pkim

I'm somewhat clueless about bike components, so I've been relying on my local shop mechanic's advice. Unfortunately, that hasn't been working out too well, so I'm hoping someone can offer some advice.

I bought a Trek 7300 hybrid a few weeks ago. Great bike, but the SRAM twist shifters have been a headache. Too many times, I shifted by mistake after going over a bump or off a curb. After just a few days of riding, the chain actually derailed midshift and I almost had an accident. I also disliked the relatively large motion (twisting your entire wrist and lower arm) versus a trigger. As a result, you lose some support and control while shifting. I could complain some more, but basically, it didn't work at all for me.

So today, my local bike shop owner switched the twist shifters for a SRAM Attack Trigger Shifter 9 Speed set ($40 or so). He gave me the shifters and installed it, all for free, which was nice. But halfway back from the shop, the front derailleur stopped moving far enough to shift to the inner cog. The front shifter also requires a rather large thumb motion to shift up, which is a lot worse than the Shimano rapidfires I used for 10 years.

So I have some questions:

1) Are these problems are because of cheap components, or is the shop mechanic doing a poor job installing them? Are the problems because I'm not used to these shifters?

2) Are the SRAM Attack trigger shifters a good product?

3) What benefit do more expensive shifters offer versus what I'm using?

4) Could it be a problem with compatibility between the shifters and the derailleurs?

5) Any other advice would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

A detailed list of the components:

Shifters SRAM 4.0 Pro, 8 speed
Front Derailleur Shimano C102
Rear Derailleur SRAM X-7
Crank Bontrager Sport 48/38/28 w/chainguard
Cassette SRAM PG830 11-32, 8 speed
Saddle Bontrager Suburbia w/elastomer bumper
Seat Post Alloy adjustable suspension
Handlebars Alloy, 50mm rise
Stem Alloy, adjustable rise
Headset Threaded Slimstak w/semi-cartridge bearings, sealed
Brakeset Tektro V w/Tektro alloy levers, Kraton inserts, bell