My thoughts on the Forte 9 speed shifters
01-20-10, 09:14 PM
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My thoughts on the Forte 9 speed shifters
I received a pair of these for x-mas and have put about 100mi on them now.
Where I'm coming from:
I am on my second BD bike first one a second hand Motobecane Grand Record with 8 speed Sora and Tiagra RD
The current ride is a Motobecane Le Champion SL bought new frame set from bikeisland.com (great frame by the way and the fork only weights 398 gr) Parts
Forte Shifters, stem, carbon seatpost
105 black RD
Ultegra 6600 brakes, cassette, chain, FD
Gossamer compact crankset
Specialized Alias saddle
Prima 199 handlebar (too wide not enough room in the drops hate these things)
Sun Venus rims w/ cannondale hubs
Conti Ultra Race tires
(total bike cost ~500 USD)
So... I can only compare the Forte's with 8 speed Sora
The Forte's have a finishing equal to that of the Sora the brake lever is Al instead of plastic which feel much more substantial when really yanking on the brakes. That said stopping distance feels the same but there feels like air in the line if you can understand that (this might have something to do with the cables or routing)
Some of the internals can be see from under the brake lever. It looks like the gears themselves are cast with a nitrate coating (the gold stuff on drill bits). I think that they are cast with machining because of the surface quality looks very similar to other cast parts. Shifting happens with a very positive click much louder that the Sora. The effort is similar. Down shift happen one at a time and upshifts can be done as many as 3 at a time. Both the button above the lever and the lever are easy to reach from both the hoods and the drops. Included cables are total crap throw them out.
Shifters weighted in at 196 gr per shifter just about advertised weight.
BOTTOM LINE:
These are an upgrade in my opinion from Sora and at 150 bucks I'm not terrified about the cost of dropping my bike
Where I'm coming from:
I am on my second BD bike first one a second hand Motobecane Grand Record with 8 speed Sora and Tiagra RD
The current ride is a Motobecane Le Champion SL bought new frame set from bikeisland.com (great frame by the way and the fork only weights 398 gr) Parts
Forte Shifters, stem, carbon seatpost
105 black RD
Ultegra 6600 brakes, cassette, chain, FD
Gossamer compact crankset
Specialized Alias saddle
Prima 199 handlebar (too wide not enough room in the drops hate these things)
Sun Venus rims w/ cannondale hubs
Conti Ultra Race tires
(total bike cost ~500 USD)
So... I can only compare the Forte's with 8 speed Sora
The Forte's have a finishing equal to that of the Sora the brake lever is Al instead of plastic which feel much more substantial when really yanking on the brakes. That said stopping distance feels the same but there feels like air in the line if you can understand that (this might have something to do with the cables or routing)
Some of the internals can be see from under the brake lever. It looks like the gears themselves are cast with a nitrate coating (the gold stuff on drill bits). I think that they are cast with machining because of the surface quality looks very similar to other cast parts. Shifting happens with a very positive click much louder that the Sora. The effort is similar. Down shift happen one at a time and upshifts can be done as many as 3 at a time. Both the button above the lever and the lever are easy to reach from both the hoods and the drops. Included cables are total crap throw them out.
Shifters weighted in at 196 gr per shifter just about advertised weight.
BOTTOM LINE:
These are an upgrade in my opinion from Sora and at 150 bucks I'm not terrified about the cost of dropping my bike
Last edited by a_thomasmr23; 01-20-10 at 10:27 PM.
