mikejungle

What does it mean when it says 'flight deck compatible'? Does that mean that I can just change out the smaller shifters (don't know the right terminology) to the ones that can be shifted while in the drops without having to buy a whole new set of brifters?

It's annoying to have to reach over the top of the bars while in the drops, but I'm not a serious competitor and i don't know if my allez warrants nice components, so if it's too expensive...

It'd be nice to be able to shift in the drops.

Quel

Flight Deck is Shimano's bike computer. It hooks directly into the shifters, so it tracks when you shift and sends that info to the computer. Plus it has it's control buttons on the shifters instead of the computer itself. It has nothing to do with the way that you shift. If you want to shift from the drops, you need to get better shifters.

KiuBWhy

Mean. But enjoyable.

Ed Holland

Also wrong.... I've always been able to shift from the drops

Yaniel

what was wrong about it?

KiuBWhy

Discounting Sora like that...it deserves better! (not really)

FreddyV

If you really want shifting ease, get rid of Sora and get SRAM Rival (or higher) installed. Have heard nothing but good about doubletap.

pkpsu

I think what you're asking is if you can take the thumb shifters off of the sora brifters and slap on some paddles like seen in tiagra and higher models. The answer is no....you need to buy a whole new set of brifters, which can be expensive. If this is a switch you want to make, I suggest trolling ebay and craigslist especially if you are looking for a 9spd setup which I would bet you are. Cycling clubs will sometimes have swap meets and they will also have some discounted parts (for members typically).

Your allez would definitely warrant this upgrade if you wanted to put forth the money to do it. For the record, I was able to shift from the drops with my sora shifters but it takes a bit of contorting your wrist.

mobike_moexcite

+1 It is possible but not always practical. I had Sora for a little bit but now and I have 105 and that's all I've had since. If you think it is worth the switch, go for it.

mikejungle

holy crap, 105's are expensive. There are two different versions, right? the st-5600 and r700?

the SRAM rival look sweet...but what's the double tap technology?

and I get what you guys are talking about with the contorting your wrist...I think I've done it before, but it's a chore. I think new brifters will be my next upgrade...down the line. I [somewhat spontaneously] spent money on a toupe 143 because I want kids.

operator

It means you shift up and down with the same lever. Which is ****ing stupid. Mode error anyone?

KiuBWhy

SRAM Double Tap takes out the double use of the Brake lever. Instead...all the shifting is done by the "paddle". A half tap on the paddle (akin to a normal shift on Shimano STI) will move the chain down (to a higher gear/less teeth cog). While a full tap on the paddle will move in the opposite direction.

The idea is that all your shifting is in one central location. While Shimano STI has something like 30-50 moving parts in the shifter (I may be wrong on the count), SRAM Shifters have much less (I think 3-7).

KiuBWhy

Its actually not that bad. And Rival shifts just as well as 105 (or so I'm told) at a similar price point but weighs less.