Mountain Biking - Do any of you like Grip shifting??

doesn't seem like people care too much for Grip Shifts...was this sort of a fad of the late 90's?

i like them! :D

No

I don't like them either.

It's a personal thing, however those who prefer them must be a small minority or SRAM would not have developed pod shifters to compete with Shimano. I understand the SRAM thumb shifter pods are superior to Shimao XTR (plus we don't all like brake levers to do the shifting) and in my area get rave reviews.

The cheap-line of grip-shifts are lighter and work better than the cheap line of Shimano which is really clunky. I ran ito that when I bought "kids" bikes for the grand children. I had to throw away the Shimano stuff on the G son's bike, but I kept the grip-shifts on the G daughter's; they were bottom of the line, but worked very well.

Al

My brother still swears by grip shifts as do a lot of other riders that I know. I have tried them out but never more than a few minutes at a time. I almost bought some X.0 grip shifters earlier this year but ended up sticking with X.9 triggers.

They are kind of like Shimano's integrated shifters, people either love them or they hate them.

I like grip shifters. easy, effective and reliable. if you compare low cost gripshifter to low cost trigger shifters, gripshifters are far better. I currently use gripshifters on a 24speed Iguana. tried shimanos EF series to Alivio, does not really do it for me. but Deore up the trigger shifters are pretty effective. Like SRAM highend over Shimano highend though.

Back in '95 when I bought my first mountain bike, I compared bikes with Grip Shift shifters and Shimano shifters. The bike that felt better to me ridewise was equipped with Shimano shifters but I preferred the Grip Shifts that were on the other bike. I bought the bike I liked better and the shop swapped out the Shimanos for a set of X-rays with no hassle at all.

When the X-rays broke a few years later I replaced them with a set of Grip Shift Attack shifters that still work trouble free.

I bought a new bike this summer that came equipped with Shimano RF shifters and I do like them. I don't think that they are necessarily better than the Grip Shifts, just different, in my opinion. I also ride or have owned road bikes with Shimano STI and Campy Ergo and pretty much feel the same way. Both systems work well and it is just a personal preference thing,

I always hated grip shifters, but hadn't tried them in many years. The new bike that I got in march came with X.0 group shifters, and while I was skeptical at first, I'm now a convert. So easy to dump gears quickly. You can shift several gears in either direction at a moment's notice. And I find it much easier to shift and brake at the same time since I don't have to take my thumb off the grip in order to downshift in the back.

I like gripshifts, but only for XC racing. I dont like how the grips are. I just cannont stand how I had to have my brakes positioned to work with them, and the only grips that felt like they were big enough that they felt good with the shifters were the supplied grips. I have SRAM rocket grips shifts and triggers. I just like the triggers so much more. The instant action of the grips is nice, I can dump all my gears at once if I am surprised by a hill. I dont like any of the shimano shifters however. I dont like the rapidfire shifters because I use just my one finger for braking, and I like to leave it on my brakes just in case. The shimano dual-control shifters are okay, but I cannot shift fast enough for it to work very well. I also dont like the way that they shift. When I have to lift up with my fingers, it is too hard to use just one finger to do it. SRAM's triggers just work so much better in my opinion. It takes no effort to shift the little thumb lever, and the big one is super-long, so it shifts rather eaasily, and I can dump up to 5 gears at once with it.


There we go, thats my two cents. More like a dollar!

peez
harris

It's a personal thing, however those who prefer them must be a small minority or SRAM would not have developed pod shifters to compete with Shimano.

...

Al

SRAM started making just Gripshift. This one product has been successfull enough to allow SRAM to make strategic acquisitions and catapult them to the #2 bicycle component manufacturer in the world.

I think it's VERY clear that Gripshift is a VERY popular product. Given the fact that Shimano virtually owned the OEM shifting market till recently, Gripshift must have been a VERY good product to compel so many people to make this after-market addition.

Despite the fact that Gripshift is wildly popular, not everyone prefers them. SRAM would be stupid to just let all those customers go. So they developed trigger shifters that are widely considered superior to those of Shimano.

Oh BTW. Shimano isn't stupid. They developed their RevoShift to capitalize on the throttle style of shifting.

I've been in different crowds. Some crowds look down on Gripshift. Some swear by them. Some pros prefer triggers. Some prefer SRAM X.0 Grip Shifters. I've done both, I prefer Gripshifters do to their versatility and unparallelled durability.

Oh yeah, and some people really, really like Shimano integrated shifter pods. Horses for courses.

i have them...i dont see any problem, i find them simple, out of the way, not really damaged in crashes, reliable, and aside from the occasional ghost shifts off jumps from hard landings when my hand makes it shift...its good, just a simple flick and im back in the right gear again

I have opposable thumbs for several reasons. 1. holding beer bottles. 2. shifting. 3. holding beer bottles.

i have them...i dont see any problem, i find them simple, out of the way, not really damaged in crashes, reliable, and aside from the occasional ghost shifts off jumps from hard landings when my hand makes it shift...its good, just a simple flick and im back in the right gear again

Not really damaged in crashes? Sometimes for me, but I have had it explode into pieces before. :(
Gripshifts are good for quick shifting but like you said, they ghost shift.

I prefer triggershifters over gripshifts almost anyday.

I do. I've been using SRAM gripshift since the mid 90's. Course I'm an old fart too.

cheers.

Not really damaged in crashes? Sometimes for me, but I have had it explode into pieces before. :(
Gripshifts are good for quick shifting but like you said, they ghost shift.

I prefer triggershifters over gripshifts almost anyday.

well i guess if one of them smashed into a rock then yes i think it would break, but what i ment was about them not getting hung up on anything...

sorry for the useless thread everyone...i haven't been on the site that long and was just getting the feeling people did not use grips much. i know i could have searched....

sorry for the useless thread everyone...i haven't been on the site that long and was just getting the feeling people did not use grips much. i know i could have searched....


It was not a useless thread. When the thread evolves into a petty squabble over spelling, grammar, and name calling, then it can be officially called a useless thread.


;)

It was not a useless thread. When the thread evolves into a petty squabble over spelling, grammar, and name calling, then it can be officially called a useless thread.


;)

i am not sure why some have trouble shifting when they don't want to. maybe its because my hands are smaller or something. but if i don't want to have my hand on the shift part then i don't really need to put it there. maybe its because i am used to jumping motorcycles and having throttle control. i twist if i need to and don't twist if i don't need to. hmmmm...i think i will use grip shifts so long as they are not ignored by SRAM

when I used grip shifts , I only had ghost shifting when they were not adjusted correctly.
had SRAM not come out with their thumb shifters, Id still be using grip shift
I have a set of '96 7.0 ESP that other than the numbers being gone, shift like when they were new and adjusted correctly. Ive not had to adjust the rear this century and until last year that bike (Diamondback XTS3)was my main ride. theyve been on 3 different bikes since they were new.
I hope my attacks hold up as long.

I not like them.........no,no,no!

Ok I should clarify. I use them on my dh bike for the chainring shifting only. Mre efficient and very easy to setup. I definately don't care for them for my 9spd setup in the rear.

I've never used gripshifts on a decent derraileur, so I can't really compare them to my Shimano or SRAM triggers, but I do know that I can't stand half-length grips.

No on my MTB. I have thumb shifters on the older MTBs and Shimano rapid fire on the newer bikes, with one exception, a Trek with Grip Shifters that no one wants to ride, so we loan it to guests.
Yes on my hybrid. Hey, I think its more fun to ride an index shifting hybrid than an old friction shifting Raleigh.

It was not a useless thread. When the thread evolves into a petty squabble over spelling, grammar, and name calling, then it can be officially called a useless thread.


;)

What, I didn't see a post by Raiyn :lol:

I don't care for them.

What, I didn't see a post by Raiyn :lol:

I wish everyone would stop bashing Raiyn... I haven't seen him post in a while, he's not picking on anyone if he's not posting, what's the issue?

My wife's old Trek had the grip shift and never cared for them. I do have big hands and prefere to keep them out of the way. Thumb 'n' finger all the way.

Now what do people think about the brake shifting type? I tested a Cannondale last year with these and didn't care much for them either.

Both Gripshift and Dual Control require some time to get used to. That being said, on the XC circuit, virtually every one of the top 3 racers is running Gripshift. Its light, its simple, and it allows almost infinite trim on your front derailleur which is kind of nice. Dual Control was a bit too complicated for my tastes, though I like the idea and the feel of it, I'm going Gripshift on my current build.

Both Gripshift and Dual Control require some time to get used to. That being said, on the XC circuit, virtually every one of the top 3 racers is running Gripshift. Its light, its simple, and it allows almost infinite trim on your front derailleur which is kind of nice. Dual Control was a bit too complicated for my tastes, though I like the idea and the feel of it, I'm going Gripshift on my current build.

wow, a lot of non-Gripers out there! it has now become so very clear who my true friends are :D

just kidding, i never had the chance to try the rapid fire type levers

What, I didn't see a post by Raiyn :lol:
You've ruined quite a few threads by posting after smoking carpet so you've got no room to talk.

I tried a dual control once and didn't really like it. It seemed like it would be easy to break. Also, if you do break it you broke your shifter and brake lever all at once. Now you can't go faster and you can't slow down. Not that you need one without the other. :)

I switched to grip shifters 3 years ago. I find they have a more precise ,shift much quicker and take a hell of a beating. I usually compleatly destroy the housing on them but they still shift afterwards.

The problem they had when they firt came out was they would shift too easily. Hit a bump, drop or land hard off a jump and they would shift from the pressure of your hand. They have fixed that problem so there are no unwanted shifts now. I gave some old shifter to a friend of mine because his triggers were shot. He put them on and is not going back to triggers. He said his shifts are faster and smoother and all the concerns he had about them are gone. He also likes the fact that he now only has one lever, the brake lever, on the bars.

It is all personal preferance but I have found most of the guys I ride with who switched over like them better then the triggers weather they are SRAM or Shimano triggers.

DBD:beer:

You've ruined quite a few threads by posting after smoking carpet so you've got no room to talk.

It was a joke dude.

Sachs, now part of SRAM, made some awesome grip shifters. I ride with this one guy who built up the nicest bike he could think of in 1997 or something. It's a Dean titanium thing of beauty, complete with purple cranks and the Sachs shifters (sorry, I don't know the model). These are the only grip shifters I've ever liked, and I like them more than my XTRs. They're really smooth and easy to twist, but not too easy. Impossible to find now though, nobody sells Sachs.

I just rebuilt an older MTB to play around on and it has gripshift. Today was my first trip around some singletrack and I think I'm gonna switch to triggers. I don't seem to have enough room on the grips. If I try to keep my hands off the shifters, I'm clinging to the end of the bars, if I hold the shifter I seem to shift inadvertantly when I hit rough spots. Of course, I'm pretty new at this, so it might simply be a skill thing (or lack thereof :D ) for me! I have the Deore shifters on my commuter (Trek 7500FX) and like them pretty well.

My girlfriend digs her's and hates my triggers. Obviously I'm a trigger man, but if that's what she wants that's what she gets. She has to ride it not me. Although I maintain all of our bikes

My girlfriend digs her's and hates my triggers. Obviously I'm a trigger man, but if that's what she wants that's what she gets. She has to ride it not me. Although I maintain all of our bikes
she has good taste...

she has good taste...
I like to think so

I'm changing out my grip shifters (low end) for a set of Alivio RF triggers. I bought them to give them a try and see how I like them, they should be here in a couple of days. I've got wide hands and I can't seem to keep from accidentally upshifting. I'm tempted to put the trigger on the rear and keep the gripper on the front DR. I like the trimming range on the FD shifter.

My girlfriend digs her's and hates my triggers. Obviously I'm a trigger man, but if that's what she wants that's what she gets. She has to ride it not me. Although I maintain all of our bikes

I figured you'd be on single speed down there in the flat lands anyway! :D

Switched to grip shift two years ago (first Rocket w/Shimano LX, now X9 grip/rear der). No problems at all and, if any other older riders looking in here, completely -- and I mean completely -- solved a severe 'sore hands' problem I had. Turned out triggers were aggravating developing arthritis at the joints at the base of my thumbs (i.e. the repetitive shift motion was doing this). Switched to gripshift, problem gone within a week or so, never to return. I mention this only in case anyone else going through this; I spent the better part of a year playing around with bar/stem/saddle adjustment and everything else trying to solve this, until sports doc. guessed the problem, did xrays -- voila!

I figured you'd be on single speed down there in the flat lands anyway! :D
Shows what you know. Most of the good riding spots down here are reclaimed phosphate mine pits

Shimano sucks.
I've used gripshift for about 10 years now, the same pair of x-ray 8spd. They are simple, light, and quick. I have also been using a sachs new success rear derailleur with them for the same time, after breaking two xt's in a two month period.

I hate grip shifters just b/c like if you go down a cliff or a jump and you BAM down with your wrists your gearing gets screwed up

I hate grip shifters just b/c like if you go down a cliff or a jump and you BAM down with your wrists your gearing gets screwed up
move your hand out a little?? i never shift when i do not want to :D

When I had then I hated them. My hand always made me shift them cuase they took up half of my handle bars.

When I had then I hated them. My hand always made me shift them cuase they took up half of my handle bars.
i guess i have small hands

i guess i have small hands
Must be

Must be
with sausage fingers

When I had then I hated them. My hand always made me shift them cuase they took up half of my handle bars.

you weren't doing it right.

i just went to look at my setups...the grip is only about 1/2 inch shorter for the grip shift unit. if you can't move your hand like half an inch??? you should give them another shot...i don't think they shift as easily as they used to.