[Love Commander]

Kind of a rant, kind of a question.

New bike has latest gen Shimano 105. For the last few years, I've been riding Rival and Apex. Going back to 105, the RD big-to-small shifting is terrible, IMO. More specifically, the lever throw just seems to be much longer than it needs to be, especially when compared to SRAM. Shifting when on the hoods is acceptable, but shifting when in the drops is awkward and uncomfortable. I have to twist my wrist in order to make the shift, and I have fairly large hands. No wonder the S.O. rarely ever rides in the drops on her 105-equipped bike. Other than that, I like the group.

Has anyone else here encountered this problem? If so, did you find a way to deal with the large amount of shifter throw, or am I pretty much stuck with what I have? I suppose my other option would be to swap out my Rival drive train from the old road bike and sell the 105 bits.

Thanks.

 

[98koukile]

I'm starting to feel this way about my new bike. I was assured that Shimano shifts smoother and Sram has a harsher engagement but there's a lot of chatter and resistance before I can shift a gear. Overall I'm very pleased as a whole but I definitely agree with your two points.

 

[redlude97]

I assume you mean shifting to lower gears with the larger lever? Have you tried the reach adjusting shims?

 

[Love Commander]

I assume you mean shifting to lower gears with the larger lever? Have you tried the reach adjusting shims?

I could have done a better job of describing it. OTOH, a picture is worth a thousand words:

View attachment 279553

I'm talking about the distance from the Lever B start position to when it engages the RD. I've considered the shims, but I don't have any issue with actually reaching the levers when in the drops. However, pushing the Lever B far enough to change gears feels awkward and slow after getting used to SRAM.

I'd like to know if anyone else finds this a problem and if they've found a solution other than a different shifter.

 

[Mr Evil]

I haven't had that problem, but you could try moving the levers down lower on the bars and/or rotating the bars up or down. That would place your finger higher on the lever, effectively reducing the distance it has to move. Or just the different angle may make the required throw easier to achieve.

 

[Jay Strongbow]

"No wonder the S.O. rarely ever rides in the drops on her 105-equipped bike."

You might want to take a quick spin on her bike and compare. I kind of suspect something is funky with your shifter or the cable tension. I've never heard this complaint before and personally didn't notice the difference in throw between 105 and Sram to be much of an issue (though my sram experience is very limited).
I have fairly short fingers and never need to move my wrist to shift so I can't really comprehend how a person with bigger hands would need to use their wrist unless their shifter wasn't engaging properly.

 

[rufus]

That's why Campy's little thumb button is so awesome. Does Sora still use that as well?

 

[tpgrole]

Has anyone else here encountered this problem?

My new winter/commuter/cross rig came with the new 10-speed Tiagra, and I'll agree with you. The throw feels long compared to the Sram stuff on my road bike.

If so, did you find a way to deal with the large amount of shifter throw, or am I pretty much stuck with what I have? I suppose my other option would be to swap out my Rival drive train from the old road bike and sell the 105 bits.

Thanks.

Sorry I have no solution either, and I'm considering swapping the Tiagra stuff out for Sram. IMO, I miss the single lever for all shifting, the ability to pull the shifter closer when in the drops, and the snappy feel of the Sram shifts. To be fair, I'd swear the Shimano shifter feels smoother, but I still prefer my Sram stuff. I'm going to give it more time to see if I grow used to it again, but if not, I'll just swap it out.

 

[davegregoire]

That's why Campy's little thumb button is so awesome. Does Sora still use that as well?

Sure does. My Wife had 105 and went to Sora for this. The 105 was too big for her hands so it worked out.

 

[tihsepa]

That's why Campy's little thumb button is so awesome. Does Sora still use that as well?

No, the new Sora got rid of the thumb button. Shimano still uses it but on a lower level down.

 

[TrojanHorse]

That's why Campy's little thumb button is so awesome. Does Sora still use that as well?

How hard is that little button to reach from the drops though? I've always wondered about that.

 

[Salsa_Lover]

Campagnolo thumb shifter is a better and different actuation, no comparison to sora.

It can be actuated with no problem from tops, ramps, hoods and hooks, when correctly installed off course

 

[PlatyPius]

"No wonder the S.O. rarely ever rides in the drops on her 105-equipped bike."

You might want to take a quick spin on her bike and compare. I kind of suspect something is funky with your shifter or the cable tension. I've never heard this complaint before and personally didn't notice the difference in throw between 105 and Sram to be much of an issue (though my sram experience is very limited).
I have fairly short fingers and never need to move my wrist to shift so I can't really comprehend how a person with bigger hands would need to use their wrist unless their shifter wasn't engaging properly.

I've noticed the same thing. New 105 has a huge dead area. There's an inch+ of throw on the inner lever, but it doesn't actually do anything until the last 1/16" of the travel. Feels cheap. Especially after using Sram, where the shift occurs in the first 1/4" of lever travel.

 

[robdamanii]

I've noticed the same thing. New 105 has a huge dead area. There's an inch+ of throw on the inner lever, but it doesn't actually do anything until the last 1/16" of the travel. Feels cheap. Especially after using Sram, where the shift occurs in the first 1/4" of lever travel.

This, although I feel the latest version of Red actually sacrificed a little bit in terms of the "zero loss" feature...

 

[Love Commander]

I've noticed the same thing. New 105 has a huge dead area. There's an inch+ of throw on the inner lever, but it doesn't actually do anything until the last 1/16" of the travel. Feels cheap. Especially after using Sram, where the shift occurs in the first 1/4" of lever travel.

Yeah, strange. I rode the previous generation of 105 before going to SRAM and didn't have this problem. Even confirmed on the S.O.'s bike last night (she's on 5600) - still a bit more throw than Rival, but still less than what I'm using now.

I'll experiment a bit with lever position and bar angle, but I'm guessing I'll eventually swap it out for my Rival group. Seems like a strange move on Shimano's part. I wonder if this is a side effect of changing the shift cable routing.

Thanks for all the thoughts so far, everyone.

 

[rufus]

How hard is that little button to reach from the drops though? I've always wondered about that.

Well, if you're in the drops, your thumb is right there, maybe a little bit lower down, but not much trouble to hook it up over the button. And all you need to do is a little downward pop, and it shifts.