Brifters or Bar End Shifters?

Jeepin_for_life

New member
Hi - I'm new to road biking and touring and I am looking for a touring/commuting bike. I have been riding mountain bikes for a few years now and I am used to having my hands close to the brakes and shifters. When I started looking at touring biked I noticed that some of the manufactures such as Salsa have brifters on their bikes but some of the other bikes like the LHT have bar end shifters. Does anyone have any experience with brifters on touring trips in the US or Europe?

I plan on using the bike to commute to work a couple days a week (37 miles one way) and to start doing smaller tours and working my way up from there.

thanks in advance
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
Bar end, or bar-con shifters are a more traditional shifter for touring but they are primarily used as a means af saving a few bucks. They are cheaper. The performance advantage goes to brifters, although I can't stand that term "brifters" :)
 

Flagster

Expedition Leader
what the f is a brifter? dual control lever?
only benefit of a bar end shifter I see is if you are running a large handlebar bag and it might interfere with your shifting...di2 would be the way to go
 

Bikemobile

Adventurer
Surly cross check or surly long haul trucker is a great commuting bike. Bar end shifters and built to last. Steel frame will ride great on rough roads/curb hops. Not the lightest bike out there but tough as nails. They hold their value too if you decide to sell it on to upgrade or if life gets in the way of your bike commute.

I used to commute 10 miles one way on a cross check when I was in college. It was setup single ring up front with a 9 speed 12/27 cassette out back with the bar end shifter. I used a 42 tooth for commuting and a 38 tooth for cross racing on the weekends.

Good times....

Keep it simple and default to comfort and reliability vs lightweight and expensive for commuting/touring. Also don't skimp on the pannier bags. Get waterproof bags for your clothes, shoes, laptop, whatever.

I also ride a carbon kestrel evoke with campagnolo record. 15 lbs. so I'm not a steel frame hipster.
 

p nut

butter
For extended travels abroad in sparsely populated ares, I would probably get DT or BE shifters, for the simplicity. But for regular commuting, I would stick with brifters. They keep your hands on the bars, easier to operate and are pretty reliable. Sometimes they get crammed up with gunk that needs to be flushed out, but I don't think I've had one actually fail on me.

By the way, 37 miles is a brutal commute! My work is about 35 miles away, and I commute by bike twice a year. Takes me 2 - 2.5 hours, so eats up into my work time...
 

Jeepin_for_life

New member
thanks for the feedback guys. The commute can be brutal but I usually only do it once a week and only one way.

I have my bike options narrowed down to two now. I tried the LHT but it just didn't feel right for me so I have it narrowed down to two. A 2013 Trek 520 or the 2014 Salsa Vaya 3. They both fit me well and I like the ride qualities of each bike. The Trek has a shimano deore component group and feels like a traditional touring bike with exception of the racing slick tires. The Salsa costs about $300 more but it has disks brakes, shimano sora components, sora brifters, and schwable silento tires. It rides great and I really like the cowbell handlebars but I'm just not sure its worth the $300 extra.
 

p nut

butter
thanks for the feedback guys. The commute can be brutal but I usually only do it once a week and only one way.

I have my bike options narrowed down to two now. I tried the LHT but it just didn't feel right for me so I have it narrowed down to two. A 2013 Trek 520 or the 2014 Salsa Vaya 3. They both fit me well and I like the ride qualities of each bike. The Trek has a shimano deore component group and feels like a traditional touring bike with exception of the racing slick tires. The Salsa costs about $300 more but it has disks brakes, shimano sora components, sora brifters, and schwable silento tires. It rides great and I really like the cowbell handlebars but I'm just not sure its worth the $300 extra.

For whatever it's worth, I would take that Salsa over a Trek any day of the week.
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
I concur with p-nut. The Salsa is leagues ahead of the 520 or LHT which are specifically designed to somewhat represent traditional (read old) touring designs. For what it's worth, this small corner of the bike section of ExPo is frequented by all of the big wigs at Salsa, so you'd be supporting the ExPo bike community with that Salsa purchase and have access to a wealth of info on the brand in return.
 

Flagster

Expedition Leader
with the exception of gee gaws & doo dads, what wasn't figured out 60 or 70 years ago in bicycle design?
HMMM...just a few

Sealed bearings
More than 5-6 cogs in the rear
Integrated/stronger bottom bracket/crank designs
Integrated brakes/shifters
Suspension
Carbon/Ti/Al
Aero bars
Internal routing
Tapered and elarged headtubes
Carbon rims...


There are plenty more but this conversation is starting to sound like "buy a Salsa...with bar end shifters"...only a true expo biker would rock this combo

Sounds more like "you better buy a land rover (substitute cruiser) over 25 years old which doesn't have efi for when the EMP comes"...

If you are really riding around the world...you could argue for friction bar end or thumb shifters...but there is a reason they are old tech...they are awkward...
The only failure (until I blew it out with air) of a dual control shifter I had was a Red dual tap after a season of mud soaked cross in the NW...I have two sets of Shimano that have both been going with no problems for over ten years (9spd and 10spd)...For commuting like the OP stated...no question buy a BRIFTER setup
 

Christophe Noel

Expedition Leader
with the exception of gee gaws & doo dads, what wasn't figured out 60 or 70 years ago in bicycle design?
Figured out or perfected?

There's actually a tremendous amount of new technology in the last 20 years that I would argue has revolutionized almost every facet of cycling. While much of the base technology from the late 40s through the late 80s increased at a snail's pace, just the last two decades alone have been quite exciting. Electric shifting, intelligent suspensions, fat bikes, aero road bikes, etc. These are all considerable leaps.
 

p nut

butter
I would also say basic geometry has come a long way. I have an older early 90's MTB that I ride occasionally, that has the typical geometry of that era. Comparing that to a bike built say within 5 years ago, there is a huge difference in the ride. I got rid of the 120mm stem, 520mm bars, etc. but I still feel much more confident in the newer bike and have no lingering feeling of going OTB. (Both are rigid, by the way).

Having said that, I also appreciate very much the "old tech." Over the years, I've gone back to steel frames, rigid forks and no gears. But I certainly don't shut out the new innovations, either. You can take the good from all eras and find a good balance point for what you need/want.
 

Jeepin_for_life

New member
So I ended up with the Salsa Vaya 3. The LBS was able to help me out on adding some racks and panniers. All in all I am very happy with it. I'll give a full report once it warms up and I can put everything through its paces.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,530
Messages
2,875,576
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top