I bought a used bike with DA 8 speed rear setup that a previous owner installed Ultegra bar end shifters on even though the sticker warning against this is still on them. From what I understand any 9 speed shimano shifter will index with the DA 8 speed (with one extra click). I would like to get an STI setup and would like info & opinions on any differences between the DA, Ultegra and High Grade (ST-R600) 9 speed shifter/brakes. I know about but do not need the shims for the st-r600. This bike will not be raced and I am primarily concerned with durability and getting whichever needs the least amount of adjustment. The bike currently has 2 chainrings and I plan on keeping it this way.

Thanks, Steven.

8 speed Dura Ace is finicky and requires 8 speed Dura Ace brifters, it uses different indexing than the rest of the line up.

everest,

If you could clarify for me, are you saying that 9 speed STI will not work at all with my DA 8 speed derailleur & cassette or that it will be hard setup and keep adjusted?

The reason I ask is that the chart at: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/dura-ace.html seems to imply that any 9 speed shifter should work with my rear drive train.

Thanks, Steven.

The details:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/speeds.html

8-spd is 4.8mm c-to-c
9-spd is 4.34mm c-to-c

Indexing is not compatible

Is there any reason you can't put a nine speed cassette on your existing freehub? It seems to me that would be the simplest solution.

caloso,

That may be what I end up doing, but for this bike I don't have an issue with the 8 speeds and would rather not invest money that I don't need to.

I guess my next question would be given that right now I have pre-1997 DA 8 speed cassette, derailleurs, chain & chainrings and brake components, and 8 speed Ultegra bar ends; what is my quickest path (least number of new parts) to having an STI set-up that will index correctly?

Thanks, Steven.

I was just thinking that sooner or later (perhaps sooner) you'll want to replace the cassette and chain. Since nine-speed cassettes are still easily available and relatively inexpensive, could do that and then look on eBay for a nice NOS DA or Ultegra 9speed brifter set.

Remember that the derailleurs and chain rings don't care how many cogs you have.

The quickest would be to find 8 speed Dura Ace brifters. Somewhere on sheldon site he outlines a different way of routing the cable that supposedly corrects the indexing problem but I have no idea whether it actually works. Basically I would look on ebay for used Dura Ace 8 speed brifters.

sora or r500

no, it won't index with 9-speed. As someone else suggested, the 'throw' from a 9-speed lever for each gear is much smaller (relatively) than 8-speed.

Nine-speed levers are much nicer and smoother than 8-speed (plus you obviously have an extra cog) so I reckon go for the 9-speed stuff. I still have 8-speed stuff and 9-speed stuff, and, in my opinion, the difference is night and day: the 9-speed DA levers change down more 'positively', they're more comfortable, and they brake better.

Having said all that, if you can't get any cheap 9sp bits, you might as well go for 10sp, provided your cassette body is compatible.

At the moment on Pro Bike Kit, you can get all you need for $460USD: DA levers are$278, DA rear derailleurs are $105, DA chains are $26, and an Ultegra cassettes are$50 (DA cassettes are a bit much), plus postage. If you've never had 9 or 10sp levers before, you won't know yourself, and you'll wonder how you ever lived without it

https://www.probikekit.com/index.php

Thanks for the replies.

I guess I have a bit of thinking to do. The bike is a Waterford Paramount, and I purposely bought it in a slightly larger frame size that I find comfortable for casual and longer rides. Since I have other bikes and and everything else is working well I have a mind set to keep this one more period correct, especially if I can get it indexing cheaply. But hey, I do have that tax rebate coming.......$460 you say for a brand new set up?

Steven.