Shimano combination brake - shifer

"mb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Has any one had any experience with the Shimano bombination brake/shift
lever on the any of the dual 26"? I have a stock Strada and am considering
these shifters.

Thanks,

MB

I'll assume that you're talking about the mountain-bike style (Deore,
XT, XTR) as opposed to the road-bike style (105, Ultegra, Dura-Ace).
The road-bike type was used on some of the Vision R64/R65 models, but
required special handlebars.

I put a set of older XTR brake/shift levers on my Tour Easy. I
*really* prefer them over the Grip Shifts- I was always having to
tweak my wrists to make big shifts with the Grip Shifts.

A couple compatibility issues will make this an interesting
conversion:

1. All of the better Shimano brake/shift levers are set up for
V-brakes. This isn't a problem for the rear brake on the Strada, but
may be an issue with the front caliper. V-brake levers pull more cable
with less leverage than older "standard" levers. You may experience
reduced brake effectiveness. I think some of the levers have
adjustable leverage, allowing them to work better with the front brake
caliper.

Another way around this is to use older brake/shift levers set up for
"standard" brake pull. The first editions of Deore XT and XTR levers
were like this- but they may be hard to find. You'll also be
restricted to 8 speed cassettes.

2. The front (left) shifter pulls less cable than a "road" front
derailleur requires. Fortunately, Shimano sells a front derailleur
than works with "mountain bike" shifters and is set up for larger
"road" chainrings: the FD-R443 (link to Shimano webpage:
http://tinyurl.com/3grvg ) or
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/derailers-front.html

In short, it can be done, but it's not *just* swapping out your stock
brake and shift levers. I think you'll like the change, though.

Jeff