Quote Originally Posted by emily_in_nc View Post
I have another bike with a compact double (34-50) and Campy Chorus 13-29 in the back. I have been very happy with this setup; it's worlds better than the Ultegra STI. There were a couple of times on long rides, though, where my forearm or hand got tired enough that I had a hard time manipulating the lever to shift up, but that only happened at the end of rides, so it was not the shifting; it was me. It does take more hand strength than bar-ends but is distinctly better than the STI triple.
Emily
Did this bike have downtube shifters?

Thanks for your thoughts everyone.

Just to clarify- I don't do any real road racing. I do a few triathlons every year and a low-key local time trial series (using a bike with an aero set-up, not the road bike I'm looking into replacing). The only other bike race I did last year was the hill climb race- but as I mentioned in the original post I really liked it and want to be able to do that sort of thing again.

I'm still wondering about the comfort of the downtube shifters? Is it a much longer reach than the bar end shifters? I suppose I could try the downtube shifter and if I don't like it, it should be easy to switch to a bar end shifter.

I know I'm getting really off the original subject, but does anyone have any experience with shimano's short reach STI shifter (ST-R700). I'm thinking of the rear derailler now. Does the short reach one shift as well as the ultegra? Or would I be better off with the ultegra and a shim. I have small hands and would really like to do the short reach one, but on shimano's website the instructions for the R700 are grouped with the 105, making me wonder if it would shift as well.