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(More customer reviews)I own a 93 Specialized Allez Epic with Dura Ace components. The bike sat in the garage for a number of years before I got back into cycling. I purchased these to replace my old Dura Ace 7403 shifters. I got tired of purchasing bad used replacements on E-bay. A mechanic at my LBS found these for me.
I ran into a big problem. The mechanic could not get them to shift into the two highest (small) gears on the rear cassette. He thought the old 8 speed derailer might be bad, but the same problem happened when I gave him a spare derailer I had. He got them to work with an entry level Sora 9 speed long cage derailer. I did some internet research and found out that when Shimano introduced 9 speed in 1997 they changed cable travel of the rear derailer so that the whole line of their products was compatible from then on. Refer to Sheldon Brown's web site for more information on this problem. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/dura-ace.html
You can't buy new 9 speed Dura Ace or Ultegra rear derailers in the bike shops because Shimano no longer manufactures them and 10 speed derailers won't work on 8 speed. I went back to E-bay and purchased a new 9 speed Dura Ace rear derailer. It works perfectly with the shifters and my 8 speed cassette.
The shifters themselves are OK. The right shifter shifts very smoothly through the whole range of gears. I notice a bit of difference between it and the Dura Ace model, but not enough to matter. The left shifter has a noticeable "klunk" in it. This might not matter to most touring riders, but to someone used to high performance racing parts, it is huge.
It's not a deal breaker for me though. I'm happy to be able to be riding with shifters that work. These will do fine until I can find a New Old Stuff set of Dura Ace shifters on E-bay. I didn't buy a set last summer when it showed up on E-bay because I thought the price was too high, but now I wish I had. They will only cost more next time. It's still cheaper than buying a new bike, which I hope do sometime down the road.
These shifters do a good job. Buy them on Amazon. It's the best price. I bought mine from my LBS for much more because I didn't know I could get them here. These shifters will make most people happy, but if you are looking to match them with old high performance 8 speed, you may run into the problem I experienced. I hope this review helps.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Shimano ST-R500 STI Flight Deck Lever Set (8-Speed, Silver)
ST-R500 Shimano-only logo: Tiagra level/grade 2/3x8-speed STI levers . Front shifter works with double or triple cranks. Built-in Flight Deck compatibility with access buttons on both levers (Flight Deck components not included). Set includes cables and housing. Features: Complete right (rear) lever Cable and housing sold separately
Click here for more information about Shimano ST-R500 STI Flight Deck Lever Set (8-Speed, Silver)
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