# can you run a Shimano STI as just a brake lever? Or would you go bar ends?......



## RedRex (Oct 24, 2004)

It's obvious my Soma Double Cross that I commute on will need a triple for fully loaded touring in Northern California. I have a 50/39 oddball with 12/27, and with fully loaded front and back panniers it's a bear over the mountains. I can get a 105 triple crank for cheap, so.....

Can I simply add a bar end shifter on the left plug end, and just keep my Ultegra 10sp STI shifters, and use the left shifter as a brake lever only? That would be kind of cool having STI on the right for rear shifting, bar end on the left for crank shifts. 

I actually DO have a set of brake levers and can't decide whether or not to execute the above, or to instead remove both STI levers and go with dual bar ends and brake levers. 

Advice?


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## WWU (Oct 7, 2008)

I don't see any problem with leaving the STI on the left. You would just have to remember where to grab in order to shift in the front.

OTOH...

LA is known to use an STI on the right and a standard lever with a downtube shifter for his left to save weight, since you don't shift in the front nearly as much while climbing. IMHO that might be the cleanest looking setup, though you would probably want the bar end instead.










I know it's an old photo, but it illustrates the point.


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## Becky (Jun 15, 2004)

Are those Ultegras STIs definitely double-only or are they double/triple? Might be worth double-checking before making a final decision.


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

I prefer bar-ends to STI or Ergo levers. I don't like brake levers that move side to side, and bad weather can be tough on indexing which makes the bail-out to friction shifting with bar-ends a comfort.


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## RedRex (Oct 24, 2004)

WWU said:


> LA is known to use an STI on the right and a standard lever with a downtube shifter for his left to save weight, .


Wow that is an excellent idea.


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

I built a CX bike last year with a 1x9 drivetrain. I used 2 STI shifters because I liked the way they felt, just didn't run shift cables from the front shifter. It worked fine.

Suppose if you found a set that were trashed, you could gut them to lose some additional weight...


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## llama31 (Jan 13, 2006)

I know that the old 9-speed Ultegra shifters could work as double or triple. I have them and have switched back and forth a few times. So, as Becky says, double check about the 10-speed shifting. It may be able to handle triple shifting duty.


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## RedRex (Oct 24, 2004)

llama31 said:


> I know that the old 9-speed Ultegra shifters could work as double or triple. I have them and have switched back and forth a few times. So, as Becky says, double check about the 10-speed shifting. It may be able to handle triple shifting duty.


I peeled back the hood, it's an Ultegra 6600 10sp. I'm thinking the "best" option would be to eBay the single shifter and replace with a triple shifter. But a slightly cheaper option would be a single downtube shifter.


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## m_s (Nov 20, 2007)

When I converted my cross bike to 1 x 9 I also bought a set of cane creek levers from a friend to use on the left. This was more out of an inexplicable desire to do things "right" rater than any real need. I couldn't care less about the marginal weight savings.

If it were me I wouldn't use an STI lever with a bar end just out of pure anal retentiveness, but there is no mechanical reason you can't.


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## Becky (Jun 15, 2004)

FWIW, Bonktown.com has been posting Ultegra 10x3 shifters every so often. Keep watching their site and you may be able to snag a pair for ~$150.


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## RedRex (Oct 24, 2004)

Becky said:


> FWIW, Bonktown.com has been posting Ultegra 10x3 shifters every so often. Keep watching their site and you may be able to snag a pair for ~$150.



Thanks! this five day tour is in the fall so I have some time to watch the web.


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## WWU (Oct 7, 2008)

RedRex said:


> I peeled back the hood, it's an Ultegra 6600 10sp. I'm thinking the "best" option would be to eBay the single shifter and replace with a triple shifter. But a slightly cheaper option would be a single downtube shifter.


While Ultegra 9sp was double or triple compatible, 10sp is either/or. You might check eBay for a 6603 left lever, such as this one, which would do the job. 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Shimano-ST-6603-Ultegra-Shifters-Left-Side-STI-Triple_W0QQitemZ130286040573QQcmdZViewItem

Hope this helps!


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## zigurate (Mar 3, 2009)

The LA with Ullrich pic brings back memories. I realized now at the time helmets weren't required in races, I don't remember when they started being so.


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## logbiter (Sep 14, 2005)

*right now on bonktown!*

for $180


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## My Own Private Idaho (Aug 14, 2007)

I did this on my son's bike for a while. He didn't have big enough hands to shift the front triple, so I added a bar-end shifter for the front, and kept the 105 brifters on just for the brake. It worked fine.


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