Hi - I have a Hewitt Cheviot SE drop-bar touring bike that's about 9 years old (and been used almost every day), it has the original 3x9 Shimano XT front and rear mechs (currently on a 22/32/42 SLX crankset and 11-32 XT cassette), which are still more or less going strong (though I think the rear mech is starting to show its age, so may have to be replaced soon), but it also has the original 2006 Campag Veloce 10-speed shifters (yes, it's a "Shimergo" setup), which really are on their last legs, partly through wear, partly through a number of accidents over the years. The springs in the shifters were replaced in both in 2014 (by Paul Hewitt), after one of them broke, and they were given an overall service, which has seen them soldier on, but since then have had more accidents, which have bent the levers a bit, and this week another spring broke, which has left one of them more or less useless.
To be honest, the Shimergo setup has never been perfect, whilst I love the ratchet shifting on the front mech (which avoids many of the chain-rub problems triples can have and let me use a MTB mech with STIs), as well as the neat under-bar cable routing and the ergonomics of the levers, the indexing of the rear mech is nearly always a little off, and requires frequent adjustment, which been somewhat annoying. I guess these days using a Jetek Shiftmate
http://www.jtekengineering.com/shiftmate/ or similar might help, but I think I'd rather have something that just worked properly out of the box now, and is reliable, unless there is another combo that I really should try?
AFAIK, if I want to keep a 9-speed triple setup (which I
think I do) which is suitable for touring, then my only other options seem to be switching to bar end (or down-tube) shifters, such as the Dura-Ace 770, or else to go the Sora 9-speed STI route - I
think both would allow me to keep my current rear XT mech (though am not 100% sure if the latest Sora st-r3030 shifters are compatible), though only bar end shifters would be compatible with my XT front mech - so if using Sora shifters, would either need to replace the front mech with a Sora r3030 triple (which I think will work with a Shimano Alivio Crankset FC-T4060 48/36/26, as this is what the Ridgeback Panorama uses
https://www.ridgeback.co.uk/bikes/touring/world/panorama), or use a Sora shifter for the rear mech and a bar end/down tuber shifter for the front mech (am not totally averse to the idea, though would probably mean a pointless Sora shifter lever to distract me on the left lever).
Or I could do something more radical and switch to a double setup and 11-speed rear mech, which might give some more interesting options? Or even a 22/40t double crank with a 9-speed 11-32t cassette. as recommended here:
http://www.eventsgalore.net/jwinkle/gearing4touring.htmlI know that the bar end/down tube shifter option is probably the most sensible and is fairly bomb-proof, but I do use my Cheviot as a daily commuter bike too and for the odd club ride, and think I might miss the handy STI shifting on the rear.
BTW with the 22/32/42 and 11-32 setup I currently have, I find the lowest gear is about right for me, though at times even with this have wanted to swap back to a 11-34 cassette (not so nice in the mid-range for commuting, though) on very steep hills with luggage! I do spin out quite often in the 42T / 11T top gear down hill, though, so a 44T or larger front chain ring would be better really, though I
think I can swap out the 42T ring on my SLX crankset for a larger one.
So, what should I do? Any recommendations or gotchas to be aware of?
