Cycling UK Forum

I ride with a number of people who insist on riding "road" bikes ("more gears than spokes" I think somebody said) although their reactions are far too slow for the steering of these bikes, so they are liable to side-swipe you if they glance round (or even change gear, STIs notwithstanding).
My favourite customer was a young woman who (after a test ride) confided that her husband had bought her a road bike, and she didn't realise that there could even exist such a thing as a drop-bar bike where she could look round and signal without wobbling.
Is this the real reason for the universal popularity of STIs?

It could be partly down to age and/or what you're used to. I've always had downtube or bar end shifters on my road bikes. The only time I've tried brifters was on test bikes. They shift nicely and do make riding feel safer. Anyone who started off with brifters or has been using them for while, probably finds the other shifting options a backwards step... until their STI's break....

RickH wrote:Flat bars may be the future but I think that, whatever shape of bars you use, the problem of clearances will tend to diminish as disc brakes make increasing inroads into the road (or, more generally non-MTB) market.

Agreed.
There'll be those who'll decry disc for various reasons,flimsy death forks,bent rotors, weight penalties,etc,
Forks are now built to withstand disc brake forces,a spare rotor doesn't weigh much,in normal touring use rotors don't get bent that often and the weight penalties aren't excessive,if at all considering the gains.
The fact is that BB7 road calipers work well with STI's,stop heavy loads rain or shine need little maintenance,just a couple of clicks on the adjusters now and again,are simplicity itself to set up from scratch and they don't eat rims.Not mention that with the right frameset clearance issues don't even come into it,I'm currently riding two bikes that'll take 700x40mm tyre with 'guards

I may be in a small minority but I would happily put drops on an full on MTB (A la John Tomac waaay back when).

I ride some pretty rough terrain mixed with tarmac,on drops(set higher than the saddle)and wouldn't have it any other way.

531colin wrote:My favourite customer was a young woman who (after a test ride) confided that her husband had bought her a road bike, and she didn't realise that there could even exist such a thing as a drop-bar bike where she could look round and signal without wobbling.
Is this the real reason for the universal popularity of STIs?

No,the real reason is one of convenient gear changing,it's that simple.
Road STI's come from where a lot of bike kit comes from,racing,where speed and efficiency are paramount,and the trickle down theory is ever present,a lot of cyclists don't know any better than to ride what the pro's ride,whatever that is,silly I know but,hey ho, not everything that comes from racing is bad,index shifting any one..........
STI's are good kit work well and are reliable,V brakes are also good kit,work well and are reliable.In the absence of compatibility between the two,TA's marry them and IME do it well.
We have a tandem with the STI/V's/TA set up.
Braking is very good and modulation very good,initially I was concerned about cable reliability but it's proved unfounded,though for peace of mind for the grand sum of five or six quid I change the cables yearly.
I've yet to find a cable with even a strand broken or any appreciable wear on the TA's,we've had the bike for over 7 years.
I know you don't like STI's but many people do and it's not fair to blame bad bike design on STI's.

I don't think its reasonable to suggest that moving a hand to change gear is inherently unsafe.

531colin wrote:I don't think its reasonable to suggest that moving a hand to change gear is inherently unsafe.

No one ever said it was.

reohn2 wrote:

531colin wrote:I don't think its reasonable to suggest that moving a hand to change gear is inherently unsafe.

No one ever said it was.

This comes pretty close.........

meic wrote:There are many times when I dare not take either hand off the bars and some of those times, I still wish to change gear.

meic wrote:No just riding moderately fast on a rough road or very fast on a smooth one.

If it was that easy to control a bike with just one hand we would hardly ever bother putting the other hand on the bars but most of us do put both hands there when the road has any roughness.

Also, but not quite what I was thinking of at the time as it isnt my drop bar bike, when I have a daughter behind me on a tag-a-long rather than a trailer. Then I am too scared to wipe my brow even.

531colin wrote:Is this the real reason for the universal popularity of STIs?

From the man who's spent loads of time and effort moving the gear controls nearer the brake position, really

531colin wrote:

reohn2 wrote:

531colin wrote:I don't think its reasonable to suggest that moving a hand to change gear is inherently unsafe.

No one ever said it was.

This comes pretty close.........

meic wrote:There are many times when I dare not take either hand off the bars and some of those times, I still wish to change gear.

meic wrote:No just riding moderately fast on a rough road or very fast on a smooth one.

If it was that easy to control a bike with just one hand we would hardly ever bother putting the other hand on the bars but most of us do put both hands there when the road has any roughness.

Also, but not quite what I was thinking of at the time as it isnt my drop bar bike, when I have a daughter behind me on a tag-a-long rather than a trailer. Then I am too scared to wipe my brow even.

Apologies Colin,I thought you were answering my previous post and hadn't connected your comment to Meic's post on the last page.

As you say, R2, I'm quite happy to have my gear levers to hand....but its purely convenience, its not safety essential, and it doesn't bring with it a load of baggage that I don't want.
What I don't like about STIs is all the baggage that comes with them......more gears than I need, a more fragile chain than I want....indexed front shift that wants me to use particular chainring sizes, and no one perfect solution for a brake to fit touring tyres.

Jezrant wrote:.............. Anyone who started off with brifters or has been using them for while, probably finds the other shifting options a backwards step... until their STI's break....

But how often do they break?
I don't know about the very latest Shimano offerings but I've had and used extensively 8 sets,ranging from 7sp RSX,8sp Sora through to 9sp Tiagra,105 and Ultegra units.All triples
One of the two sets 7sp RSX bought in 1997 and with over 30,000miles(the other set has at least 75,000miles on and still performing faultlessly) on them has a slight fault in that very occasionally the left one misses a change and the paddle(it's always on the downshift from big to middle ring)needs a couple of pushes before it connects and releases the cable.
The three 9sp sets(two Ultegra and one set 105)have all done over 20,000miles without a peep I've never had an STI fail though I've had a strand of cable break within the unit and cause some erratic shifting until I found it but other than that,no problems at all.
The shift is always clean and crisp,no worries

531colin wrote:As you say, R2, I'm quite happy to have my gear levers to hand....but its purely convenience, its not safety essential,

I agree.
I've said before on here Kelly's(or similar)come a very close second,the only thing you can't do with Kelly's is brake and change gear at the same time but that's no hardship.
OTOH,with Kelly's you can change gear from the tops without taking a hand off the 'bars which is something you can't do with STI's.

...it doesn't bring with it a load of baggage that I don't want.
What I don't like about STIs is all the baggage that comes with them......more gears than I need, a more fragile chain than I want....indexed front shift that wants me to use particular chainring sizes, and no one perfect solution for a brake to fit touring tyres.

They're available in 8,9 and 10sp,and the can be used with variety of rings,I've used them with 53,52,48,46 outer rings,34,36,38,39&42 middles and 24,26,28&30 inners,and some different combinations of those which are well outside Mr Shimano's tech docs.
The downside is that they don't work with MTB chainsets or directly with V's unless TA's are fitted.
Despite my liking of Kelly's I'll defend STI's as,IMO they're a great innovation,probably the greatest in the last 15 to 20 years and worth an acre of carbon fibre .

reohn2 wrote:

Jezrant wrote:.............. Anyone who started off with brifters or has been using them for while, probably finds the other shifting options a backwards step... until their STI's break....

But how often do they break?

They are not the most reliable part on a bike. Certainly less reliable than most other types of shifters. A few friends have had theirs stop working after a couple of years, due to the problem mentioned here:
http://sheldonbrown.com/sti-repair.html
I seem to recall someone (CJ maybe?) posting recently that a couple of people on a tour with him had problems with their STIs. It's not uncommon.

Jezrant wrote:They are not the most reliable part on a bike.

Or the most unreliable FTM,

Certainly less reliable than most other types of shifters

Possibly,I can only give my experience of them.

A few friends have had theirs stop working after a couple of years, due to the problem mentioned here:
http://sheldonbrown.com/sti-repair.html
I seem to recall someone (CJ maybe?) posting recently that a couple of people on a tour with him had problems with their STIs. It's not uncommon.

I've had them stop working or work intermittently,as stated in the link it's due to a lack of or dried out factory grease,flooding the lever mechanism with GT85 and allowing it to drain off and dry then following up with aerosol grease will get them working again,I've found.
I've never stripped one down or felt the need to.
We'd never dream of allowing chains,mechs and wheel bearings go without lube so why then STI's especially considering the amount changes they're expected to do per ride?
The only other problem as I stated up thread has been a broken cable strand within the unit,in my case a r/hand 9sp Ultegra unit,that behaved itself when the cable was changed.

531colin wrote:

reohn2 wrote:

531colin wrote:I don't think its reasonable to suggest that moving a hand to change gear is inherently unsafe.

No one ever said it was.

This comes pretty close.........

meic wrote:There are many times when I dare not take either hand off the bars and some of those times, I still wish to change gear.

meic wrote:No just riding moderately fast on a rough road or very fast on a smooth one.

If it was that easy to control a bike with just one hand we would hardly ever bother putting the other hand on the bars but most of us do put both hands there when the road has any roughness.

Also, but not quite what I was thinking of at the time as it isnt my drop bar bike, when I have a daughter behind me on a tag-a-long rather than a trailer. Then I am too scared to wipe my brow even.

While moving your hands to a gear shifter isnt inherently unsafe, there are times when it would be unsafe to do so. Rather like having a drink from your bottle. Especially doing both at once.