It was almost a year ago when I took the plunge and bought my Thorn Audax. I agonised over some of the details far too much; in fact we bought our last car with much less thought or research! Amongst these details was whether to go for the all-in-one Shimano STI levers i.e. the combined brake and gear lever, or, the bar end shifters which you see in the above picture. I'm still not convinced I did the right thing but here are some considerations if you're undecided which to get:
Bar End shifters:
- Bar end shifters are much cheaper
- Stay in adjustment very well
- Simple
- Easy to replace
- The front shifter is friction only (not indexed) so it is easy to fine tune, or trim, the position of the front mech in order to stop the chain rubbing
- Slight less vulnerable to damage
- You only change gear when you need to
STI levers:
- STI levers are very comfortable to rest your hands on; gives a nice position on the bike
- Expensive when bought on their own
- Scope for changing gear and braking at the same time
- Safety - keeping your hands on the handlebars when gear changing
- The more upmarket ranges (i.e. Ultegra) have the gear cable concealed under the handlebar tape
- Less durable
- More likely to need cable adjustments
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