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Question regarding road bike shifters

 
   
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oceanswimmer

Apr 11, 12 9:13

Post #1 of 4 (536 views)
Question regarding road bike shifters Quote | Reply
So the right shifter on my road bike is at the end of its lifespan, and the left one is going to need to get replaced at some point as well. My question is, I have a triple chainring (which I do need for the steepest hills- note I am female, and I'm not going to get a compact crank for this particular bike). For the left shifter, does it matter if it is for a double or triple? Would it just shift through to the granny gear or would it not shift that extra chainring? It's a critical detail as I am investigating all options given the cost of shifters. Thanks!


SuperDave

Apr 11, 12 9:18

Post #2 of 4 (529 views)
Re: Question regarding road bike shifters [oceanswimmer] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
oceanswimmer wrote:
So the right shifter on my road bike is at the end of its lifespan, and the left one is going to need to get replaced at some point as well. My question is, I have a triple chainring (which I do need for the steepest hills- note I am female, and I'm not going to get a compact crank for this particular bike). For the left shifter, does it matter if it is for a double or triple? Would it just shift through to the granny gear or would it not shift that extra chainring? It's a critical detail as I am investigating all options given the cost of shifters. Thanks!

It depends on the shifter. Some designs use the same indexing for both double and triple cranksets. Most have dedicated left-side shifters however.

What type of Shimano shifter are you using? It should have a [two letter hyphen four character] part number under the inside of the brake hood. Something like ST-5500 or possibly ST-R600.

The Shimano techdocs page should be helpful in sorting out what you need.

-SD


oceanswimmer

Apr 11, 12 10:48

Post #3 of 4 (476 views)
Re: Question regarding road bike shifters [SuperDave] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
Currently, I have the ST-R600, but since that has been discontinued, I'm looking to replace it with the ST-R700 (and change the chain and cassette, which need to be replaced anyway, to match the 10-speed shifters). Thanks for the tip about looking at the tech documents- it appears as though the R700 shifters are compatible with both triple and double cranksets.


SuperDave

Apr 11, 12 11:05

Post #4 of 4 (456 views)
Re: Question regarding road bike shifters [oceanswimmer] [In reply to] Quote | Reply
oceanswimmer wrote:
Currently, I have the ST-R600, but since that has been discontinued, I'm looking to replace it with the ST-R700 (and change the chain and cassette, which need to be replaced anyway, to match the 10-speed shifters). Thanks for the tip about looking at the tech documents- it appears as though the R700 shifters are compatible with both triple and double cranksets.

I had a lucky guess on the ST-R600.

The change to 10 speed will also likely require a new middle and outer chainring as well as a front derailleur to operate them. You could probably get away with using the 9 speed rear derailleur still. There are many examples of cyclo-tourists using Shimano's 9 speed MTB shifters on 10 speed road bikes without degrading shifting performance or drivetrain complications.

Tiagra has moved to 10 speed and their triple components would likely provide equal performance to the R600 you're accustomed to but the brake leverage has been changed. Be careful with cross-checking all the compatibility issues that could arise.

-SD