On Thu, Dec 10, 2015 at 10:54 AM, iamkeith <keithhar...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I have one set, of Ultegra STI 9 speeds on my RB-1. I do like them, but > mostly for variety's sake. It's kind of fun to have one bike upon which > regular and frequent shifting is part of the ride experience. If I had to > choose or only had one bike, I still like simple, separate shift levers of > one sort of another though. Ignoring the durability and adjustment issues, > something about the inherent side-to-side wobble of the brifter levers is > unnerving to me. My favorite system for drop bars are the Kelly take-off > mounts. > I've only tried brifters "around the block" and found the shift action rather awkward and annoying -- I had to push the lever inward so far it felt awkward. I do love Silver BES and use them on my off road bike -- 9 speed; they are precise enough and the lever is long enough that I get pretty good control; interesting: the Microshift derailleur that got into the spokes and exploded was more precise than the replacement Dura Ace 7410; but the last shifts fine anyway -- just a lot more movement of the derailleur for a given movement of the BES. But!! With the new Race Lite and its 9 speed trigger shifters --- man, *how easy it is to shift!!* I generally don't shift much, either on- or off road, but I find myself tempted to shift a lot more with these triggers -- partly of course because the gaps between gears are so big and I'm always searching for the right one. New cog and ring arrangements in planning. One shifting system I liked a great deal on road was the old Kelly Take-Offs, that put dt shifters just inboard of the brake hoods. I found these particularly nice for half stepping, and I could shift from hoods as well as hooks. I wonder how they'd do off road .... > > I'll say this though: The comfort/ergonomics of most brifters, including > the one you linked, is *vastly* superior to any lever-only design out > there, that I've found. The hoods themselves are large enough that they're > actually a joy to rest your hands on (indeed this seems to be the primary > hand position for most modern road bikes), and the levers are way easier to > reach from the drop position even when the brake body is mounted high > enough to be utilized as a true hand perch. > > I know that it's each to his-er-her own, but I find the "traditional" Shimano aero, pre-brifter hoods very comfortable, and try to install these on all my road bikes. In fact, I like them better than the Tektro or Cane Creek V-brake drop bar levers on the dirt road bike (formerly known as Fargo, shortly, God willing, to be known as Matthews Custom Cycles) which I find, frankly, too long. There seems to be a natural transition between the long, flat ramp of the Maes Parallel and the Shimano aero hood, with a very definite stop in just the right place. I suppose all of this is simply to say that brake hood shapes and shifter positions are almost as personal a taste as saddles and gearing. > > -- Resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, and letters that get interviews. By-the-hour resume and LinkedIn coaching. Other professional writing services. http://www.resumespecialties.com/ www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/ Patrick Moore Alburquerque, Nouvelle Mexique, Vereinigte Staaten ************************************* *The point which is the pivot of the norm is the motionless center of a circumference on which all conditions, distinctions, and individualities revolve. *Chuang Tzu *Stat crux dum volvitur orbis.* Carthusian motto -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
