Re: Helping a tourist with STI problems

On 5/22/2025 11:29 AM, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:

Am Wed, 21 May 2025 20:04:08 -0400 schrieb Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net>:
 

... Spraying the guts thoroughly with lubricant has been the only thing I've
ever done to fix STI. Eventually, doing that enabled him to get the
levers working again and allowed the repair to complete. As a result of
all this, the young guy is going to do an extra overnight here.
>
To me, it's justification for my preference for bar end shifters for
touring. I prefer simple devices with only visible problems.

 Then you should not use modern cars or cell phones.

:-)  I'm very aware that my choice of an electric car was, for me, very unusual. It was based on environmental guilt, due to the large amount of driving I now have to do.
If there were a simple alternative to a cell phone, I'd certainly consider it - but for many electronic devices, there is no simple alternative that's anywhere near as useful. Smart phones, radios, televisions (although I watch very, very little) etc. can't be replaced by simple mechanical devices.
Luckily, STI can be replaced by bar end or other simple shifters. I prefer the ruggedness, adaptability and repairability to the slightly greater convenience of STI.

I too liked the bar end shifter on the touring bike I got in nineties of
the last century, even after getting a nasty stich from a broken wire
from the inner cable, while shifting.  Does that count as a visible
problem? :-O

:-) That's a feature, not a bug! When that first strand of wire breaks and sticks out, it's how the system tells you that its time to replace your shift cable.

 From a consumers point of view, there isn't much difference between a
Tiagra STI lever and a SRAM eTap AXS Shift/Brake Lever, he or she can't
repair either one. Nor can I.  But the former component is a lot more
complicated than the latter.  A STI lever, whether Tiagra, 105 or
Ultegra contains a complicated ratchet mechanism inside, comparable to a
mechanical clock, while the latter one is a simple switch combined with
some electronics. Robust near distance communication by wire or over the
air is essentially a solved problem.

I don't have any experience nor any data on the reliability of e-shifting or wireless shifting. I have had problems with the wireless cyclometer on my Bike Friday - signal failure in temperatures below 40F = 5 C), technical details on request - but to me, inability to shift gears is much more of a problem than inability to see my speed.

Of course we can design and build bicycles that a village blacksmith can
repair. Some people do. Who needs more than two gears? You don't need a
shifting device for only two gears. And so on.

Depending on one's objective. This guy had set his derailleur so his chain was on a middle cog. Shifting in front would have given him two speeds. I agree with him that would not be the way to ride to Los Angeles.
--
- Frank Krygowski