frpax

Brifters
Bar End
Down Tube

staehpj1

My order of preference goes:

1. Brifters: Pros- quick and easy shifts without moving hands from most hand positions that I use. Even from the bar tops my fingers are only a couple inches away. Cons - a bit more complex and a bit more subject to mechanical issues, but I consider them worth the minor negatives.
2. Down tube shifters: Pros - crisp, simple, and out of the way. Cons - have to take hands off bars.
3. Bar end shifters: Pros - none in particular. Cons - longer cables, easily bumped with knees, easily bumped into a different gear when bike is parked.

antokelly

i use tigra 9 speed sti with xt derailers they work perfect.so it's sti for this kid.

frpax

I really like brifters. But I am concerned that the shift cable hosing will interfere with a handlebar bag. Any solutions?

staehpj1

Cable noodles or just shove the cables back and down with some care. I have always done the "shove the cables out of way" deal and have had no problems despite using a large handlebar bag.

funurdiesel

Brifters. Once you get used to them you don't want to go back to down tube shifters. I've never been fond of bar end shifters.

crocodilefundy

run longer cables so you can move them out of the way. or get campy or rival or 7900

caotropheus

Downtube or barend shifters, not indexed, but friction, of course. Friction shifters always work and never get damage from prolonged used, on contrary to indexed shifting. Also friction shifters provide the flexibility to ajust the chain the way you want, even for fractions of millimeter, if needed.
There are as well friction shifters that can be adapted to the stem, just like in old cheapo road bikes,

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs/record.html

or even bar thumb friction shifters that work lovely on bars with lots of space, like trekking bars.

https://aebike.com/page.cfm?pageid=30...ils&sku=LD1102

https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/handlebars/index.html

truman

i <3 my Dura Ace bar end shifters.

But then, simplicity appeals to me. I don't even think about shifting anymore. I like STI for fast group rides and on my tandem, but I don't want them on my tourer. I really disliked my old downtube shifters, but to be fair, they were on a too-small frame, and I had to reach farther than I should have to get to them.

imi

Friction stem shifters... yeah yeah I know work fine for me

p.s you can still get them:
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-S...Stems-5827.htm

sstorkel

I put Shimano Ultegra shifters on my touring bike, which has a 42cm 3T Ergosum handlebar. My Lone Peak H-100 handebar bag fits without a problem; I just shove the cables out of the way.

frpax

Wonderful & varied answers!
Thanks for the guys that chimed in w/ friction & stem shifters!

I currently run brifters, old school Shimano 600 8 speed. I'm looking to convert the bike into a tourer and want to keep expenses of the actual conversion down, so that I can invest more into racks, panniers, different chain rings, etc.

I never really liked bar end shifters (tried some YEARS ago), and the only real options that I had in mind were to keep the brifters, or covert to down tube 8 spd. SIS... So, the brifters stay!

Nigeyy

If you are asking for advice on which is the best, good luck, because someone somewhere on these boards will swear by one of those shifters. And really, any of the shifters can be used and have been proven to be capable of touring.

But if you are asking just out of interest..... My preference for touring is as follows:

1. Downtube shifters on Kelly Take Offs
pros:
Simple
Shifters protected inboard of handlebars (protected if the bike falls over, and you can't accidentally shift with them either)
Friction mode if necessary depending on the shifters you choose to mount
Easy at-hand shifting
Cheaper than brifters
Reliable and simple
Easy to install and good quality
Option to mount shifters on downtube mounts if necessary
Ability to mount many different old style shifters.
You get the best of both worlds: convenient shifting and simplicity of downtube shifters.

cons:
Still not quite as ergonomic as brifters, but very close.
Unable to shift all the way through the gears if you have small hands -you need to change your hand position to complete a full change.
Large size handlebar bags with narrow handlebars can get in the way.
Mounts need to be purchased on top of shifters.
Not made anymore.

To put it simply: if I had to replace my current bike, Kelly Takeoffs would be top of my list for shifter components. I would not consider any other setup for touring (well, OK, maybe Paul's Thumbies). I'm very surprized these things aren't more common for touring -for me, they are the bees knees.

2. STIs
pros:
Easiest shifters for me to use
Comfortable and reliable.
cons:
If they break... they break. Expensive to purchase.
More moving parts.
Brake levers integrated so getting different cable pull is difficult and brake options are more limited to brakes that are more suited to the integrated brake lever.

I'll not include bar ends or down tube shifters as I really wouldn't tour with them given a choice. Though both are reliable and obviously other people use them, I do not consider them based on their lack of convenience for shifting and awkward placement.

frpax

New to me: Kelly Take Offs.

Looks like the cables would be more in the way than with brifters, though.

neil

My bike has brifters. The main reason I use them is because they came with the bike. That said, I like them a lot and don't know that I would want to change them, even if they need replacement. Convenient and easy to use, they pretty much eliminate any hassle from shifting.

Bar ends have always looked very awkward and inconvenient to me, so I've never had them on a bike. I foresee them getting damaged, as my wheel often turns and knocks the bar ends into the frame when I carry my bike up and down stairs. Downtubes are ok but inconvenient to get to.

Thunderchicken

In 2001 I bought a new Cannondale T2000 with Ultegra brifters and triple chain ring (26/42/52), an XTR rear derailler and 105 front, and an XT 11/34 Cassette. While this was not "top of the line"; it was close... and it all worked "OK". Maybe even A-OK...But I never cared for the indexed front derailler; it rubbed, and made noise it shouldn't, and just never seemed "quite right", even after I would fine-tune the shifting with the adjustment barrel. I bet it would have worked wonderful on a double chain-ring setup but I was never happy with the way they worked on my triple...So...

In 2006, I installed a pair of Dura Ace 9 speed bar-ends married to a set of Paul Thumbies on an MTB bar, bar ends, and Profile Aero-lites that I use for extra hand positions. I also traded the Ultegra chain rings for 24/40/50 TA rings and used Dia-Compe Tech 77's for my brake levers. Since that swap, shifting has been silky smooth and as reliable as gravity. The friction shifting on the triple is bullet-proof and the brake levers have given the Avid 4 "canties" new stopping muscle ('cause my hands have more leverage) plus they have a "parking brake" feature.

It was not a cheap upgrade then (+/-$350), but it sure improved the reliability of BOTH the shifting (front and back) AND the braking. Love the set-up...You may not...

Jon Paschka

Nigeyy

It very much depends on your own setup; for me there is no problem, and I use 42cm bars with the Axiom Cyclone front bag. If anything, the cables are more out of the way than brifters, it's the mounts that may be a problem depending on your setup. If you can, I'd definitely recommend considering the Take offs.

For more in detail measurements and review, try this:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ght=kelly+offs

BengeBoy 

Yes.

I own, ride and enjoy a bike with each.

For touring bikes I think bar ends or downtubes give you more flexiblity with mixing/matching changes to your drivetrain over a long period of time. Changing up STI-based systems gets more expensive because the STI shifters themselves are expensive. But if you know exactly what you want, then STI's work well.

kdiehl

No problem with STI on my bike, just needed a little longer cables. I have fairly large hands and have no interference from the bag in any riding position. That's an Ortlieb medium bag.

Speedo

I prefer brifters slightly over bar-ends. Downtube shifters come in third.

Speedo

Ashen

I prefer bar end because they keep the shifters on the bars compared to downtube. I have liked brifters somewhat on other bikes, but I get really frustrated with trying to have an indexed front derailer. My understanding is that higher end brifters allow for trim, but even the low end ones are so expensive that I'm perfectly happy staying with my bar end shifters.

NeilGunton

I just installed Kelly Takeoffs with Shimano Dura-Ace 7700 downtube shifters on my new Salsa Fargo. So far, I'm really liking them. the noodles, at least on my handlebars, would allow for the mounting of an Ortlieb handlebar bag with no problems. I don't like bar-end shifters because they always seem to bash into my knees at some point. I will probably use the STI style shifters on my next lightweight road bike. I can also get used to downtube shifters after a while (I used to use them all the time). I also really like Gripshift shifters on my trekking handlebars. You can pretty much get used to anything over time if you have to, I think. They all have their pros and cons.

Neil

Raiden

For touring, bar-ends. I'd probably like shifters on take-offs, too. I find my hands get tired of making the individual clicks on brifters over a long day.

bwgride

Without doubt thumb shifters, either 1990s Shimano or Suntour thumb shifters in friction mode, or Dura Ace bar-end shifters mounted in Paul's thumbies, also in friction model.

rainking63

What, no love for grip shifts?