Another small hands situation...

[OakLeaf]

it takes me about twice the distance to stop using rear brake only compared to using the front brake only.

This is the sentence that says to me that there's nothing wrong with your setup.

On a vehicle with front and rear wheel(s), about 75% of your braking power will come from your front brake. Think of the weight transfer under braking and the forces on your tires, and you'll understand why. Over time, you'll see that your front brake pads wear much more quickly than the rear.

Here's a site I just found on a quick google that explains weight transfer under braking pretty clearly. It's actually written about four-wheeled vehicles, but the physics don't change, it's just that you have other considerations when turning. Here's another more technically-oriented explanation.

Part of learning to ride is learning to modulate your brakes and using each of them in the correct proportion. On a flat piece of road with a good braking surface, you'll use your front brake much more than the rear. When the surface gets soft, you'll use less front brake (so as not to lock up your steering control), but consequently have much less overall braking power.


Another edit: Here's something really good and bicycle-specific from, believe it or not, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation! Just google "bicycle weight transfer" as I did, and you come up with all sorts of good stuff.


(Another edit: Motorcycle sites are relevant to a point, but the one very important thing to remember is that on a bicycle, you stop pedaling when you're trying to slow down, whereas in a motorized vehicle, the engine is always turning and you have to apply the clutch to stop power transfer to the drive wheel(s). So the "highside," which is the most violent type of motorcycle crash, can't happen on a bicycle.)

[Ana]

I had 105 on my last bicycle and the shifters were quite large. Although I could brake in the drops, it hadn't even occurred to me that I might be able to brake in the hoods since it was so inconceivable based on the size of the shifters versus my hands. Basically, I did not realize how unsafe it was until I switched over to Campy, whose shifters are much smaller and fit my hands very well!

I am 5'3.5" with short arms/small hands and your situation seems quite normal to me from my experience

[MartianDestiny]

First and foremost realize that something like 70% of your braking power is in the FRONT wheel. It wouldn't matter if you were a 6ft male body builder; using the rear brake only will never provide you with the same stopping power as using the front brake (about twice the distance sounds about right).

A change in braking style *may* solve your issues. I ALWAYS use BOTH brakes and sometimes even just the front (don't do that unless you know your bike and know how much you can apply the front only without causing the bike to go arse over teakettle). I think of the back brake as a slow gradual stop or minor speed adjustments (about to overlap wheels in the pack, etc). If I need to STOP I grab the front brake (and the rear one too).

I have a set of cheapo shimano shift levers (probably tiagra, so lower than 105) and a set of Ultegra. The Ultegra's are nicer all around (as they should be), but I can stop the "el cheapo" bike fine. (and I have full shims and all that jazz as well).

Some other things you might want to discuss with the bike shop that could be cheaper solutions if just modifying braking technique doesn't work:

1) Not all brake pads are created totally equal. Change to some "nicer" pads and see if that makes a difference (and even buying something like Dura-ace level pads will only run you $30 or 40 MAX).

2) Change the rear brake caliper from 105 to something else with more leverage or that's more sensitive. Maybe even bump that up to Ultegra or a competing brand.

3) Have the shop play with cable tension and brake adjustment if they haven't already.

4) Play with the location of the levers on the bars. Moving them up a hair may give you a better grip from the hoods; just make sure it doesn't make them too far out for you when you are in the drops.

As for the Shimano/SRAM thing: I don't think there is a huge issue with adding SRAM parts though compatibility will play a more important role as things wear out and get replaced. There is a completely different feel to the shifting mechanism though. I could see some people (myself included) not wanting their front and rear derailluers to have different shift feels. Some will argue that the SRAM shifters are shorter through the hood (they are) and thus better for small hands (which is probably where your shop is going). Make sure you ride them before you drop a lot of money on them; I HATE SRAM shifters (go figure). Yea, I can brake without shims, but they feel "fatter" in my hands AND I can no longer shift because of the "double tap" mechanism and there's not anything that can be done to fix that (no shims). Also, because the feel and length of the shifter body is different I would want both to be the same; that would mean changing basically your whole drivetrain!!!! I guess that's the long winded way of me saying "yea, you can do it, but I wouldn't".

I think you'll probably be fine though with your current set up and some minor tweaks to your braking style and maybe the equipment as well.

[Triskeliongirl]

The cheapest solution is to install brake shims. I bought a new bike that came equipped with Durace10-7800 levers. I had to double shim them but it took care of the problem.

These should fit your bike if it is shimano105-10spd: http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...jsp?spid=41915
but order 2 sets and install both of them (if you are like me). Of course you'll need to adjust your brakes after installing, but they'll let the levers come in a lot closer.

I should add that whether you need 1 or 2 sets also depends on the shape of your handelbar, but at $10 a pop I'd order 2 just in case. Your LBS can also order them for you if you will need them to help you with the installation and brake adjustment, but its really easy.

Previously, I used shimano short reach levers, that is also an option for you but it will cost you ~$300.

[kenyonchris]

I had 105 on my last bicycle and the shifters were quite large. Although I could brake in the drops, it hadn't even occurred to me that I might be able to brake in the hoods since it was so inconceivable based on the size of the shifters versus my hands. Basically, I did not realize how unsafe it was until I switched over to Campy, whose shifters are much smaller and fit my hands very well!

I am 5'3.5" with short arms/small hands and your situation seems quite normal to me from my experience

Ditto on this...I am small with small hands, plus I have broken both hands and all my fingers at least once (my left hand has fared worse, the ring finger on that one has been broken three times). I have ridden Shimano 105, Tiagra, Ultegra, Dura Ace, and now am riding Campy Chorus. The Campy Chorus is by far the easiest for braking and shifting, particularly on the left side.

Also, I played a lot with my handlebars. I now have Specialized WS on there, it makes a huge difference. I also, being small, insisted on 38" bars, despite EVERY bike shop eyeballing me, telling me a 40" would work, until they actually measured me and they all said, "Why you ARE small, aren't you!"

[bluebug32]

I have small hands and have shims in my dura ace shifters. This helps, as does a shallower bar, but I am still planning to swap out to SRAM Rival when I find a good deal on them. The shifters are smaller, adjustable, and rebuildable, unlike Shimano.

[Crankin]

I also, was going to suggest bars with a shallower drop and narrower bars. I spent the $ for the Shimano short reach shifters. It was worth every penny of the $300.00.
After doing all three of these things, I can, for the first time, brake in the drops and feel comfortable that I can squeeze the brakes hard .I tried the shims for at least a year and they actually made the braking feel worse.

[VeloVT]

I have R700 shifters on one of my bikes. I'm not sure how different these are than standard Shimano shifters that have been shimmed, but I do find they make a significant difference in how close the levers are to the bar. I can probably dig up pictures for comparison if you are interested (of R700 shifters on Ritchey Biomax bars vs regular unshimmed Ultegra shifters on Ritchey Biomax Bars).

Narrower bars are nice if you have narrower shoulders (as I do, in fact), but they won't help your hand problems.

The shape of the drop can make a significant difference. Rounder, more traditional drops, counter-intuitively, often have a shorter reach to the shifters than modern ergo bars have.

What everyone has said about braking technique is right on (you want to be relying more on your front brake than your rear brake), but if you are noticiing significant differences you should also check the brake adjustments. Can you actually pull your rear brake lever closer to the bar before engaging the brake? If so, you need to tighten up the rear brake.

[little_teapot]

Thanks so much everyone!! I'm actually overwhelmed with the response, I wasn't sure that anyone would care.

Great advice about the front/rear percentage of braking- I've had a bit of a look at some of those sites, and definitely need to go out on the bike and have a bit of a play. Will keep reading and researching, but a friend goes to a skills class on weekends, and I'm planning ongoing along with her this saturday. Will ask the coach/head dude about braking techniques and to check my hand position and see how much of it might be just technique related.... I've got to say on my flat bar roady I definitely used the back brakes way more than the front- seems like its time to make a few changes!

Perhaps if things still aren't quite right after some skill development I'll suss out some test rides on either Ultegra shifters or the SRAM ones if I can find them... as for the Campy comments- that is what I have heard and read- just seems that SRAM might be a bit of a more budget friendly alternative (I haven't dared ask for the campy quote- but am assured by the bike shop that it is significantly more expensive).

I might look into the double shimming thing too... the bike shop guy didn't think we could achieve much more with shims. I am interested though- can anyone actually tell me if there is a difference between regular 105 (or other) shifters that are shimmed and the R700 shifters- it's really unclear to me if these are basically the same thing, or if the R700s are a bit smaller.

Anyhow, will continue on- thanks again for the lovely support!