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I have a 2009 Specialized Allez Sport C2. It came with shimano 105 components all around. the left hand (front) shifter recently broke, and will no longer hold a position. I can reach down and grasp the shifter cable and pull it, and the derailleur will move, so it is definitely the shifter. As i understand it, this is a common problem for that vintage of shimano 105's. I'm trying to figure out how to replace the brifters with compatible components, so I won't have to replace the whole groupset.

new 105 components are extremely expensive, and are set up for an 11 speed rear. What are my options to just replace the brifters?

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The first thing to do is check the brifter out to see if its actually broken - maybe its just a cable broken at the brifter or inadequate cable tension or something. You can get your bike shop to check this out. If it is broken, you can look for people who specialize in refurbishing brifters (they do exist, but they are hard to find).

As for replacement brifters, any Shimano 10 speed brifter will work on the right (you can easily find 10 speed Tiagra, 105, Ultegra, etc. shifters on the web (I see several at Chain Reaction Cycles, for example)). On the left, you just need a Shimano brifter set up for a double. You can buy just a left or just a right in some cases (possibly on ebay).

Other options are to use something like a Retroshift or bar-end shifters and a regular brake lever instead of a brifter. Microshift brifters are also Shimano compatible.

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    If you're willing to replace it yourself, you can get smoking deals on ebay, especially if you're simply trying to replace one shifter out of a pair. Look for the matching model, a few years ago 105 started routing shift and brake cables under the bar tape, so keep that consistent with what you have. (10 speed tiagra is cheaper and should be compatible too, but will look different and feel different, I like to keep models the same due to differences in shape between models and model years). Definitely make sure it's not the cable by removing the existing cable and checking for damage.
    – Benzo
    Commented Aug 27, 2014 at 13:19
  • There isn't a technical problem with not having a matching pair (though it may feel a bit better or look a bit nicer), so if you want the cheapest option, you may have to have a mismatched pair or buy a new set.
    – Batman
    Commented Aug 27, 2014 at 13:41
  • agreed that it's not technically neccessary. I just like a matching pair since I like the same feel on the grips since it can feel a bit weird when one grip has different ergonomics.
    – Benzo
    Commented Aug 27, 2014 at 15:04

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