Price Paid:  $2000.00 at Cyclewerks

Favorite Ride:
Klein Q-Carbon Race

Bike Setup:
Stock Klein Q-Carbon Race.

Summary:
The Shimano 105 shifter on the right side decided to quit working suddenly so that I couldn't select the smaller gears. After reading some of the reviews on this site I figured I was in for a new set of shifters. Before making the leap however I cleaned and lubed the shifter mechanism. When did a little oil ever harm things, except on your pads and pizza? To my surprise the shifter started working -- better than before. I even gave the left unit a little maintenance. Happy ending. I suspect a lot of problems reported previously may have been due to a lack of lubrication.

Strengths:
Great price and more than enough performance for a recreational rider.

Weaknesses:
Shimano doesn't describe any maintenance procedures in their manual. Also, there is no way to replace broken parts.

Similar Products Used:
Suntour Pro

Price Paid:  $0.00 at came with the bike

Favorite Ride:
B&A trail

Bike Setup:
CAAD5, shimano ultegra/105, R540 wheels.....I need to get some Italian parts and get rid of this Japanese stuff

Summary:
This product sucks. After about 1500 miles the cable holder just completely blew up inside, so i lost all tension on the cable and couldn't shift gears in the rear. This is inexcuseable, especially the day before a race. They also feel mushy when u brake or when u are pulling in cable. Bottom line: GET CAMPY if you can afford it. Two stars for making it to 1500 miles.

Strengths:
hmmm....still thinkin'

Weaknesses:
durability, feels mushy

Similar Products Used:
Campy record, shimano dura-ace, a bit of everything....

Price Paid:  $0.00 at lbs

Favorite Ride:
fast ones

Bike Setup:
Composite frame. Easton EC 90 fork. Mix of 105, Ultegra, and Dura-ace. Ritchey WCS handlebar and stem. Spinergy wheelset.

Summary:
I have had these shifters ever since I got my bike. Since than I have put 14,500 miles into them and they still work. Plus they have been invovled in 10 crashes. I have been told that these shifters are good for about 8,000 miles, but mine are well above that mark. I have had the rattling problem that everyone else seems to have and I fixed it by placing a piece of an index card in between the front cap and the shifter. Also the little screw became lose on the rear shifter, but I fixed it by placing a rubberband on the down shifter lever. Even after four years the shifting is still pretty smoothand accurate.

Strengths:
Durable. Durable. Durable. With the miles and crashes that these shifters have had they should have been long gone by now.

Weaknesses:
Rattles, but these can be mixed. Little screw coming loss, but can also be fixed.

Similar Products Used:
Sora shifter on another bike.

Price Paid:  $700.00 at bikesdirect.com

Favorite Ride:
Mercier

Bike Setup:
Mercier Frame. Full 105 components

Summary:
Shifters worked great for about 300 miles. At 300 miles, the front shifter completely stripped. There was no gradual breakdown, just a complete failure. I am currently working with Shimano to warranty the shifter.

I also learned the hard way about ordering a bike on-line. Being that the dealer is in Texas and I am in Seattle, there is no one locally to work with. I have to work with Shimano directly for the warranty and can't get a 'loaner' to use durning the process. But hey, I saved a ton of money buying it online. You choose.

My roots are in mountain bikes, this is my first experience with a road bike. It seems like everything on the road bike is not as user friendly to perform maintenance on compared to the mountain bikes I own.

Strengths:
Worked as advertised for about 300 miles

Weaknesses:
Not maintainable by rider or bike shop. You have to send it to Shimano to have it fixed. The 'Special Tools' Shimano mentions in the manual aren't for sale (not even the local shops have one in house)

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $115.00 at LBS

Favorite Ride:
A course I made in the local park

Bike Setup:
Surly Crosscheck, was 105, now Campy Veloce

Summary:
For the money, these are nice units. They are comfortable and basically work well. They aren't as snappy in the shifts as DA or Ultegra, but they get the job done. Just don't try the better shifters and you'll never know what you're missing.

I had a problem with my left shifter. It would just jamb on downshifts into the smaller ring. Sometimes I'd have to finesse it in, sometimes I'd have to pound the lever. I got it warranteed, but still had the same problem to a much lesser degree. I got a third shifter and it was fine.

Strengths:
Good value
Pretty durable
Works well on many different handlebars

Weaknesses:
Can occasionally get a bad one, and service parts cannot be had anywhere.

Similar Products Used:
D/A
Campy Chorus and Veloce