msu2001la

Brifter persists because this sport is dominated by grey haired men who's cycling coming-of-age was during the Lance Armstrong era when a combo brake/shifter seemed like revolutionary new technology that required a snappy new marketing term. I don't know anyone under the age of 50 that says "brifter".

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/produ...T-R8170-R.html
https://www.sram.com/en/sram/road/se...force-etap-axs

Campagnolo wrote like 4000 words on their 12sp groupset (gruppo?) here and I don't see the word "brifter" used once: https://www.campagnolo.com/US/en/Cam...rake_groupsets

msu2001la

We should've gone with "shake lever". Would've been vastly superior to "brifter".

ThermionicScott 

Maybe, but who cares how it came to be?

It makes total sense for Shimano, SRAM, and Campy to use their own product names rather than a generic term, not sure why that would be confusing to anyone.

Kapusta

Please tell me a one word term that specifies an integrated shifter/brake lever combo and differentiates it from a brake lever or shifter.

BTW, all words are “made up” words. That is how language works.

Kapusta

There would be no confusion because they assumed correctly.

If I told someone I broke the caliper on my MTB, you would correctly assume it was a disc brake.

By your logic, it is time to retire the term “disc brake”.

msu2001la

No one really specifies "disc brakes" when talking about a car's brake system, do they? This used to be common when cars were sold with drum brakes still, but that hasn't been a thing for several decades. So yes, I assume at some point we will stop specifying "disc brakes" on bikes, and just start referring to them as "brakes". The same thing has happened with "radial" tires and "unleaded" gasoline.

That said, there are still loads of bikes sold with rim brakes, (which until 15-20 years ago were just called "brakes"). I'd say there's still a need to specify which type of brake system.

Rolla

True -- and if you said you broke the caliper on your road bike, you'd have to clarify.

Sometimes I think it's easier just to grunt and point.

Fentuz

I do... and may be I should GFTO.... like every single French speaker...

as for jersey, cycling tops used to be wool pull over for sports also known as ... yes, jersey

msu2001la

In the context of drop bar bikes, the word is "shifter".

I linked product pages for Sram, Campagnolo and Shimano above - all of them call these parts "shifters", and then use marketing terms like "dual control levers" or "double tap", etc. to describe how they operate. None of them use the term "brifter".

msu2001la

We're 3 pages into what is clearly a tounge-in-cheek discussion about retiring cycling terms. It's pretty clear who cares, and who doesn't.

Rolla

The problem I have with with brifters is the implication that they are used for brifting, as in: "I was zooming down the hill, when I had to suddenly brift."

AFAIK, that's not a thing.

msu2001la

Exactly. What is that? Braking and shifting at the exact same time?

ThermionicScott 

By that I meant, why does anyone take it so seriously?

To be frank, I kinda enjoy the term "brifter." A seven letter portmanteau to describe a distinct type of bicycle component that controls the brakes and shifts gears, all without being tied to a particular brand or model. A masterpiece of elegant simplicity.

msu2001la

There you go! I still hate it, but A+ for using "portmanteau".

I also which we could retire the term "podcast", much like we've generally retired the term "blogger" (or even more specific "vlogger"... which we just call YouTubers now I think, or maybe "Influencers").

OK, I'm done now.

Rolla

pdlamb

I'm not so sure. I've started seeing some flat bar gravel bikes. Pretty soon, you'll have to show them a picture of your (drop bar) gravel bike so they'll understand the shifter you broke is also your brake, or they'll wonder if you broke your brake lever too.

As you might guess, I'm one of those who thinks "brifter" is a good generic term. Say "brifter" and you don't need to specify Shimano, Campagnolo, SRAM, Microshift or whomever else makes "one of those," and you don't need to worry about what your manufacturer of choice calls the darn thing.

jonathanf2

There is little to no actual gravel where I live and it's mostly either dirt fire roads or single track. I would think a term like "all-road" might be better suited for "gravel" bikes.

Kapusta

No, “shifter” most certainly does NOT do that.

I was not aware that SRAM, Campy, and Shimano's marketing copy got to decide how we use the English language. Am I allowed to call something a bidon even though the manufacturer calls it a water bottle? Or vice versa? Is "dork disc" a no-go? Can I call something a "bash ring" when the manufacturer calls it a "bash guard"? Can I use the term "flat bar" if the manufacture calls the specific model a riser? Can I use the term "oval" for a ring that the manufacturer calls "elliptical" and vice versa?

Dual Control Lever = Brifter. One is a lot quicker to say and write. And if the term "brifter" serves no purpose (as some are indicating), why does the term "dual control lever" exist (which means the same thing, just longer)?

Kapusta

Kinda like sharting.... except less messy and not real.

Kapusta

No, you do not generally have to say "disc brake" if you know the context. And you don't always have to specify shifter/brake.

But sometimes you DO have to specify the type of brake, thus there are different names for them..... and sometimes you DO have to specify the type of shifter, thus there are different names for them.

That's the thing about language. It is often contextual. If one is an a context where it might not be clear what sort of shifters you have, "brifters" clears that up.

New words are added to vocabulary when they have a use such as streamlining communication or adding clarity. Folks can accept that or they can yell at the clouds.

Rolla

Since the advent of tubeless tires, I've wanted a term for a tire with a tube in it.

Tubeful? Tubire?

mstateglfr 

You get a pass because you live under the Queen's rule.
- If anyone from Iowa ever said 'bidon', I would stare thru them in disgust with the heat of a million suns.
- If someone with a British accent asked me to pass them their bidon, I would view it as novel and happily pass it. Later, I would try to impress them with my British accent, which is really just an offensive mix of Cockney, Scottish, Aussie, and sometimes Mexican because I am terrible with accents. They would then leave with a terrible and accurate impression of Iowa and Americans in general.

tyrion

I call it a bladder tire system, or BTS. Sounds more technical than "inner tube".

Trakhak

Finally, I get to use "po-faced"! As in, po-faced campaigns to eliminate usages and practices that trigger some and elicit bemused puzzlement in others - e.g., referring to brake/shifter combinations as brifters, indicating right turns on a bike with the right hand, etc.

The late Sheldon Brown pushed relentlessly for years to replace the inoffensive term "derailleur" with the much more obscure (and, to me, well-nigh appalling) spelling "derailer." But, given that English is now the lingua franca worldwide, we Anglophones can surely tolerate a few French spellings.

Fentuz

dual nationality however British accent is still very Gallic unfortunately