From Shimano Sora levers to 105 levers or Campy Mirage levers?

I've had Shimano Sora shifters on my 8-speed drive train with Shimano
road chain rings and a Deore rear cassette/derailer for about two years.
There's nothing wrong with them, but I find it annoyingly difficult to
shift from the drops.

For about the same price (~$150), I can buy a pair of Shimano 105 levers
or Campy Mirage levers. Does anyone have any recommendations for either
product?

Thanks,
-Mike

none wrote:
I've had Shimano Sora shifters on my 8-speed drive train with Shimano
road chain rings and a Deore rear cassette/derailer for about two
years. There's nothing wrong with them, but I find it annoyingly
difficult to shift from the drops.

For about the same price (~$150), I can buy a pair of Shimano 105
levers or Campy Mirage levers. Does anyone have any recommendations
for either product?

Thanks,
-Mike

Don't buy Mirage levers if you don't like the thumb-style button on Sora.
Although Ergos have larger thumb buttons than Sora, it's still a tiny bit
inconvenient to shift from the drops on Ergos, especially when your hands
are close to the ends of the bars.

Having said that, if you won't crash or ever damage your 105 levers, get
those. Get some WD-40 too, for down the road.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

In article eBbRe.3436$rj.2557@lakeread07,
"Phil, Squid-in-Training"
wrote:

none wrote:
I've had Shimano Sora shifters on my 8-speed drive train with Shimano
road chain rings and a Deore rear cassette/derailer for about two
years. There's nothing wrong with them, but I find it annoyingly
difficult to shift from the drops.

For about the same price (~$150), I can buy a pair of Shimano 105
levers or Campy Mirage levers. Does anyone have any recommendations
for either product?

Thanks,
-Mike

Don't buy Mirage levers if you don't like the thumb-style button on Sora.
Although Ergos have larger thumb buttons than Sora, it's still a tiny bit
inconvenient to shift from the drops on Ergos, especially when your hands
are close to the ends of the bars.

My experience was that I could not reach the Sora button from the drops,
but could easily do on my Veloce levers. In practice, the positioning of
the Campy button is drop-bar friendly, though some riders (not me) find
its location is a problem for some hand positions.

Having said that, if you won't crash or ever damage your 105 levers, get
those. Get some WD-40 too, for down the road.

If you're a weight weenie, I bet the Mirage levers are lighter. The
Shimano stuff is better on weight in other areas, but Ergo brifter
design is substantially lighter than comparable STI units. My Campy
Veloce 9v brifters weigh about the same as current Dura-Ace stuff.

I run the aforementioned Campy levers, an older Campy 9v rear derailer,
Shimano 9v cassette, all Shimano up front (Ultegra BB and derailer, old
Dura Ace Hollowtech "I" cranks).

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

Ryan Cousineau wrote in
:


Don't buy Mirage levers if you don't like the thumb-style button on
Sora. Although Ergos have larger thumb buttons than Sora, it's still
a tiny bit inconvenient to shift from the drops on Ergos, especially
when your hands are close to the ends of the bars.

My experience was that I could not reach the Sora button from the
drops, but could easily do on my Veloce levers. In practice, the
positioning of the Campy button is drop-bar friendly, though some
riders (not me) find its location is a problem for some hand
positions.

I don't ride in the drops that much, but what I really like about my
Ergos is that I can upshift from the tops. And what the poster you're
replying to said about button SIZE is irrelevant - Ergos are drop-
friendly because the button is behind the thumb, not in front.



If you're a weight weenie, I bet the Mirage levers are lighter. The
Shimano stuff is better on weight in other areas, but Ergo brifter
design is substantially lighter than comparable STI units. My Campy
Veloce 9v brifters weigh about the same as current Dura-Ace stuff.

And Xenons are even lighter, 'cause they're plastic. In fact, they're
lighter than all Ergos except Chorus and Record. No idea why the Mirages
are heaviest, though. They're plastic, like Xenon, but are 60g more than
Xenon and 4g more than Veloce (keeping in mind that when you're riding,
you probably evaporate 4 grams in sweat every few minutes - weight
weenies should go to the bathroom before they ride).

Hank Wirtz wrote:
And Xenons are even lighter, 'cause they're plastic. In fact, they're
lighter than all Ergos except Chorus and Record. No idea why the Mirages
are heaviest, though. They're plastic, like Xenon, but are 60g more than
Xenon and 4g more than Veloce

This is discouraging. I don't care about weight, but I do care about
durability, and it seems that the metal 105 levers might last longer.

-Mike

"none" wrote in message
news:06eRe.8180$wE1.8080@trndny01...
Hank Wirtz wrote:
And Xenons are even lighter, 'cause they're plastic. In fact, they're
lighter than all Ergos except Chorus and Record. No idea why the Mirages
are heaviest, though. They're plastic, like Xenon, but are 60g more than
Xenon and 4g more than Veloce

This is discouraging. I don't care about weight, but I do care about
durability, and it seems that the metal 105 levers might last longer.


The material of the levers is irrelevant for the durability of the complete
shifter system. What's inside is what matters. In normal use you don't wear
out a lever even if it is a plastic one. But if you bent your metal 105
lever in a crash, you are screwed. The plastic Mirage lever you just
replace. Just a thought...
BTW the little 105 lever is plastic.

Lou

On Wed, 31 Aug 2005 08:44:44 GMT, none wrote:

Hank Wirtz wrote:
And Xenons are even lighter, 'cause they're plastic. In fact, they're
lighter than all Ergos except Chorus and Record. No idea why the Mirages
are heaviest, though. They're plastic, like Xenon, but are 60g more than
Xenon and 4g more than Veloce

This is discouraging. I don't care about weight, but I do care about
durability, and it seems that the metal 105 levers might last longer.

If the Ergos break you can buy parts and fix them. If the STI break you can buy
new levers.

Ron

none wrote:
I've had Shimano Sora shifters on my 8-speed drive train with Shimano
road chain rings and a Deore rear cassette/derailer for about two years.
There's nothing wrong with them, but I find it annoyingly difficult to
shift from the drops.

For about the same price (~$150), I can buy a pair of Shimano 105 levers
or Campy Mirage levers. Does anyone have any recommendations for either
product?

Thanks,
-Mike

If you go with Mirage then you will need a Campag rear der. BUT STI are
all the same in that they are not repairable whereas Campag levers are.
BUT Veloce levers are closer to the price of 105 than Mirage. I'd say
go with Campag, including a rear der, get a 9s cogset and chain and go
ride.

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:
If you go with Mirage then you will need a Campag rear der. BUT STI are
all the same in that they are not repairable whereas Campag levers are.
BUT Veloce levers are closer to the price of 105 than Mirage.

Really? Do you know where I can find a pair of Veloce levers for ~$150?

Thanks,
-Mike

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:
If you go with Mirage then you will need a Campag rear der.

Won't the Campag shifters work with Shimano 8-speed cassettes if I use
some sort of spacer?

Also, my current handlebars have only one groove in them -- will I need
to buy a new 2-groove handlebar?

Thanks,
-Mike