STI Shifter Help
My current go to bike is a old Giant Superlite - I absolutely love it, So unbelievably comfortable and despite its 10kg heft pretty damn fast. I have got it setup the way I want with a 1x 42t chainring with a 11-36 out back via a Shimano Alivio rear mech.
Only issue is the single Downtube shifter whilst precise and perfectly serviceable is proving to be a pain mainly because the frame geometry is such that the front wheel is really close to the frame and DT shifter (the bike is the correct size for me), Anyway on a few occasions I have gone to change gear and ended up touching the wheel - Normally this has been nothing more than a nuisance but on at least 1 occasion it very nearly grabbed my fingers under the fork crown. Given I was doing about 30mph downhill at the time I suspect had I not recovered my fingers I would have as a minimum broken my fingers but also almost certainly been thrown over and suffered a far worse fate.
To that end I really have to concede that in this case with this frame a STI shifter is the best way (I still think DT shifters look boss on a retro bike but hey safety first).
To that end I have a few questions:
1. Would a Shimano Sora 9 speed shifter work fine with a Shimano Alivio MTB rear mech (both 9 speed shimano) ?
2. Can I run full cable housing neatly cable tied running under the frame rather than get a screw in cable stop, The cable would run all the way to the cable stop on the rear mech ?
3. Do Shimano Sora 3500 9 speed STI's run the cable under the tape or do they stick out the side ?
I have considered a clamp on DT shifter but any further away on the frame would be either too much of a drop for my hand or if mounted on the stem be pretty nasty in the case of a accident.
I also understand that a STI will be marginally heavier and I won't be able to dump gears as I can with the DT shifter but no big deal, a few extra grams on a 10kg bike with 85kg rider will make sod all difference.
Ta.
Only issue is the single Downtube shifter whilst precise and perfectly serviceable is proving to be a pain mainly because the frame geometry is such that the front wheel is really close to the frame and DT shifter (the bike is the correct size for me), Anyway on a few occasions I have gone to change gear and ended up touching the wheel - Normally this has been nothing more than a nuisance but on at least 1 occasion it very nearly grabbed my fingers under the fork crown. Given I was doing about 30mph downhill at the time I suspect had I not recovered my fingers I would have as a minimum broken my fingers but also almost certainly been thrown over and suffered a far worse fate.
To that end I really have to concede that in this case with this frame a STI shifter is the best way (I still think DT shifters look boss on a retro bike but hey safety first).
To that end I have a few questions:
1. Would a Shimano Sora 9 speed shifter work fine with a Shimano Alivio MTB rear mech (both 9 speed shimano) ?
2. Can I run full cable housing neatly cable tied running under the frame rather than get a screw in cable stop, The cable would run all the way to the cable stop on the rear mech ?
3. Do Shimano Sora 3500 9 speed STI's run the cable under the tape or do they stick out the side ?
I have considered a clamp on DT shifter but any further away on the frame would be either too much of a drop for my hand or if mounted on the stem be pretty nasty in the case of a accident.
I also understand that a STI will be marginally heavier and I won't be able to dump gears as I can with the DT shifter but no big deal, a few extra grams on a 10kg bike with 85kg rider will make sod all difference.
Ta.
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Comments
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Don't know about the first two points, but the gear cables for the 3500 come out the side and are beyond my whit to put under the bar tape; the brake cable will go under the wrap.
I'd imagine you could run cable outers the whole way without a screw in guide, but you may need a little something under the bottom bracket to stop it rubbing?
You might want to investigate whether they're compatible with your brakes too, IIRC they're not suited to some types.0 -
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Thanks
The brakes are Shimano RX100 which should be fine I suspect - Whilst old they are still dual pivot road calipers so I suspect they would be fine. Mostly concerned about compatibility with Alivio Rear mech0 -
Considered bar end but I thought if I am going to replace the shifter might as well go whole hog and go for STI for convenience.0
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Gavenalle shifters. Offers a 1x setup and you can use your current DT shift lever if you want. https://gevenalle.com/shifters/0
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Interesting but not for me - Seem quite expensive for what is basically a friction thumb shifter bolted to a drop bar lever.0
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Shimano road and mountain bike 9 speed gears are generally compatible with each other, but Sora only goes up to 34t on the rear, so I don't know if that will cause any issues when trying to select 36t on the rear. But if you want to route the cables under the bar tape, you need Sora R3000 STI levers.0
