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My hands get "scraped" from Shimano Ultegra Di2 Shifters - Anyone else have this prob

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My hands get "scraped" from Shimano Ultegra Di2 Shifters - Anyone else have this prob

Old 05-22-23, 07:24 PM
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grecinos
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My hands get "scraped" from Shimano Ultegra Di2 Shifters - Anyone else have this prob

Hello fellow riders!

I recently purchased a new bike. Like my previous bike, it has Shimano Ultregra Di2 12 speed, my old bike has the 11 speed variant. I noticed that my right middle finger gets scraped from the brake lever while riding on the hoods. My left hand has the same problem, but much less. My hands aren't particularly large, they fit quite nicely on the hoods. So, I can accommodate the middle, ring finger, and pinky under the hood with the index above. I only use this position while out of the saddle or to change position for extra leverage. Does anyone else have similar problems?

I have a solution, but I'd like to hear from others first.

TIA.
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Old 05-22-23, 08:06 PM
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rc5781
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Originally Posted by grecinos
Hello fellow riders!

I recently purchased a new bike. Like my previous bike, it has Shimano Ultregra Di2 12 speed, my old bike has the 11 speed variant. I noticed that my right middle finger gets scraped from the brake lever while riding on the hoods. My left hand has the same problem, but much less. My hands aren't particularly large, they fit quite nicely on the hoods. So, I can accommodate the middle, ring finger, and pinky under the hood with the index above. I only use this position while out of the saddle or to change position for extra leverage. Does anyone else have similar problems?

I have a solution, but I'd like to hear from others first.

TIA.
Fingerless gloves maybe? I just recently bout some for hot weather so I have better grip, but it sound like they may help in this situation as well.
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Old 05-22-23, 09:21 PM
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grecinos
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Originally Posted by rc5781
Fingerless gloves maybe? I just recently bout some for hot weather so I have better grip, but it sound like they may help in this situation as well.
Yes, I use fingerless gloves. I never ride without them.

My solution was to use a bit of handlebar tape, wrap it round the top part of the lever and secure it with a bit of electric tape. It works like a charm and doesn't look like an eyesore. I would imagine someone creates such a thing, but I've yet to find one online.
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Old 05-22-23, 09:53 PM
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79pmooney
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Yes. On some brakes. I love to climb and I put brake levers on my bikes that work for my ha. Part of my reasoning has been that I consider fit items that are very expensive a poor choice in my priorities. $30-50 levers? Don't feel super? Toss 'em in the box and try these. Several hundred dollars? I'd be inclined to live with them and just curse.

If I were to move toward the brifter concept, I'd seriously consider Gevenalles and the lever of my choice.

Years ago I put Mafac 2000 levers on my brand new Mooney. I'd ridden thousands of miles on the cheap Mafac Racer levers. Hands loved them. The 2000s were the same geometry bur far nicer. Full hoods. Thought they'd be heaven. But! The cheap Racers had thinner lever material wrapped around underneath. The 2000s ran the material down and left the bottom open. That edge - well they rounded it nicely but to the radius of a spoke. It chafed the upper segment of my middle finger to near the boned many times. Finally wrapped it with handlebar tape. Better, but still ... And many years later, the bars came off, new bars and cheap Tektro levers. What an improvement! Tektro addressed the underside!

Edit: I have done a lot of serious climbing on fix gears, That is an order of magnitude bigger test of brake levers. Even Textros chafe these hands. I wear long fingered light mountain bike gloves all summer on those bikes. (I don't need or even especially like much padding in my gloves but I love starting my rides with all my skin intact, not scraped away from yesterday's ride. And climbing the fix gear not wondering how bad this abrasion is going to get - "I'm only half way up this 5 mile climb and I am already through the skin". Long fingered gloves are (for me) a game changer.

Last edited by 79pmooney; 05-22-23 at 10:00 PM.
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