shifters

There are two styles of shifters in use on modern touring bikes. Integrated brakes/shifters and bar end shifters, which are basically a lever at the end of the handlebar and separate from the brake; you move the lever to shift gears. Both of our bikes have integrated shifters (Shimano Tiagras if anybody cares). While integrated shifters have many benefits – they are extremely easy to use and allow shifting from multiple hand positions, they’re one of the few components I would consider changing out if we took another trip. The downside is that the integrated shifter mechanism is a total black box to the rider. While they’re quite reliable, if an integrated shifter breaks or malfunctions, the chances of being able to fix it on the road are small. We met a rider who wasn’t able to use his front derailleur for a few hundred miles until he could get to a bike shop; if it’d been his rear derailleur he probably would have needed to get a ride.

Bar end shifters, on the other hand, are fairly foolproof. There’s a lever and it makes a cable longer or shorter depending on its position. If something does break, it’s likely that a solution can be cobbled together at a hardware store. The downside is that the shifters are less convenient and more finicky to use. I think it’s worth considering how long a tour is, how close you’ll be to bike shops along the way, and how it would impact the tour if you got stuck for a few days waiting for a replacement part before leaving with STI shifters. All that said, my shifters are 8 years old and are still working fine.