I have been cleaning up and found some NOS and old STI shifters but am not sure of the vintage and type, besides Ultegra. Can one just rely on the number of clicks the small lever makes - eight means nine speed?
I have been cleaning up and found some NOS and old STI shifters but am not sure of the vintage and type, besides Ultegra. Can one just rely on the number of clicks the small lever makes - eight means nine speed?
Yes. 8-clicks means that you are looking at a 9-speed shifter.
You will also observe a cosmetic difference between the various shifters -- 8-speed Shimano shifters generally/(always?) have a blunt 'nose' in which one can often see the head of a central bolt (the 8-speed DA shifters have an additional cover shrouding the bolt head) & a 9-speed Shimano shifter will generally have a pointier 'nose'.