Replacing Ultegra STI with smaller ones?

What you need is the Shimano ultegra ST-R600 STI lever for *small
hands*.Its an "ultegra-quality" shifter.

Go here for more:

http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=LD0610

However, if you're "relatively clueless when it comes to bike repairs,"
I recommend you go to you Local Bike Shop and work with them!

bfd said:

What you need is the Shimano ultegra ST-R600 STI lever for *small hands*.Its an "ultegra-quality" shifter.

Do those actually have smaller hoods, or just the shims to move the
brake levers closer?

Art Harris

Shims. But I think the question is whether the shims move the brake
close enough for it to work for her. Since the OP has admitted to being
"relatively clueless when it comes to bike repairs," the best thing for
her is to find a good LBS and work with them on making sure that the
levers fit her.

Yes, I'd definitely not do this myself. I need smaller shims/hoods, I
can reach the levers fine.

Quoted message said:

Yes, I'd definitely not do this myself. I need smaller shims/hoods, I
can reach the levers fine.

If its the hoods that are too large, you're kinda SOL. You may be able
to go to 'traditional' aero levers & downtube or barcon shifters, or
perhaps campy ergo, but Shimano makes no brifters w/smaller hoods.

SYJ

Quoted message said:

Hi everyone-
I have a fantastic 2002 LeMond Zurich that I bought used last year.
I love riding it, except for one thing - the brake hoods seem
extrodinarily large to me. I'm a woman, and my hands are relatively
small, so I find that the brake hoods don't really fit my hands well.
Is is possible to replace them with smaller (say 105) shifters? I'm
relatively clueless when it comes to bike repair (except flats), so
bear with me. Thanks!

Test ride a bike with Centaur or Chorus Ergos. Besides the
shape, Ergo fronts may be shifted with several short motions
of the left hand rather than the difficult long reach under
an STi lever.
Some riders with small hands prefer them.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Quoted message said:

Yes, I'd definitely not do this myself. I need smaller shims/hoods, I
can reach the levers fine.

Then you need a set of Campagnolo ERGO and a new Campagnolo rear
derailleur which will shift your otherwise shimano setup just fine.
shimano STI are large and raygun like, Campag are smaller. See a decent
LBS and talk to them, ride a bike with Campag PLUS no more dreaded 'my
lever stopped working, where's the trash' syndrome.

Haha, very true. Although I did find this auction on eBay for smaller
STI shifters
(http://cgi.ebay.com/Shimano-ST-R600-9-Speed-Dual-Control-Levers-NEW_W0QQitemZ7225856429QQcategoryZ36140QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem).
There are several auctioning off Chorus ones, not so may Centaurs...
although it seems like they're all 8 or 10 speed, not 9. :P

Hopefully my LBS won't give me another, "You want to do WHAT?" look
when I come in this time. The stem that came with the bike was too long
(both in height/"length"😉, so I brought in this old, scratched up one
that fit me much better. I swear he was thinking, "Dude, she wants to
put this piece of [censored] on it instead... okaaayyyy." 😉

Quoted message said:

Haha, very true. Although I did find this auction on eBay for smaller
STI shifters
(http://cgi.ebay.com/Shimano-ST-R600-9-Speed-Dual-Control-Levers-NEW_W0QQitemZ7225856429QQcategoryZ36140QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem).

---snippage---

The R600 brifters are 'normal' 9 speed Ultegra, with shims to bring the
levers closer to the bar (that is, the drops). In other words, the
hoods themselves are the same size. As long as the reach from bar to
lever (while in the drops) is not your problem, the R600s won't fix
what ails you.

Good luck,
SYJ

Quoted message said:

Haha, very true. Although I did find this auction on eBay for smaller
STI shifters
(http://cgi.ebay.com/Shimano-ST-R600-9-Speed-Dual-Control-Levers-NEW_W0QQitemZ7225856429QQcategoryZ36140QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem).
There are several auctioning off Chorus ones, not so may Centaurs...
although it seems like they're all 8 or 10 speed, not 9. :P

Hopefully my LBS won't give me another, "You want to do WHAT?" look
when I come in this time. The stem that came with the bike was too long
(both in height/"length"😉, so I brought in this old, scratched up one
that fit me much better. I swear he was thinking, "Dude, she wants to
put this piece of [censored] on it instead... okaaayyyy." 😉

You _bought_ a new bicycle and had to supply your own stem
for proper fit _and_ you got attitude ????

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

A Muzi said:

Quoted message said:

Hopefully my LBS won't give me another, "You want to do WHAT?" look
when I come in this time. The stem that came with the bike was too long
(both in height/"length"😉, so I brought in this old, scratched up one
that fit me much better. I swear he was thinking, "Dude, she wants to
put this piece of [censored] on it instead... okaaayyyy." 😉

You _bought_ a new bicycle and had to supply your own stem for proper
fit _and_ you got attitude ????

I thought the same thing at first. But then I realized she may not have
bought the bike from that LBS. If she did buy the bike there, and she's
having that kind of response, she might do well to shop for a new LBS.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Andy said:

You _bought_ a new bicycle and had to supply your own stem
for proper fit _and_ you got attitude ????

Yeah, I'll second that!

Lose this LBS! These guys probably don't even carry Campy.

This is somewhat of an industry wide problem, from the messenger &
extreme mt. bike crowd.
I have nothing against either group or practice, (In fact I think
they're both cool, & I'm old enough to be thier great grand father) but
when it reaches bike shops courtesy to the public, I draw the line.
It also comes from ignorance and attitude; "If I don't know about it
then it can't be important & you are thefore stupid".

There are LBS that specialize in fitting bikes. Some aren't bike shops
per se. Such as Ted Ernst, when he had his own shop in Manhattan Beach,
Ca. I recommend that you try to find that sort of situation in your
town.

Joining a bike club or three (most are pretty cheap per year) can be
very helpful in finding resources in your area.

John

cOn Fri said:

You _bought_ a new bicycle and had to supply your own stem
for proper fit _and_ you got attitude ????

No, she bought a secondhand bike, possibly not even from this particular
LBS, and she didn't get attitude, she got an incredulous look.

Jasper