Brifters on a touring bike?
 

All my touring bikes have had barend shifters untill now. I came across a great deal on a 7X3 brifter set several months ago. I bought it to use on a future rebuild. Now my Suntour barends on a Shimano equipped bike could be used somewhere else and I could install the brifters on my favorite touring bike. I'm old and settled in my ways but willing to listen.
Changing my beloved steed is sorta like a trip to the dentist. "I don't really want to go but if it means I feel better, I'm all for it".
My question, "finally" is, does anyone that tours for weeks or months at a time, use brifters? If so how do you like them and what do you prefer.

I started using them new matic tires recently. Hopefully I’ll get me some brifters when they get the bugs worked out.

Will you be touring on this bike far from support? Servicing of brifters in rural areas is not a given. If you need a replacement, the odds get worse. (Bike falls over or you crash and damage the right brifter? (You could bring along a DT shifter as insurance. Wouldn't weigh much or take up much space.)

Ben

Funny.. but seriously most touring bikes haven't made the switch and service is a real concern. I'm obviously used to something else and don't feel the need to install them just because it's "new and improved." On the other hand if folks that use them love them it might be worth the effort to try them. If you have any experience good or bad with them and have any meaningful comments to make I'd appreciate that.

My touring bike is a steel gravel bike, and it has Brifters, and I love them, but in saying that, I wont be touring out of Australia, and you can get brifters anywhere here, although they are bloody expensive. My bike has been going since new 2016, and no problems, with rough dirty dusty roads. I think the only thing that would break them would be an accident, or they just plain wear out in the next 10 years, but everything wears out. Like I said I love them, but the only shifters I had before were downtube shifters, so I may not be a good example for their use..

Brifters are great! Functionally they are awesome, the nicest system I have used as far as convenience and comfort.

So what are the downsides? They cost more up front and they are tough to repair out on the road. I can live with the expense and I have found them reliable enough to not sweat fact that they will be a hassle in the event of a failure. If one fails, you can rig that derailleur to one cog of your choice and still shift the other brifter. I figure a failure is unlikely enough that I can live with that.

If you can't live with that solution because you will be somewhere that a replacement wouldn't be available for weeks or months, you could use a down tube shifter (or barcon) in a pinch. You could even carry one as a spare backup if you were super paranoid.

FWIW, I don't think the 7 speed brifters are nearly as nice as the current crop of brifters so there is that. I do have a 3x7 set of Shimano brifters on an older (1990 Cannondale) drop bar mountain bike that I use as an around town beater these days. I used to ride single track with it, did some dirt road touring, now and then it may still see some dirt, and may do another tour sometime. In any case the brifters have been fine on this bike. I no longer remember what bike they originally came from, but I don't remember them ever giving me any problems.

All this is coming from an old guy who still likes down tube shifters just fine...

Crossed the country with a dozen other people back in '99. A few had them. No mechanical problems, but I am with post #3 above. I had one start to fail near the end of a week long supported trip. Not fun. Fortunately, the mechanic was able to get it functioning enough to allow me to finish the last two days.

Yeah, that can happen and is something to weigh into the decision. It is rare enough for me to accept it for my usage.

I'll also say that the folks I have ridden with have almost all been on brifter equipped bikes and none have had problems. I also maintained a number of bikes for myself and family members that had trouble free brifters for years of high mileage usage. That all amounted to a large amount of mileage. I'll also say that no shifters, even down tube shifters are completely immune from mechanical failure. I found on one occasion that a down tube shifter had vibrated apart and that I couldn't find the fallen parts, to make matters worst the fact hat it was indexed made it hard to nearly impossible to rig it up as a friction shifter using scavenged parts from other places on the bike. My point is that there are levels of complexity and convenience vs reliability and repairability and we make choices based on those. We are always choosing some level of compromise.

On really long trips, I might some day need to limp along for a couple days and replace a brifter at first chance. Then again I figure odds are that at 68 years old it will probably never happen in my life time. So on a coast to coast type trip, even if it happens the trip isn't likely to be totally ruined. I'd maybe be limited to only shifting the front or only the back for a day or two. I can see it being a bigger deal either in a long tour in a third world country or a shorter tour where you would spend the rest of the trip or a majority of it without a repair.

I guess for me it may be less of a big deal for me than for some since I tend to pack really light and can get by with a more narrow range of gears.

I also suggest that if it was a common enough problem the mechanic on an organized tour would likely be prepared to deal with it with a replacement (at least with a down tube shifter). To be honest I have no idea of what is normal on organized tours since I have never been on one, so I may be expecting too much there.

After saying all that... My next tour will be on my old 1990 road bike (if plans don't change) with drum roll please... The original gruppo including the original 7 speed 105 down tube shifters.

I used a single set of RSX brifters from 1996 until last year, usually 3-5000 miles/year, with several 10,000 mile years in there, quite a bit of touring. Every 12,000 miles or so I needed to change the cables and lube the brifters. I loved 'em for touring. I missed a shift once when a cable broke, my fault for getting complacent and not inspecting it for several years--one of the main problems with the brifter idea. I just upgraded from that bike to a gravel bike with mechanical disk brakes and brifters, and hopefully that'll hold me for another twenty years. The brifters were still working fine when I sold the bike to a commuter.

I had a touring bike back in the 80s with bar end shifters and never liked it much. When brifters came out on mid-range production bikes in the 90s, I jumped right on them with no regrets.

I see a few of the old RSX brifters come into the non-profit where I volunteer, often seized up from lack of lube. I enjoy getting them working again and back on the road.

I understand the reluctance to change. A friend gave me a vintage 1983 Trek touring bike with downtube shifters and worn out/broken components including a Helicomatic hub. I salvaged a set of 3x8 RSX brifters and a set of modern wheels to get the bike going again. It turned out to be a fun, fantastic ride. I toured on it for a couple of seasons.

I've used brifters since 1990 when Shimano first made them available and yes I've had a couple eventually fail over the years, luckily never on a tour. That said, I'll never be without them on a tour but throwing a pair of bar end shifters in the bottom of my pannier would easily solve any potential problem.

I've been cycletouring with brifters for 15 years. My bike has fallen over a few times, and I've had a few minor spills.

So far, no problems with the brifters. I especially appreciate the quick and easy gear changes that brifters make possible.

I also ride an older touring bike equipped with down tube shifters, and they are fine. But I much prefer my other bike with brifters.

Going off what 'most' touring bikes have or dont have isnt a good gauge of what YOU should have. Many touring bikes use a road 3x drivetrain that is woefully under geared for loaded touring. There are some with a subcompact double that could work, or could not be enough. There are some that are now 1x.

Since 3x STI dont even exist for the top 3 road groups now, its getting a bit difficult to source 3x road drivetrains.

I have bar end shifters on my touring bike, but wouldnt hesitate to use STI. There is no reason to think they will suddenly fail at any specific point in time. Could be 3 years, 6 years, or 12 years from now.
I will say that used STI is different from new STI. It all depends on the use and condition. Some could be great for another decade while some may be close to failure.

If I were buying a new bike then, sure, I would totally consider one that came with brifters. When they first came out they were a bit of a question mark, and some of the early ones dies pretty young. New ones are quite reliable.

BUT as for your 3x7 brifters, these are probably not the modern ones you can trust to be trouble free for years. Usually all that goes wrong is that the old grease hardens up and you need to flush with a degreaser and relube, but the last set of 7x3 (RSX) I had died because the end of one of the return springs broke off - I was able to get it working again by bending a new hook on the end of the spring (with some tiny needlenose pliers and a great deal of patience, iirc), but this was indoors in a shop setting. I would not have wanted to do that at a campsite or on the side of a highway in the rain.

Crossed the U.S. ten years ago on a bike equipped with brifters, taking about three months. About 6-7 years ago I had to do the spray flush and re-lube routine, but that bike is still in regular use. Worst case I might be down for 3-4 days getting a cheap Shimano replacement set Fed-Ex'd to the middle of Wyoming.

I am all in for brifters for touring because, to me bar cans are really not any better than down tube shifters ( neither one can be shifted when you are riding out of the saddle). I love the ability to shift while off the seat.
The inside of the brifters have grease in them, my fear is that when the bike stays outside while touring, the condensation is going to make them rust (especially if I am touring near the coast.)
I take with me, while I am touring some plastic bags and a roll of masking tape, and I put bags over the brifters and seat, so in the morning I remove the bags and handlebars/ brifters and seat are dry.

Brifting is overrated.

as someone else brought up, these are probably rsx age stuff and who knows what working life span on them, so do be aware of the unknowns.

my experience is that with 10 seasons of using tiagra 9 spd brifters, if you dont leave your bike out in the rain all the time, you dont constantly ride through clouds of cement dust and they are properly setup, ie cable tension, brifters are very reliable.

they come with internal greasing, and after years of using mine, started doing the "spray the internals" via the side with a silicone type based spray can lube, "Jig a Loo"
Once you start this, you do have to spray once in a while, but it takes a minute and its easy.

just like with trigger shifters and their internals, keeping them clean of accumulated grit and just plain lubricated will mean a long working life.

there are millions of brifters out there working great for a long time, as witnessed here.
sure you can crash your bike into something hard and bust one, but then you might also be busted , so its not something to worry about for me.

so for most regular riding, ie not going off to Mongolia, where ones bike is mostly going to be kept inside, and you dont abuse the bike but just use it, they are extremely reliable all in all, and fun to use.
We have had a Sora brifter go, the old style 8 speed ones with thumb shifters, which was a surprise, but I do think something funny had gone on, ie the bike was bought new but was an older model at a store and been there for a few years, maybe had something happen, or it was improperly setup with too much cable tension, or forcing while shifting by operator, or who knows.....plus that era of Sora always had a cheap feel to them.

to end, I know you have these old 7 spd, but if ever you want to change, the newer style of Sora 9 spd shifters are well priced and have the improved paddle system and most likely the same innards as my 10 year old Tiagra 9 spd. The old trickle down story.

and you'd be starting with new, known shifters. (of course if your frame can go to 9 speed, rear dropout and all that)

The mention of thumb shifters reminds me... For those who can use MTB style 7 speed thumb shifters, the old Deore XT stuff was bullet proof. I used them for many thousands of miles of badly abusive muddy single track riding/riding and they were always flawless. These days I am not sure my arthritic thumbs could handle them as well though.

Yeah, the 9 speed brifters are a big improvement. The 7 speed ones are okay though.

hey, if you ever set up a bike with mtb type bars or whatever where mtb thumb shifters can be used, you'll be surprised how light the action is on the various levels of thumb shifters. In our house of bikes, we have some really mediocre 7 speed thumb shifters, that work ok, but sort of stiff. I did fix up an old beater that is my wifes commuter bike, and ended up buying some old used deore or something 7 spd shifters that were easier than what was on the bike originally. I have a commuter with very mediocre 7 spd shifters, that work, but wouldnt be good for arthritic thumbs thats for sure.

Ive put 8 spd and 10 spd Deore thumb shifters on bikes in the family, one to replace a busted grip shifter, and the other to replace actual thumbies. Both have a really really nice light and accurate action that are really nice to use, especially the newer one, the 10 spd, which feels very similar to an older set of XT 9 spd thumb shifters that I had on my Troll for a while. The XT are more precise, faster and a bit more quality, but the Deore level stuff is rather impressive, especially as they are rather reasonable in price and have a solid solid reputation for long life.
I'll use the XT stuff again if I ever put Jones bars or whatever on the Troll, but then again, might just go 10 spd at that point, who knows.

anyway, just to say that modernish shimano stuff is really well engineered and a real relief for thumbs as the innards have been much better designed than older stuff.

On the other hand you might be surprised how bad the arthritis in my thumbs is ;) I used to be a big gear masher as a young man and my buddies would say "you'll kill your knees". I always quipped, "I am saving my thumbs". I guess I was right, now at 68 years old, my thumbs are wrecked and my knees are fine.

I'm glad to hear ye old knees are good, I'm tempted to give you a thumbs up, but I guess that wouldn't be a good idea and it would be stupid humour....;-)

Heck , I'll take good knees myself, I'll let you know in 13 years or so. I've whacked my right knee a few times with ski and motorcycle falls in my youth, so it talks to me sometimes if im not respectful of it or lack being active for a while.

Brifters are so much more comfortable and convenient, especially in traffic.
105 or ultegra level shifters are good for at least 60-100,000kms before causing any problems. Newer Shimano brifters do have a sharp angle inside the lever that can cause the gear cable to fray and then snap if you ignore the warning signs. Replace the rear cable every 12months or 15,000kms and you shouldn't have any issues.
I'm using Sram eTap for touring on our tandem and the gear changes are perfect.

I certainly agree on the fraying thing, I've experienced it after about 3 or 4 seasons, not any where near as many kms as you say, but i figure every seasons is fine.
I also figure that if slightly improperly set up, ie too much tension maybe from slightly improper low screw setting so having to force a bit getting into large cog, probably adds more stress that adds up over time.

But as you say, the sign of having to adjust a barrel adjuster was the sign I was unaware of, and then after another adjustment, then finally realized and changed cable and it was rather frayed at the bend.

A good thing to check before every tour and any time the shifting gets a little funny or adjustments start changing.

Absolutely, on all of my bikes over the years, especially those with dt and trigger shifters, once a new cable is set and indexing properly, it will stay very constant for years and years, so any "little funny" going on is usually a sign, unless some other factor is involved. My sti experience is a lot less, but they do seem to need replacing more than the other systems-- but not a big deal, and certainly balanced out with how nice and fun they are to use.

Oh, my Gevenalle setup had some fraying also, but I'm certain it was because my setup was the issue-i had some indexing issues on a long trip and was putting more tension with the barrel adjuster, and therefore a bit too much tension on the cable-- but finally realized that it was my inline barrel adjuster that was wonky, not holding properly, and i was over compensating and this put more stress on the cable at the bend near the shifter.
Over a long trip, with gazillions of quick shifting into low gears on a very heavy bike, it stressed the cable there.
Changed the barrel adjuster and realized my mistake after that trip, less tension after and I'm sure will improve cable life.

This touches on gaining experience and learning from mistakes, and how small misadjustments add up over time.