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S.T.I.
A Shimano buzzword standing for "System Total Integration". This normally is used to refer to Shimano's combined brake lever/shift lever systems, particularly those designed for drop handlebars. S.T.I. is similar to Campagnolo's Ergo system. S.T.I. uses the main brake lever, pushed inward, to select larger sprockets, and a smaller, auxiliary lever inside the brake lever to select smaller sprockets. [S.T.I has the advantage that it is not necessary to remove a hand from a brake lever to shift, but the disadvantage that the lever returns to the same position after every shift, so you can't tell by feel which sprockets you have selected until you get to the last one. And then you may have shifted to a crossover gear with a bad chain angle. An alternative for drop bars is bar-end shifters, which keep the hands on the handlebars, though not on the brake levers, and which move to a different position with each shift. Bar-end shifters are much less expensive, and less complicated, too. -- This comment added by John Allen]
See also the article on this site about repair of STI levers.
