plays an important role in how they feel.

Regards, Anthony

I put a small clear pad like they have on glass top tables on the very top of the lever, kind of like a wedge. Then I loosened the brake adjuster. It works like a dream. If the words don't make sense I can post a pic. Most people say that was so simple I would not have thought of that ;)

No. A friend of mine has them, as do I but I have no problem with them as I have normal sized hands, and she says she has trouble shifting at times...she's about 5' nothing though, what are you gonna do? I think Campagnolo is better suited to smaller hands.

I have smaller hands and have owned both Shimano and Campy bikes and can say without a doubt that the Campy, for some reason I know not of, are more comfortable and easy to reach.

Hi , do your LBS have the ST-R700? They have the 10-speed shifter design and they come with shims. Seems to suit your hands well since you don't need the ST-R600.

Reach aside (Shimano does have reach adjustment either through a wedge or a screw-stop), I believe the hood design of the Campagnolo ErgoPower brifters to be more comfortable for smaller hands. That said, I'm currently running ST-7700 brifters on my roadbike and can use them without a problem even though I have what I would consider small hands.

Yes, a photo if you don't mind. Thanks

Ditto on the Campy, I have really small hands and the hoods feel more comfortable on the Campy shifters. I don't have a shim on my brakes and it's still a stretch to reach the brakes from the drops.

I have short arms and short reach handlebars really help me to reach the shifters.

Kathi

Here you go.



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...0/100_0291.jpg

Thanks.

I have large hands. I wear extra large gloves and I can palm a basketball although just barely. I have the Ultegra 10 speed shifters and they work fine for me whether I am riding on the brake hoods or on the drops. In fact I've even wondered that since they work so well for someone with my size hands how they would work for small hands. I guess they do also.

I was thinking the same thing for my wife's bike. I tried some of the stick rubber for mounting computers on handlebars but it wouldn't stick. I'll go find some of those pads you mention at my local home improvement store.

Can you explain this more? You can mount the shimano brifters anywhere on the bar can't you? Mine are angled more aggressively and the body I believe is about parallel to he ground.

I don't know whether my hands are large or small. I wear large or extra large gloves, but i've never thought of my hands as large, really. Not compared to some people i've known.

What do large hands measure from the tip of the middle finger to the heel of the hand? Mine measures about 8 inches from the bottom of the heel of the hand to the tip of the middle finger.

You can see what I'm talking about here, http://www.giant-bicycle.com/au/030....=2005&range=82

The Euro model has the Campagnolo gear. The Campagnolo brifters just have a flatter top than the Shimano models when mounted. You can move them around a little but move them too much and they will have too much or too little lever clearance.

Regards, Anthony

This is the OCP version of SF Biker's modification. It just pushes the brake lever closer to the bar by about 1/8", which is perfect for my smallish hands - 7.5" from heel of palm to end of middle finger.

http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqP....jsp?spid=9871

Yep, any hardware store has them. I used a the regular sticky adhesive peel back pad and after a couple of months it slipped. So I put a small drop of super glue gel on the pad and then pushed in to place. The pad has been there for over a year with no slippage.

I agree: Campy, definately for smaller hands, from experience.

I have small palms but very long fingers so hands would be condsidered large (I wear large gloves if they have fingers or med if they don't). I run Campy because it fits my hands better.

I keep seeing "shifters" referred to as brifters. Would somebody please enlighten me as to why? Please?

Integrated braking and shifting assemblies such as the Shimano Dual-Control STI and Campagnolo ErgoPower are often referred to as brifters.

Thanks mate