lhorn

My going to the store bike is a Jamis Quest that I built from a mixture of parts I had laying around and sourced on Craigslist. Problem is the Shimano 9 speed "flight deck" shifters are really worn, floppy and unreliable. I don't want to sink a lot of money into the bike but also don't want to risk buying worn out parts again. The prices people ask for 8 and 9 speed stuff that's obviously been crashed makes me think mental illness if more prevalent that I had known.
The options I am considering are:
1: New Microshift R9 shifters - about $130
2: New Microshift R10 shifters - I believe price is similar to above, but add a cassette which are pretty cheap. 10 speeds are better than 9 right?
3. Option 3 I had not considered until I saw that prices for Campy Veloce brifters are pretty reasonable. Nashbar's price is similar to the above Microshift items but they are currently out of stock. I can wait. I know that I'd at least need new derailleurs but those are pretty cheap. Also a new cassette as I'd get 10 speed.

Anything I'm missing from these upgrade options?
The rest of the bike is an FSA Gossomer double crank. 105 brakes and derailleurs

Can anyone recommend a specific online retailer for these items.

Thanks.

Bill Kapaun

10 speed chain.

dabac

Re 9 vs 10-speed:
For a utility bike - don’t fix what isn’t broken.
IMO there’s a noticeably faster wear rate on 10-speed drivetrain parts than on 9-speed. So unless you have a fairly good idea of where in the cassette you’d benefit from another step, I suggest you stick with 9.

Amt0571

I used Microshift R8 for 5 years. They worked well considering the price.

They shifted with a strong "clunk" and lacked the smoothness of higher end parts, but I really can't fault them at the price.

They were reliable and didn't require adjustments in the 5 years I had them.

KCT1986

Have you thought about cassette/free-hub compatibility? Campy cassettes uses different free-hub body from Shimano. Cog spacings of Campy vs Shimano are not the same and shifting ratios are different. Some combination of shifter/rear derailleur may work.

masi61

Don’t count on Nashbar for anything, They went out of business. Whoever owns the name & tries to keep it going uses the internet to appear viable. I would say move on. Campy cassette spacing from 9 speed Shimano I believe is a mismatch unless you are changing everything.

if you are on a budget and want durable 9 speed shifters I agree that supplies are getting weird as sellers of used gear try to milk more money out of well worn parts. It might be cost effective since you are interested in 10 speed anyway to look for deals on new Sora, Tiagra, or 105 10 speed series integrated shifters. Yeah they aren’t terribly plentiful right now but if you’re in the right place at the right time, they are out there.

shelbyfv

JMO- stay with 9 speed. Consumables are still available and a little less expensive. I would not buy used shifters, no way to tell how much life is left. I don't think you could go wrong with Microshift. If you really want fancier, I have read that Campy 11 speed shifters work with Shimano 9 speed RD and cassettes. Investigate further if that interests you.

djb

for a "going to the store" bike, heck stay with 9 speed and you'll only have to replace the shifters--BUT BEORE----

Without using these shifters, you can always first spray the crap out of their innards (from the side, shifting as far as you can go, and hold that position, exposing openings for a spray nozzle) I use a teflon based spray we have here in canada, Jig-a-loo, as it doesnt leave a residue like wd40.

spray spray, shift shift shift spray spray shift shift....etc

Who knows, you might be lucky, and maybe the housings and cables are all worn and old too, so replacing tthem could help immensely---but we cant help you on the interwebs, only you can by doing this in person.

no downside to replacing housings and cables, if you havent ever done this, then you'll have to buy some tools, but then maybe you have no interest or inclination to learn mechanics stuff, having a shop do it will mean paying someone--not paying a shop will mean money to buy the tools though

bottom line, spending 130 or whatever on new shifters is the safest solution. Shimano Sora 9 spd shifters are really nice too, but more money. Up to you.
But if housings, cables, rd etc are in ratty condition, you're always going to be better off changing the housings and cables, and cleaning everything well if you're someone who never does.

Retro Grouch 

A little off topic but have you tried hoseing out your shifters with WD-40 and maybe a good blast of compressed air? That often does wonders and the price is right.

frankenmike 

I might consider a bar-end shifter set-up for that bike. Utterly reliable and simple.

djb

9 spd bar end shifters will probably be not that much less than microshift brifters, and you've got to rehouse, reroute and everything too, but yes, a (kneebanging) option.

lhorn

Thanks for your thoughts. Sounds like the Microshift 9 speed makes the most sense. Glad to hear most folks are happy with them.
I didn't realize there were more issues with converting to Campy. Sounds like the cassette MAY not work with my hub, new derailleurs, chain, etc. New crank too? Oh well, I saw the price on Veloce and lost my head for a bit, but it just doesn't make any sense for this bike.

Didn't realize Nashbar went out of business. Too bad. I thought they were a pretty good retailer.

I saw the Microshift selling on Jensenusa.com. Anyone got a better retailer to recommend?

I'll check out the cables, perhaps they're binding. Thanks for the thoughts.

zen_

You can also get R3000 Sora shifters for $145 (grey market) if you're not in a rush.

HillRider

Nashbar is very much alive and well but no longer has and brick-and-mortar shops and only sell via the internet. They and Performance have identical web sites and products and are owned by Performance. I've dealt with them numerous times over the last months and they are reliable and their prices are pretty good.

Another reliable internet seller is Jenson USA and I've had excellent experiences with them also.

Crankycrank

Also Gavenalle are worth checking out. More $$ than Microshift but more durable and fixable if something breaks plus easy to change to 10-11 speed in the future if you like. https://www.gevenalle.com/product/cx2/
Video of shifters in use. https://vimeo.com/94598775

djb

I've used a set on a touring bike I set up about 5 years ago, a neat system that has some advantages, and yes changeable to various speeds down the road (at what cost for new parts I don't know)
Sti shifters are still more fun for fast shifting.

zacster

So let me confuse the hell out of you, but in a good way. Look at the details in this chart Art's Cyclery Drivetrain Chart of all of the similarities and differences between shifter cable pull, derailleur ratio, and cassette spacing in the charts. Unless you have a setup where Spacing = Pull * Ratio, it won't work. It doesn't have to be completely precise but if the accumulated spacing differences between your cassette and the shifters*derailleurs add up to more than 2mm, or maybe even less, you'll never get it quiet. Add into this the difference in the freehub splines between Campy and Shimano and that limits you even more. Another factor is freehub space, 10sp needs more room than 7-9sp shimano hubs allow even if the same spline pattern and 11sp needs still more room. And you always need a chain that fits. All this is to say just stick with one setup type, you really can't mix and match unless you consult the chart and even then you need to get lucky. If someone hot and sexy came to your door with a million dollar check and was ready to jump on your bones, maybe you've gotten lucky enough to make this work. If that didn't happen to you today, maybe stick with what is known to just work.

In your case, 9sp shifters from Shimano or are Shimano compatible is all you should look at. I assume the Microshift are Shimano compatible, or maybe they make both Shimano and Campy. Just make sure you get the right one.

lhorn

The Gevenvalle shifters look nice. Looks like they are about $200 for what I need and cost about $65 got change to 10 or 11 speed. Not bad.

Zen, that seems like a great price for Sora. I feel like the prices I was seeing for known legit online retailers was quite a bit more, but maybe I didn't look hard enough. IS there much chance that those prices in the low $100 range are fakes?

When I search for Microshift I see a lot of "Micronew". Same thing or copy?
Thanks

zen_

The Sora shifters are legit. What happens is Shimano sells parts to bike manufacturers far below the retail prices, and some of that excess inventory ends up for sale in the gray market.

The Microshift / Micronew thing I suspect is to obfuscate intellectual properties issues. I'm just speculating that maybe Microshift had / has a patent problem with SRAM or Shimano, so they just kept dumping products under a different name. That, or Microshift has a contract manufacturer in China dumping products under a different name.