Riding the hoods Shimano vs.Campy

[bobswire]

I chose Campagnolo primarily for comfort, the newer Campagnolo are just so much more comfortable for me while riding the hoods which I do 80-85% of the time and the rest on the flats, I may use the drops 1-3% if that.
I've read the the new Shimano hoods are better ergonomically shaped for riding the hoods and braking than the older shape.
I'm wondering for those of you who've went from older to the newer Shimano
what your thoughts are on the new shape?

[Bob Ross]

I'm wondering for those of you who've went from older to the newer Shimano
what your thoughts are on the new shape?

I have Shimano Ultegra 6600 (circa 2006) on one bike, and Ultegra 6700 (circa 2010) on another. As far as riding on the hoods proper goes, I'm not sure the difference is noticeable to me...or at least, not noticeable enough for me to have a preference one way or another.

However, when riding on the "knobs" -- grabbing the top portion of the brifter, which is how I ride probably 25-35% of the time -- the older 6600 was definitely more comfortable, probably because it's more ball-shaped rather than horn-shaped like the 6700, and so it more comfortably fills the hand and gives you more area to grasp.

[dd74]

I've gone from DA 7700 to 7800, and felt 7800 was much more comfortable. As to 7900, I've been told the lack of knobs effectively causes a loss of one hand position. Also, because Shimano has gone with hidden cables, the hoods are a bit wider. I have, however, put my hands on 7900 hoods and they felt very nice.

[mattlpdx]

While by all accounts Shimano hoods have gotten more comfortable over the years, so have Campy's. I remember a couple years ago there seemed to be a great deal of hype about how much better the new Shimano hoods were. Perhaps Shimano's way of acknowdging that older versions paled in comparison to Campy in terms of fit and comfort.

5 years ago I never would have considered Shimano on the hoods alone. Now I might give it a much closer look. I actually found the new SRAM stuff to be quite nice on my hands, might be worth a look. This is one of the more subjective things in cycling IMO. To each his own, hopefully you can try all 3

[AFS]

I find the 7900 more comfortable than the 7700 and 6600. I didn't notice any lost of hand positions, but did go with a stem one cm shorter to get a comfortable reach. Because of a surgically repaired thumb, the Campagnolo shifters just don't work that well for me.

[Tim]

7900 look good- but- to throw something else into the mix- Sram levers are the most comfortable I've tried.