mountaindrew

I recently scored a pair of Dura-Ace 9 speed Stis and I put them on my cross bike (that primarily get ridden on technical singletrack) . Should I be concerned that the front nose covers ate plastic? My old setup was a homemade version of the retroshift with metal thumb sifters in the front of the brake levers. They got smacked on trees or ground into dirt in a couple of crashes and showed no damage, but I worry about these fancy shifters. Am I going to ruin them the first time I crash?

Andrew R Stewart 

It depends on how you crash and what you hit. Andy.

HillRider

I don't know about the vulnerability of the plastic covers but I have to assume that getting dirt, water and debris into the shift machanism is not going to do a lot for its longevity. Riders do use brifters on cross bikes but I'm sure the replacement interval is a lot shorter than for road use.

dbg

I think the question actually is: Does Dura Ace sacrifice durability in exchange for its focus on being super light weight? I don't have enough user experience with Dura Ace to have an opinion and have wondered the same thing. Another way of asking would be: If price is not a consideration (i.e. I could easily afford Dura Ace) would Ultegra or 105 still be a better option for rough conditions and rougher usage?

pierce

my fantasy cross bike would probably have deore on it and a 135mm rear locknut width, and be a compact 2x9

fietsbob

Chain and cassette , replace as if it were cheaper.. , just pay more for the replacements..

adclark

I have crashed before riding my cross bike on singletrack and had a rear Tiagra shifter stop functioning temporarily. I was able to get it working again by flushing all of the dirt and grass out of it, but it seems like the shifters are the first thing to get hit in most crashes. I have never cracked the front plastic covers, but the shifters look pretty terrible from all the scratches, dirt and whatnot. Of course, I could try crashing less and then it wouldn't be an issue but I haven't broken a set yet thankfully.

mountaindrew

Dbg is right on target. I don't need super light weight, but I got a great deal on some used brifters. I just don't want to break them. If they will be a liability, then I need something else

dsbrantjr

Have you looked into the Retroshift products? https://retroshift.com/

They have been designed for applications such as yours. Simple and rugged. Your choice of Shimano downtube or bar-end shifters.
EDIT: They are provided with Microshift shifters or shifter-less to use your own.

If you bust the brake body, they'll send you a rebuild kit or repair them for you, same price.
https://retroshift.com/store/products...and-re-builds/

HillRider

I've recommended these things to the point I'm sure some of you think I work for the company or am an investor. I have no connection to them other than as a customer.

Retroshifts are the least expensive alternative to real brifters I know of and are very versatile. You can use your own Shimano or shimano compatible downtube shifters or the levers from barend shifters in any "speed" you want or as strictly friction or they are available with Microshift shifters in 9 or 10-speed versions. Their major disadvantage is that you can only shift from the hoods but that's easy to put up with.

I have them on my Surly Pacer "rain bike" using 8-speed Shimano downtube levers and on one of my road bikes using the Microshift 10-speed levers. They work well in both applications.

fietsbob

Pros use premium components because it's their Job..

and they get a bunch of spares , and new stuff every year.

HillRider

And non-sponsored riders who have the money use them because:

a) The pros do.
b) The highest level components are lighter, more precise, prettier and have more social status with their peers.
c) They are convinced it makes them faster.

mountaindrew

If you read the original post, these brifters are replacing my own rippoff retroshifts. Those work great but are only usable from the hoods. I ride almost exclusively in the hooks (dirt drop style) you have to completely take your hands off of the grip to shift. Not a design flaw per se, but a severe limitation. Same reason a won't use Sora brifters or similar.

FBinNY 

In your shoes, I'd try to unload them for a small profit, and buy something more durable. Don't think of what you paid, but what they're worth or would cost to replace. Even if you got them free, it wouldn't make sense to trash them.

FastJake

I don't think DA STI will fare any worse than other brifters in a crash, but if you crash your brifters don't expect them to survive... If you don't like retroshift, have you considered regular bar-end shifters?

I'd probably sell the DA and find some cheap used Tiagra or 105 STIs if you are set on brifters. That way, when you destroy them, it won't sting as much.

Stealthammer

I can't see the DA brifters being anymore vulnerable to damage than a lower-line Tiagra or 150 set because they are actually produced with better quality materials, but you may be able to trade the DAs for two sets of Tiagra so you have a spare set just in case. Personally, I'd keep the DA and not worry about it unless you crash alot.

BTW: I saw a guy recently with a drop bar Mtb that had a homemade set of really cool neoprene "covers" that he had fitted to cover the brake and shifter pivots on his 105 levers. They were loosely cupped at the top to cover from the top of the front of the hoods down to cover about 1½-2" of the top of the brake levers, and then wound tightly back around the back of the lever to cover the pivots. They fit quite tightly were they needed to, but they caused no drag on either the brake or shifter, and the neoprene padding would certainly help to protect the levers from impact damage in a mild crash as well, and they would keep dirt and grit from fouling the braking/shifting even if the entire brifter was dropped into a mudhole.

I wish I had thought to take pictures, but they appeared to be very simple to make with just one short seam sewn across the top to form the loose cupped "crown" over the top of the front of the hood, and one seam up the back of the piece that covered the back of the lever and the pivots. I currently am without either a CX or dropped bar Mtb, but these will certainly be at the top of my list when I build my next one.

HillRider

Then you are a logical candidate for barend shifters since your hands are right there.