Squeezebox

I was riding by the LBS, stopped in to talk about gravel road bicycles. She talked me into bar end shifters being more durable and easier to fix than brake lever shifters. I had bar ends a long time ago and did not like them. I'm thinking the Ozarks, and the Great Divide trail. That pointed me towards the Trek 920. I had written it off because of the bar ends. Now I'm looking at it again. The front rack is very large . Not sure I would spend $100+ for something lighter. And I might consider 28 mm. tires and an 11-26 or 11-28 cassette for paved use, or rail-trail. Chainrings 28-42. I'm left handed so shifting the rear is a bit more clumbsy for me on bar ends.
Your opinion appreciated.

saddlesores

1. the tires are in the gravel, not the shifters. ignore the saleswomanspeak. buy
what you like.

2. could you switch the cables.

StephenH

I can't tell that bar ends are any more durable than the brake-lever shifters. I've had my Sojourn about 46,000 miles and have gone through 2 or 3 sets, I think.
One issue is that if you sweat a lot, that sweat runs down the handlebars and onto the shifters.
I didn't realize, but I think 90% of the market for bar end shifters is on tri bikes, where that doesn't happen.
Operationally, I don't see a lot of difference between the two, it's just whatever you're used to seems right.

jan230

Bar-ends are more durable and much cheaper to replace.
Depends on how often and how hard you intend to crash.
Retroshift/Gevenalle are popular with cyclocross racers and off road tourers if you ever need to replace the bar-ends.
As Saddlesores said you can swap cables.

mm718

Other advantages of bar ends include the ability to shift several gears at once and trim the front derailleur. Also, look at those Genevales mentioned above--the best of both worlds. See them on youtube, formally called Retroshift.

fietsbob

Weekend Gravel event competitor you have all week to buy new parts when you break stuff on the weekend

Self contained adventure Tourist on the gravel road from Alaska Thru the Yukon to BC you may consider Different gear .

But it Is a Highway , so Hitching a ride in a Pickup truck with DNF bike is Possible Too..

staehpj1

I wouldn't pay any attention to the bar end recommendation unless you especially prefer them. I have found that I tend to bang them with a knee and when the bike is leaned against a wall or whatever they tend to get bumped out of gear. I don't find them any more convenient than down tube shifters, which I still use on a couple of my older bikes.

If you want to run STI shifters in a very remote setting and really don't trust them, it would be easy enough to carry a down tube or bar end shifter as a spare. The thing is that they are actually pretty reliable and worst case if you were to break one you could rig that derailleur to be in a suitable gear and shift only with the other one.

You are way more likely to break something else like a RD or RD hanger.

tarwheel 

I like bar-end shifters and have them on 4 bikes. However, I am not convinced they are more durable. I had one set of Dura-Ace barends break after only about one year of use, although they were replaced under warranty. I did not abuse them; they wore out. My other barends have been trouble free. On the plus side, barends are much less expensive to buy or replace than STIs.

Barends probably work work best if you don't shift a lot. If you are one of those riders who is constantly shifting for the perfect gear or cadence, you probably wouldn't be happy with them.

indyfabz

Heh. I know. I was like "What does one have to do with the other?"

VT_Speed_TR

I have bar ends on my Fargo & Brifters on my Casseroll, over 8k miles on each and never an issue. Have all manner of trigger shifters on mtn bikes, no issues. I actually like the brifters more then bar-ends, just more convienent to shift then bar ends.

No part is going to be 100% reliable, the only thing that is going to get you out of a situation touring is your skill.

So what you really need is the ability to fix anything on the bike and really bikes are simple machines. If you can't disconnect all the brake & shifter cables, pull them back to the handlebars & then recable & adjust them, best to start practicing at home. Practice what you would do if the RD got bent or broken. What would you do if the FD got screwed up ( not likely), but what would you do. Just go thru the various parts and figure out how to get your bike going again. OH, and using a cell phone is out! Its just you & the bike in the middle of no-where, fix it!

Knowledge is much more valuable then spending hours and hours trying to figure out what the "right" bike or part is!

tmac100

I have toured in outback Australia 3 or 4 times and have used bar ends. I will NEVER forget a fellow who was at the campground in Booroloola, NT (google map it) who told me that when he was touring from cairns to the Northern tip of Cape York and his brifters both died - so he rode to the N tip and back south to cairns in 1 gear. YUP one gear. At a bike shop in cairns he saw my bike (which was in for a check and rear cluster "fix") and decided to get bar ends. that fellow rode counter-clockwise around the rest of Australia (and across country from Kalgoorlie NE to Alice Springs, then south to Adelaide).

I believe in the KISS principle and will continue to use my bar-ends (purchased used on eBay in 2005) as long as I can continue riding. No point in complicating a simple and reliable piece of equipment.

Yes, buy what you like, but you asked for advice and based on my extreme location touring, I have given you mine. On my last tour (Perth WA to just north of Adelaide, SA), there were places that were at least 1200 (or so) km from a bike shop with any parts at all - including 26" tubes and tyres ...

Tourist in MSN

Bar end shifters really is a personal preference, is there any reason you think you would now be happy with them when you were not before?

For great divide trail, would you rather have flat bars? I use drop bars for mountain biking, but I will admit that they are a hassle when you can't shift without moving your hand. If you would rather have flat bars, you should decide that now instead of later. Virtually every time I mountain bike somewhere with my drop bars, NOBODY else has drop bars. Someone above commented about the retroshifter, that could be an option if you really like that bike, then you could shift from the hoods.

You should be able to switch the shifter from one side to the other, that would also involve switching outer housing so that the cables go to the right places. I am not sure if you would have to take handlebar tape off to do that or not.

I use older Shimano bar end shifters on several bikes - if I recall the bolt in the part that is inside the handle bar tightens counter clockwise, not clockwise, but it as been years so I might be wrong? And those do not look like Shimano shifters.

Squeezebox

Thanks for the input. I do like the brake lever shifters a lot more than bar ends. I could see carrying a bar end as backup in extreme places, maybe. I'll be doing USA and Europe for the most part, New Zealand would be good. Looks like some remote places there. If I did Africa I would send a box of spares and such to my brother-in-law at the Uganda embassy. Maybe something simular for New Zealand. would need to do some research on that.
I think I said the latest gravel road bicycle I'm looking at is the Trek 920. It has a Sram drivetrain with bar ends. I poked around a bit this morning and I really just don't know what I would need to change to brake lever shifters. I'ld love to have an answer from someone who does know.
Please & Thank you!

rhm

If you prefer integrated shifters, then that's probably what you should get.

I, personally, do not prefer them for long rides. My hands get tired, or should I say stiff, and the small one or two finger motions require for integrated shifters send a tingly painful sensation through my lower arm. It's probably CTS; if you don't have this problem, this doesn't apply to you. Anyway, I don't have that with bar end shifters. I do like integrated shifters for fast rides, up to 100 km or something.

It may look a little funny, but you or your bike shop should be able to put the rear shifter on the left end of the handlebar no problem.

bmike

Get both...

Salsa Cowbell2 in the rain. by Mike, on Flickr

MichaelW

I carry a spare DT shifter when touring. They are small and light and cover you for a mechanical which is rare but when it happens, serious. You can manage the chainrings without a shifter.

Tourist in MSN

I do not know if this would be viable for you, but it might for converting a rear sram derailleur to whatever brifter you want to use.
Shiftmate Compatibility | Jtek Engineering

Front, you might be better off with something based on friction. Or, maybe a Campy?

A couple of us mentioned the retroshifter, you apparently are not interested in that.

Regarding a spare, I would consider a friction one that clamps on the handlebar before a bar end. If you change your mind and go with a bike with downtube bosses, you could use a vintage downtube shifter as your spare.

I am building up a bike right now, Shimano rear derailleur, Campy brifter for rear shifter, vintage Huret downtube shifter for front Suntour derailleur.

EDITTED - IMPORTANT NOTE ADDED BELOW

When I wrote the above, I did not realize they are hydraulic disc brakes. So, going to brifters could be much more complicated than simply dealing with the gearing. I have no experience with hydraulic discs, so I can't advise.

chrisx

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...road-bike.html

Why an aluminum trek frame? Aluminum vibrates to much for the long haul.
get friction shifters so you can use use 8, 9, or 10 speed cassettes, or what ever they have when yu get to Uganda.


nothing on sale jusy before christmas, everything on sale at the end of january.

Leebo

Might you want something lower than 1:1 for gearing? I dislike bar end shifters, I hit my knees with them. Also I tour with a flat bar mt bike setup, so shifters are right with the brakes.

fietsbob

Not That Long Ago How you Mixed Mechanical Brifters and Hydraulic Disc Brakes

is a cable operated double master cylinder mounted right in the center, between the brakes, Under the stem

My Touring Bikes have had Wider drop Bars , so I never Knee the Shift-levers on the bar ends ..
Newer rigs; Rohloff Grip-shifter on figure 8 bend trekking Bars.

veganbikes

If it were me I would switch out the bar ends on the 920 for RTC versions either from SRAM or ZIPP (Same company but I am not sure which you can find in RTC)

The bike itself is fun. I test road it less than a week ago and while not a fan of aluminum felt it was a decent ride quality but just a fun bike to have in the collection. The wider tires made it more fun and the bar end shifters made it more familiar.

I am not sold on brifters especially the double tap (though I like the fact the brake lever is just a brake lever) so I am going to stick with bar ends or Gevenalle style shifters for touring

mstateglfr 

I'm left handed too, but haven't ever noticed an issue on shifting bar ends, especially indexed bar ends. It's a click and that's it.
I hadn't considered dominant hand issues for bar end shifting, but if anything, at first guess I would figure right handed people would struggle, if anything, since the front is friction and has to be feathered with their off hand.
But again, this hadn't ever even entered my mind as an issue as you move the lever and it clicks into place.
Are brifters difficult with your right hand too?

GeoKrpan

I used to use dirt drop bars my mountain bike and now use something similar to a Jeff Jones Bend H-Bar. With my hands on the grips it is nearly the same as with my hands in the drops of the dirt drop. The advantage is that I can run MTB brakes and shifters which are vastly more rugged than brifters and so much more convenient than bar ends. Another advantage over a drop bar is that I don't have to use a super high rise stem to get the drops at the right level for riding in the dirt.

Dorktastic! (This is not my bike.)



Soma now has the Gator dirt drop that is compatible with MTB brakes and shifters in the grip area AND brifters further forward. The drop is shallow so a high rise stem may not be needed.