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Girlfriend’s Sora bike shifters too heavy for her to use comfortably, how to upgrade?

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  • April 22, 2016 at 7:30 am #25641
    tritecommentbot

    She has small hands and isn’t very strong so pulling on the brakes is a lot of work for her. Problem is especially bad on long downhills when she doesn’t want to let the bike run away from her and she’ll use her whole upper lower and upper arms to keep the brakes on. Her traps muscles have been frozen stiff after a ride last weekend.

     

    She doesn’t want to ride again until the shifters are sorted.

     

    Playing around on my Ultergra’s she notices how much lighter and easier they are, so I’m thinking to swap hers out for mine, or just get her some of her own, if that’s possible.

     

    Either that or is there some sort of tension setting in shifters where you can make them easier to squeeze? I think they’re fine, just a bit heavy and clunky which is fine if you have large hands, not great if you don’t and have to use your finger tips.

     

    What about I give her my Ultegras and get myself some Dura Aces? Then we both get upgrades and the cash seems better spent. Though I’ve read that Dura Ace shifters aren’t much of an upgrade to Ultegra.

     

     

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  • April 26, 2016 at 7:43 am #870415
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    TypeVertigo

    If you can spring for it, go

    If you can spring for it, go get compressionless brake cable housing. That should improve braking measurably, since you’ll find you need less action at the lever for a given level of speed retardation out of the calipers.

    Use the lever travel shims too. Those come in 5mm and 10mm thicknesses. I use the 10mm shims on my 105 5700 STI levers and they help a lot.

    April 25, 2016 at 10:46 pm #870413
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    msTN

    I have the exact same problem

    I have the exact same problem with mine. I’ve got tiny hands & as someone else posted earlier, the problem is that on sora levers the pivot is really low down- meaning that from the hoods I’m braking with my ring fingers & little fingers only, or, if I want any kind of braking power, stretched fingertips in the drops. fine on the commute but long descents are pure pain- cramped hands, shoulders, neck. I also don’t feel i’ve got enough power in the brakes to trust them if I let go too much, & have to keep one finger hooked around the lever if i’m in the drops or else stretch & fumble to find them. I’ve changed the blocks for swissstops, shimmed the levers, brought the biting point back as far as I dare.. and it’s not good enough. 105s & a shallow drop are much comfier, so either find some way of making a compatible swap- or give in & go for the new bike (I have).

    April 24, 2016 at 7:36 pm #870411
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    lordrobs

    I don’t get on that well with

    I don’t get on that well with my Sora levers and I have relatively long fingers.

    What I did find helped quite a bit was to back the brakes off slightly. It sounds counter intuitive but by running a slightly larger gap from pad to rim (remembering to adjust the pad position and angle if necessary) the bite point was a bit further into the lever travel so I was braking in more of a gripped position rather than having my fingers stretched out. I’d never heard of using shims to adjust the position but it sounds like a similar net result.

    April 23, 2016 at 8:04 pm #870409
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    matthewn5

    Don’t clean the rims with

    Don’t clean the rims with GT85, clean them with vinegar. Etches them very very gently for a brilliant improvement in stopping.

    April 23, 2016 at 5:42 am #870407
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    AdamOnSaddle

    For how long and how often is

    For how long and how often is she riding the bike? Maybe she just needs to get get used with Sora shifters and brakes. Also, you could recommend her some arm warmups before the ride.

    April 22, 2016 at 11:59 pm #870405
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    antigee

    “We are currently looking at

    “We are currently looking at getting a set of in line levers added so she can brake comfortably while on the tops.”

    another vote for this solution – great for small hands and long descents – mrs antigee has 105’s with the plastic block inserted to move levers back but rarely rides on the drops unless out with her training group 

    Pretty easy to fit without removing handlebar tape and you don’t need to replace outers just cut into them – I’d replace the brake cables though – downside is less room for lights on bar tops and dealing with the ignorance of people who hate practicality 

    edit of course nothing to stop you replacing outers with compressionless at same time which is something I’d also favour

    April 22, 2016 at 10:09 pm #870403
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    thelighterthief
    unconstituted wrote:
    thelighterthief wrote:
    I had a similar problem with the sora levers. I’ve solved it in 2 ways. The original calipers (unbranded on a kona) were replaced with trp ones and I worked on my confidence going downhill so I didn’t brake all the way. 

     

    I also now now try to brake in the drops on long descents as this is easier. 

     

     

     

    The trp ones were easier to pull I take it because of the weight or shape?

    the original brakes were difficult to modulate as they would flex slightly after biting so a tighter grip was required to slow down from speed. 

     

    The TRP ones are much sturdier but slightly easier to lock the wheel. 

    April 22, 2016 at 8:18 pm #870401
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    dottigirl

    I second the shim suggestion.
    I second the shim suggestion. I couldn’t operate the brakes without them. Plus the cables, pads and rims having TLC.
    The bite point for small hands should also be two-thirds in, rather than the normal third in.
    Plus, I have my shifters turned in slightly, which seems to take pressure off my shoulders. Trap pain does suggest the bike fit may not be quite right – reach too long?

    April 22, 2016 at 4:27 pm #870399
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    kil0ran
    . . wrote:
    Another vote for auxiliary brake levers.  Lots of power, and being on the tops helps keep your CoG back on downhills.

     

    And from me. I wouldn’t feel safe on a rim-brake bike without them. Small hands weakend by too much keyboard and mouse use means I don’t have the power to pull on my Ultegra levers hard enough to stop my 17st barrelling downhill. I’ve got decent pads, 105 calipers and Ultegra-level cables/outers but still can’t get enough force out of the hoods.

    However, on my disc-braked CX (SRAM Force) I had no problems braking from the hoods so they’re also an option.

    April 22, 2016 at 4:16 pm #870397
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    rjfrussell
    unconstituted wrote:
    rjfrussell wrote:
    n+1 with hydraulic disc brakes

     

    You’re as bad as she is. Not even 100 miles on the odo and she’s eyeing up a Bianchi Infinito CV Dama with disc brakes.

    It’s the way to go.  My wife started cycling a bit more seriously in March 2015 and now has 3 bikes (bought since then) in the pony string.

    April 22, 2016 at 3:41 pm #870395
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    The Gavalier

    Sort the cables and pads
    Sort the cables and pads first. In my experience that should be all that’s needed.

    April 22, 2016 at 3:24 pm #870393
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    Chris James

    I am not sure what you mean

    I am not sure what you mean by ‘too heavy’.

    My wife has sora STIs with BB7s on her cross bike and I have Sora with cantis on mine and the action sems fine on both of those bikes (Jagwire cables on her bike and no name ones provided with the shifters from Ribble on mine.)

    My wife did comment about the reach being a bit much for her small hands, especially on the drops,  so I dug out an old pair of shims that I had knocking around and she seems pleased with them. Is it a reach, action, or braking performance issue that you have? Shims, better cables and better calipers (or possibly just metal backed cartridge pads) would solve each of those problems in that order.

    April 22, 2016 at 1:53 pm #870391
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    Canyon48

    +1 for teflon coated inner

    +1 for teflon coated inner cables, my god they are incredibly smooth!

    I have also had very good luck with lightly coating my gear and brake cables in teflon dry lube (designed for chains) before putting them into the outer cables (make sure all the lube dries first).

    Flushing my outer cables with GT85 and using and old frayed cable to scrape out all the gunk also dramatically improved performance. N.B. I’ve only had to do this as my disc brakes have full outer cables and therefore the end of the cable is mounted low down and exposed to all the mud that gets on my cross bike.

    April 22, 2016 at 1:48 pm #870389
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    . .

    Another vote for auxiliary

    Another vote for auxiliary brake levers.  Lots of power, and being on the tops helps keep your CoG back on downhills.

    April 22, 2016 at 1:02 pm #870387
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    tritecommentbot
    thelighterthief wrote:
    I had a similar problem with the sora levers. I’ve solved it in 2 ways. The original calipers (unbranded on a kona) were replaced with trp ones and I worked on my confidence going downhill so I didn’t brake all the way. 

     

    I also now now try to brake in the drops on long descents as this is easier. 

     

     

     

    The trp ones were easier to pull I take it because of the weight or shape?

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