scudiac

Hi all,

I'm overhauling (on a low budget ) an early 80's Sekai mixte and the person riding the bike (daily commuter) wants indexed grip shifters (the bike came with old-school stem friction shifters). I always notice the tremendous glut of super-low quality grip shifters on bikes these days. Since I'm not an experienced mountain biker, I have no idea about the quality of grip shifters on the market today. So far it seems like the best value is the SRAM MRX Comp. These are less than $30 for a set and will work with the drive-train setup going on the bike. I noticed there doesn't seem to be very many Shimano grip shifters out there except in the Nexus line and a few 3-speeds. Does SRAM just own too many grip shifter patents? Any advice here on decently priced grip shifters would be appreciated.

p.s no SRAM ESP/1:1 stuff as the derailleurs going on bike will not be compatible (the bike will all be Shimano). Thanks.

nitropowered

Sram mrx comp is the way to go. I like them better than shimano revo shift (if you can find them). Yes Sram has grip shift patents and the only reason why shimano makes some is because of a patent dispute settlement.

scudiac

I found some Shimano revo shifters here: https://tinyurl.com/5q6pyn How do they compare to the SRAM MRX Comp? They are about the same price for a set. I couldn't find too much about them online, except that they are standard on some pretty low-quality bikes.

arborohs

I have found that on my kids bikes the all plastic of the MRX is not a good mix. will this be an adult?

scudiac

Yes. It is also a daily commuter bike (~10 miles roundtrip).

Barabaika

Grip shifters are very simple inside.
I imagine that the ratcheting mechanism will eventually wear out.
But it won't happen as quickly as the death of super quality, super expensive Shimano brifters.

I think that the rubber handle will wear out first. You can replace it.

You should measure the handlebar because grip shifters are relatively long. But they are better for bent handlebars.

scudiac

The grip shifters will be going on mustache or albatross bars. I don't think there will be any problem there. The Sram MRX Comp shifters are extremely simple. Sram has all their tech documentation on their site. I've just never used or seen any 'good' grip shifters before. The ratcheting has always been su-par, the quality of the build and plastic have generally been pretty awful too. I've never had the opportunity to ride a bike with expensive Sram mountain bike grip shifters.

Another interesting thing, the MRX shifters have two options for the front shifter. Micro-ratchet and 100% friction. Does the micro-ratchet mean that there are little increments in the shifter, but its not full indexing?

2_i 

I have yet to see it happen.

Indeed rubber wears out far more quickly.

The practically never discounted replacement rubbers cost as much, or more, than nearly always discounted gripshifts.


Sram makes shorty versions of their gripshifts.

Barabaika

I remember that SRAM names their front grip shifters indexed and micro-adjust.

Micro-adjust shifters are also indexed, but they have a couple positions between the main positions for trimming the front derailleur. It's a must if you want to avoid the chain rubbing by moving the derailleur slightly to the right or left.

I recommend you to buy short shifters for Albatross. Then you can use full length grips of your choice.

fcormier

I have used MRX Comp grip shifts on my commuting (now winter) bike and they worked very well (with about 4000 km/year). I still have the bike and they still work well. Very ood for the price.

Because of the front shifter, I chose SRAM over Shimano because SRAM had micro-adjust (lots of clicks) and it was better for my narrow fron derailleur as opposed to indexed Shimano front shifter.

I_bRAD

MRX is OK, but revo shift is better IMO. They are also much easier to install a cable into.

scudiac

I saw a 6 speed Revoshift (right only) grip shift today on a bike at my LBS. However, when I asked about it, the mechanic said it was specific to the derailleur. He said he sold Sram MRX Comp shifters whenever someone needed grip shifters and not the Revoshift. It looked like a normal low-end Shimano derailleur to me. I didn't have a chance to chat more about it because he was busy with customers. What's the scoop on this?

Barabaika

Come on!
MRX is only $16. If you care about quality, buy two for the case when the rubber deteriorates.
https://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30...ils&sku=LD4752

scudiac

I should have mentioned, these shifters are for a 7-speed cassette I can't seem to the find the 7-speed short version of the MRX Comp.

I_bRAD

It is specific to the derailleur. Of course, it's specific to any shimano derailleur so that shouldn't be too hard to work out.

sch

The Sram Attack shifter on my bent wore out at about 12K miles. An autopsy
showed the shifter to be structural plastic with a steel clip that provided the
ratchet pawl function. Ratchet notches 'looked ok' but would not hold some
positions. The L shifter is still going at 18K miles.

operator

Gripshift wise the revoshift and mrx are in the same boat e.g utter shyz0r. The SRAM gripshift feels more precise and well made. The only problem is that they are about 1000x more difficult to do a cable change than on a revoshift.

fcormier

If we speak about other SRAM shifters, I can say that the best I ever had (still have on my mountain bike) are the 8 speed SRT-800, also known as X-Ray. These are the best shifters I ever used. I have some 9 speed Attack on my commuting bike, but the feeling and shifting is not as good as with the X-Ray, although I suspect it may be a dirty/worn out cable for the shifting.

Mondoman

The SRAM Attack shifters (at least the 8x and 9x ones I've used) have an access hatch for ridiculously simple cable replacement/installation.

scudiac

Are these ESP/1:1 shifters? I have not seen the X-Ray model before.

Jeff Wills

I do. "Moustache" and "Albatross" handlebars are typically 15/16" (23.8 mm) diameter. They're made for "road" bike brake levers. Grip Shifts are made for mountain bike handlebars, which are 7/8" (22.2mm) diameter. There's no way to bore out the Grip Shifts to fit the larger handlebars.

IMO, the best setup for these handlebars is Shimano bar-end shifters. They're a little hard to find in 7-speed (They've been out of production for ~12 years), but they last forever. My set of 7-speed bar-ends (bought in 1991) still work fine on their fourth bike.

fcormier

No, those are Shimano compatible 2:1 shifter. The SRT-800 X-Ray are from around ~1997-1998 I think.

scudiac

Thanks for the tip. My second choice was to get a pair of thumb shifters. I love bar-end shifters myself, but the rider of this bike is not too keen on them. I'll have to keep looking to see if I can find a bar that will accept the grip shifts.

scudiac

Most of the bars from Soma (https://www.somafab.com/bars.html) offer "MTN Shifter Compatibility." I think the Oxford or Sparrow bar would be a great commuting handlebar for the grip shifters.

Yan 

Grip shifters make me shift accidentally all the time. They suck. Why does your friend want grip shifters?