How to choose your road bike levers?

Visit levers are relatively simple to choose; there are few pitfalls to avoid. Here's how to avoid making a mistake in your choice.

Standard levers

SHIMANO, SRAM or CAMPAGNOLO type;
The number of rear gears, today: 9, 10, 11 or 12;
Number of front chainrings: 1, 2 or 3.

Lever types

For the rear derailleur, SHIMANO, SRAM and CAMPAGNOLO rear derailleurs don't operate under the same cable-pulling standard, so you won't be able to combine these three brands. This is also true for the front derailleur, as technology advances to the point where certain components of the same brand are designed to work only with the same series, such as SHIMANO's 4700 range or SRAM's YAW.

Moreover, since all drivetrain components are designed to operate under a single gear standardit is not possible to combine a 10-speed derailleur with a transmission 11-speed transmission. The same applies to front 1, 2 or 3 chainring(s).

Which levers to choose?

Your choice will depend above all on the derailleurs fitted to your bike: just make sure you choose controls that are compatible with your equipment.

If you're starting from scratch, you can choose between the three main competitors. Riders generally report smoother, smoother shifting with SHIMANO, or more direct, dryer shifting with SRAM or CAMPAGNOLO.

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