Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Fixing up a cannondale MTB need shifter advice

Hey all,

I'm fixing up my old MTB, it's in great shape for it's age, but the front gripshift appears to be broken. I never really liked gripshift to begin with. the front derailleur is a shimano deore lx and the rear is deore xt. the bike is from 1996 i think, so it's a few years old you could say. Any advice on some not too expensive shifters (<$100ish)? I think i'd like to go with a rapidfire setup. Oh, yeah and need a 3x8 setup

Pic of the bike
http://www.mustangmods.com/ims/u/2190/3891/244012.jpg

keep it LX for under 100 and 10 bucks off
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=6000104&subcategory=60001195&brand=&sku=20704&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Shifters%2FBrake%20Levers%20%2D%20Mountain

the XT is 125 for just the pods but if you want the brakes/pod combo this is a pretty good price...
http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=6000104&subcategory=60001195&brand=&sku=21248&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=Shop%20by%20Subcat%3A%20Shifters%2FBrake%20Levers%20%2D%20Mountain

The rapid shifters are nice. I actually like them better than the brifters on the road bikes.

Good luck with the 3x8, those are kind of getting hard to find. Check out ebay or CL

3x8 is easy to find as mtb's are still using 8 speed on the lower end. Only the higher end has went to nine speed.

3x8 is easy to find as mtb's are still using 8 speed on the lower end. Only the higher end has went to nine speed.

yeah i am having some trouble though as most decent components seem to be 9.

I think you should get a 9 speed cassette, 9 speed chain and the rapidfire shifters. I just built up a Motobecane Sprint with a flatbar and rapidfire shifters and they are great.

All you will need is a chain whip and lockring tool, 9 speed cassette, 9 speed chain and the shifters. you should top out at about $123 but there is also the 4th of July coming up and a possible 20% coupon. So you get to enjoy the crisp shifting of the rapid fires,

BTW, That is a nice bike, the color is awesome....

Bike Shops can easily get 3x8 trigger shifters for your bike.

BTW, That is a nice bike, the color is awesome....

I'll try and get some pics in the sun soon, it's a cool fade color, if you look from the top of the bike it's black and from the side it's an awesome purple.

Bike Shops can easily get 3x8 trigger shifters for your bike.

yeah i may just drop by my lbs and see what they have to say.

NICE ride! And with a 3x8, you have plenty of options. First, ironically, if you like grip shifters look into some SRAM X0 grip shifters. They go CHEAP on ebay, and they are the "high end" of the SRAM lineup. I have read some folks that prefer them by far to rapidfires, but YMMV. I'm personally thinking of moving to them on my MTB whenever my cheapo Shimano rapidfires die.

Second, 8 speed rapid fires are readily available. Check out jensonusa.com, cambriabike.com and other online bike shops - I'm sure you'll find something to your liking.

Finally, if you want to switch to 9 speed for whatever reason, it should be pretty easy. You should be able to find a 9 speed cassette to fit your hub, 9 speed chains are everywhere, and since you are already swapping out your shifters that problem is solved. Your deraileur will be fine with the switch, it doesn't care how many speeds you are running, it just moves the chain :).

Anyway, welcome, NICE ride and good luck!

OMG, I remember selling that bike when I started working at a bike shop after graduating college.

Are you sure it's not 7 speed? Either way, you can get rapid fire shifters for that bike at your LBS. Gripshift has always stunk in my opinion. Otherwise you can always find some old thumb shifters! :thumb:

OMG, I remember selling that bike when I started working at a bike shop after graduating college.

Are you sure it's not 7 speed? Either way, you can get rapid fire shifters for that bike at your LBS. Gripshift has always stunk in my opinion. Otherwise you can always find some old thumb shifters! :thumb:

yeah def 8 in the back, gonna drop by the lbs this weekend and see what they've got.

Oh, good! The 8spd shifters are better. Maybe try for an LX shifter. They were the best bang for the buck.

If you ride off road you might want to think about upgrading to V-brakes too. Shimano used to do a rapidfire shifter + vbrake lever combo that was pretty nice.

Oh, good! The 8spd shifters are better. Maybe try for an LX shifter. They were the best bang for the buck.

If you ride off road you might want to think about upgrading to V-brakes too. Shimano used to do a rapidfire shifter + vbrake lever combo that was pretty nice.

yeah i'm torn on how much i want to put in to the bike. I ride my 2008 specialized sirrus most of the time. I just figured it can't hurt to have a mountain bike too, so this will be strictly for offroad rides which are def less frequent than road rides.

yeah i'm torn on how much i want to put in to the bike. I ride my 2008 specialized sirrus most of the time. I just figured it can't hurt to have a mountain bike too, so this will be strictly for offroad rides which are def less frequent than road rides.

Cost of upgrade/repair vs. replacement cost. If this were me, and sort of is me, I would put a trigger shifter on the right/rear and keep the grip shift on the left/front to trim the front derailer IF that shifter allows trimming and isn't indexed. I have done this to my MTB.