Frictionizing that Roadeo: ISO gutted or guttable brifters.

[Patrick Moore]

If I choose to keep the anatomic bar and add Microshift BES, a happy accident would be that the BES would add another inch or so of real estate for my palms; when I tilt the anatomic bar upward so that the brifter-to-bar angle is perfectly flat while leavingthe brake levers low enough that I can easily reach the levers from the hooks, the payback is that there is very little left at the ends of the curves or hooks for my palms when riding there. 

After some back-and-forth with various people on various lists, I’m inclined to do this:

Keep the Cannondale anatomic bar.

Buy some 11 speed Microshift BES in black.

And since it turns out that the TRP aero levers have hoods about 1 cm shorter than those of the Ultragra R8000 brifters currently on the Roadeo:

Either gut the Ultegra R8000 brifters of their shifting innards and continue using those for braking, or, better:

Find someone who has done this to a pair of brifters roughly similar in shape and dimensions to the Ultegra R8000 BES and is willing to sell them;

Or: find someone who has a pair of brifters with shifting innards in any condition whatsoever who is willing to sell them, and gut them myself.

Thus: Does anyone have a pair of gutted brifters with black levers, or a pair of un-gutted brifters with black levers, to sell or trade? They need not be Ultegra R8000; anything roughly of the same shape and length ought to work.

Thanks.

On Sun, Apr 5, 2026 at 2:59 PM Patrick Moore <bert...@gmail.com> wrote:

The Roadeo behaved impeccably on Saturday’s 50+ mile ride, except for the indexed shifting which, after I had fine tuned it perfectly, the mechanic who checked the rd hanger alignment managed to mess up. This messing up was all the easier in that I’d modified the stock 20-22-24-27-29-32 to a much more reasonable 20-21-23-27-32. The 11 sp chain that tracked blissfully on the stock grumbled on either the 20 or the 27 on the new, do what I might, until I fixed it by replacing the 3/4 worn 11 sp chain with a 12 speed chain.

Anyway, a pox on and a fig to indexed shifting. Here are two things, of which I’d like to do one:

1. Replace the Cannondale anatomic bar with a Maes Parallel, replace the R8000 brifters with BL R400-type levers, and add friction bar cons or some other friction shifters to do the shifting on the stock cranks/derailleurs over the 11 rear cogs.

Problems: I’d like back Maes Parallel or very similar bar, black brake lever, and black friction shifter.

Question: I can live with a silver Maes Parallel by taping it all up in black. And Microshift makes bar end shifters in black and for 11 speed with friction option. But does anyone make a black brake lever, non-brifter, that is very close in shape to the BL R400 or Dura Ace BL 7402?

2. Keep the Cannondale anatomic bar (or replace with a  40 cm still-anatomic and black and short-ramped Ritchy bar that someone offered me) and find some back non-shifting brake levers with similarly long hoods, and find black bar end shifters or some other black friction shifting mech that can handle 11 in back.

One option for #2 would be to invest $212 (VO) in the Growtac “Equal Control Levers,” and simply install these in place of the R8000 brifters. 

Even better would be to use black Microshift 11 sp bar end shifters in friction mode, paired with non-shifting brake levers with more or less the same shape as the R8000 brifters.

The R8000 levers are (I know this is imprecise) 9 cm from tip of vertical rise back to the very end of the rubber; for comparison, the BL R400s and DA BL 7402s are 7 cm for the same distance.

Upshot: does anyone know of brake levers very like the BL R400 levers, but in black? Or does anyone know of brake levers that are very like the R8000 brifters, that also come in black, and that don’t have the s

[Ben Miller]

Patrick,

I'm so confused, I thought the whole point was you didn't like the R8000 brifters!? 🤣

Well, if you do want to go with those, why not just use yours without gutting them? It's not like they need to have the shifter mech removed....

Ben

[Patrick Moore]

Ben: I feel your pain; I’m as confused as you, and I define the terms of the discussion.

Here’s the current answer to the conundrum. My goal in this search for ever-more elusive perfection, is that I want to improve my hand comfort compared to that with the R8000 brifters, but also and even more, that I want to move to 11 speed friction.

Hand comfort with the R8000 brifters: last week’s 52 mile ride with these brifters was highly successful, after I had turned the hoods inward by a few degrees, and perhaps because I actually remembered to wear cycling gloves on the ride. At any rate, the current R8000 brifters can be removed for practical purposes as a comfort equation variable.

The other goal is to move from stock R8000 indexing to the friction shifting that is the birthright of every free born American;* this is the reason for pondering a change from the R8000 brifters to, say, Microshift bar end shifters that have a friction option, even in the 11-speed iteration — or so at least I deduce from my web data.

To this date, after many replies, I tend toward gutted brifters with hoods much like those of the R8000s, and Microshift 11-speed (indexed) bar end shifters, to be used in friction (but I want the indexed option). All in black.

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwLWNXFH2rg&pp=ygUZaG9tZXIgc2ltcHNvbiB1c2EgdXNhIHVzYQ%3D%3D

(*) I use this term here in a vague cultural and not in an ideological sense.

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Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

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[Garth]

Have you looked and the Dia-Compe/ENE Wing shifters Patrick ? They mount on the bar inside the brake lever. This is the best price I've found for them. https://www.amazon.com/Dia-COMPE-Shifter-Silver-Compatible-Shimano/dp/B0DHCFZVJ6

[Johnny Alien]

I am going to take what might be a minority view. Friction is great but index is demonized by Rivendell way more than it should be. I have found 11 speed friction to be more finicky than its worth. If it were me and I wanted 11 speed (which I do have on more than one bike) I would stick with index as it works better IMO. If I wanted to move to friction I would also move to 9 speed. 11 to me is most useful for a 1x setup. With 2 in the front 9 is enough and works so beautifully with friction. In fact if my fictional Roadeo allowed it I would go to DT silver shifters (although bar end would work just as well especially if there are no DT accommodations) and that new fancy reverse shifting RD. Then just get the absolute most comfortable brake hoods you can find. 

[Bernard Duhon]

I have not tried friction on 11 peed however its noticeably more finicky with 10 speed than 9 speed I can imagine the difference when going up in speeds .

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[Patrick Moore]

Thanks, Garth but I’m set on bar end shifters, which I know well from decades of use. I’ve not used the Grenvilles or the ENES, but I did use something similar (can’t recall the name; mounted dt shifters just inside of the brake hood) which were good but didn’t give the precise control of bar end shifters.

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[Ryan Fleming]

@Johnny Alien makes a good point...if the Ultegra brifter hoods are a pain(going to 9-speed friction, BES and one of those OM1 derailleurs) . If there is something more ergonomically ideal than those TRP hoods I don't know what it is. But, probably at our age (you're 71 and I'm 73) something causing hand pain should not be taken lightly. Too bad it's not so easy to try before you buy :)