This box arrived just in time for Father's Day

In the last few months, I’ve written with great excitement about the introduction of the Versa Road Shifter, a STI style integrated brake/shifter for road drops with the pull ratios to be compatible with Shimano’s 8 speed Nexus and Alfine internal hubs. I’m a big fan of internal hubs for transportation bikes since they are relatively maintenance free and a lot less finicky than traditional derailleurs. These shifters plus the Jtek barend shifter allows road bike owners to get in on the internally geared action.

Dynamic Bikes is the U.S. distributor of the Versa Road Shifter and recently introduced and is shipping the Synergy, the first road bike sold built with this system. They are currently selling the shifters at a discount directly to the public until they finish establishing U.S. distribution to local bike shops. I ordered a set for myself in May which just arrived late last week. 

They look good, but I was only able to get them with black levels right now. Look for an upcoming full review in mid July.

The look and build quality of the levels appear to be good at first glance. I had wanted the version with silver levers as I am a bit of a retro grouch when it comes to the look of components. Unfortunately, Dynamic let me know they have only been sent black lever versions so far. This is a trend I’ve run into with other components. Powder coat black must be all the rage in Taiwan and China, but I’m not big on the look. I really wanted to get a pair of these to test, so I decide not to wait for silver.

I’ll be putting these on a cyclocross frame to test out over the next few weeks (I think cyclocross might be another good use for these.) Look for an upcoming review in July and if things go well equipped on a custom randonneuring frame I’m building for Marcus.