My road bike has Ultegra Di2 8070 (with black bar tape in pics) and I’ve had it for about 2 years now. There’s a pronounced bump where the hydraulic hose attaches to the brifter and for some reason it’s really been bothering me lately…like a rock in my shoe, I can’t stop thinking about it and it’s becoming increasingly uncomfortable on my hands.
My gravel bike has Force AXS shifters (with gray bar tape in pics) and I don’t have the same problem. The hose attaches more on top of the shifter rather than to the side like on Shimano. Both bikes have the same bars, and I find the Force brifters to be significantly more comfortable.
Is there a better way to wrap the Shimano shifters/bars to help this? Do other Shimano shifters have the hose enter at the same spot? I’d swap to GRX for example if it would solve this.
I’ve thought about switching to Force but that sounds like a pain, plus the hassle to selling the 11 speed Shimano components when 12 speed is out.
Good excuse to turn those shi hoods inwards a bit. It will make the bump way less prominent and it’s also supposedly more aero. But most importantly, it’s on trend!
Yeah, it’s one factor that rarely plays a role when people decide between groupset manufacturers, that’s ergonomics. I have never gotten along with Shimano’s shifter/brake lever designs, neither mechanical nor Di2. And they don’t seem to be able to make up their minds. My RS505 (= 105, but for some reason we won’t call it 105) had a knub that was supremely uncomfortable and not very secure to hold. It also had bulges lower down if memory serves. I don’t want to go on a rant, so I will stop here.
My Force eTap AXS (1st gen) levers have been ergonomically perfect when it comes to shape. My only wish is that I get a secondary button by default on top or on the sides.
Personally, the discomfort you describe would be enough for me that I’d look into switching.
If anyone has good pics of their wrapped bars with Shimano hoods lifted up I’d love to see them!
I’m wondering if I should have wrapped over the hose junction a bit to make it more comfortable, but I wasn’t sure if this would make it feel like there was a lump under the lower part of the hood.
On a long ride yesterday, I noticed I never grab the bump area intentionally.
I either grip in front of it or palms are on curved flat before the hoods with thumbs a tad behind the bump which feels natural.
I am about to install a climbing bar similar to yours. I will update this post if things turn out differently.
Bumping an old thread: this drove me nuts for 12 hours at Unbound. I was able to deal with it on training rides, but the extended duration of the race got to me. I currently have Ultegra 12 speed shifters on my gravel bike. Has anyone come up with a good solution? @dtom, do you notice the bump on your DA shifters? Anyone know if the 12s GRX shifters have the same bump? I’m spoiled by my rim brake DA shifters on my road bike…
I’d make sure to wrap the tape around that bump similar to what @dtom has shown. I’ve always been able to even this out with bar tape and never had any issues with my Ultegra 12-speed shifters.
It might take a bit of playing around before you get it exactly how you’d like so take the time to feel it out before you cut and finish wrapping your tape.
Here is 12 speed mechanical GRX. The bump is less pronounced than my 105 brifters on another bike. However, the tape over the GRX is double-wrapped. I’m not sure if I did this, but double wrapping would allow you to reduce the bump by starting the second wrap below the bump.
When I installed the climber bar I also pointed the DA levers inward a bit which minimizes the bump. But it’s the tape job under the hood that smooths out the transition.
You can also stick a piece of bartape below the bump so there is no indent spot when you tape over it.
I fully appreciate these aren’t for everyone, but these gloves helped me (somewhat) get over the annoyance with that Shimano bump. They have padding on the palm which is supposed to help with blood flow and has the added benefit of a bit more padding where my hand hits the bump.
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