What is an STI lever?

What is an STI lever?

Dual Control or Shimano Total Integration (STI) is Shimano’s name for the integrated brake and gear shifter lever. The Shimano shifter system works by moving the whole brake lever to change gear in one direction, and using a smaller integrated lever inside the main brake lever to change in the other direction.

How long should Ultegra shifters last?

Ultegra parts will last you a long time. 20,000miles or higher was not unheard of during the time I worked at a bike shop. We had a bike messenger that had over 30 grand on his and stuff still worked just fine.

Are there brake and shift levers on a Shimano bike?

No problem. It looks complicated, but once you see what the levers do, it’s not bad at all. Most road bikes these days use the Shimano STI system which has integrated brake and shift levers. These are sometimes referred to as “brifters” and are quite a change from the old-fashioned down tube shifters. Pictured to the left are Shimano 105 shifters.

How are STI levers used in Shimano bicycles?

This mechanism operates like a ratchet, the larger lever applying tension to the gear cable, the smaller one incrementally releasing it. The Rapidfire mechanism was subsequently adapted to be used in STI levers. In 1990, Shimano introduced their STI shifting levers for road bicycles, which completely integrated the brake lever and shifter.

Why are Shimano disc brakes called flippity shifters?

Like the road shifters, XTR used the same lever for braking and shifting. This was met with some resistance as they limited the choice of disc brakes to only those made by Shimano. They are nicknamed, “flippity shifters” for the brake lever’s ability to move in the vertical plane.

How many shifts does a Shimano STI shift?

When shifting, you can actually shift to two different positions for each chainring. This is great for maintaining a proper chainline when you change cogs, but you have to remember that shifting to a different chainring might take 1.5 shifts rather than one.