For 8-speed you definitely had to get a triple specific road STI, and Shimano seem to have gone that way again with 10 speed. However I was fairly sure that all 9-speed Ultegra would shift either double or triple – certainly both of those that I have (bought for use with a double) will also shift a triple.

What is Chipps on?

I’ve not bought an Ultegra STI for ages that does a triple, as far as i know. Both my ultegra STI’s now are on doubles and work fine, one of them is ten speed.

105 does both

It’s old school Ultegra – you had to get either double or triple specific. If you read the article it’s NOS stuff.

It’s old school Ultegra – you had to get either double or triple specific. If you read the article it’s NOS stuff.

But that’s the whole point. It’s old 9-speed Ultegra he’s using, and that did work for either double or triple. You have to go back to 8-speed for it to be double only (or forward to 10-speed). As I said in the OP, I do own two pairs of 9-speed Ultegra STIs – the first set were some of the very first in the country I had on pre-order, bought as part of a complete double groupset, yet now happily shifting the triple on the tandem. The second set were the flight-deck version (originals weren’t), but identical mechanically. That’s 6500 and 6501 covered – the only other version I’m aware of are 6510 which are on sale at CRC where they state double and triple compatible (the piccy in the article looks like 6510).

I am confused by this – on my 10 speed Ultegra STIs the front was described as double only, but it has 3 click positions.

Probably a trim click (assuming they are actually the double only version – those do exist with 10-speed). On 9-speed there is also a trim click between the ring positions.