Grip Shifter Models
 

Working on a Trek 750 for a buddy. Rear derailleur is Sun Tour XC LTD, his grip shifters are dead from the rubber disintegrating. It looks like replacements are ridiculously cheap. Any difference in the Grip Shifter line up other than some have gear indicators, some just marks on the side of the shifter body? Also, these are all for 22mm bars? And, most important question, should I order pink grips for him or lime green?

SRAM had two different lines of grip shifters in the past, one for their RD which had a different pull ratio from Shimano and one for Shimano variant
RD pull ratios. IIRC the Attack series were for Shimano RDs. I haven't kept up with the latest variants but you should be aware of this distinction
in SRAM gripshifts. I did an autopsy on a pair of Attacks years ago and they are ridiculously simple inside. FWIW my grips lasted 13K mi for the
R grip and 25k miles for the L grip.

It could also be a great time to switch over to trigger shifters. Maybe you like grip shifters, but I never cared for them much when I had them on my old 2001 Cannondale H400 (S-Ram shifters with Deore LX RD). I imagine you could find the correct ratio trigger shifters and make the switch.

Suntour Accushift rear derailleurs are not compatible with Shimano-compatible shifters. These derailleurs require about 10% less cable pull than the Shimano units of the same era, so the shifting will be seriously off, and most bike mechanics (even pros) will not understand why.

If you hope to keep the XC LTD, which BTW is a fine derailleur, then you'll need to find an Uber-rare matching Grip shift right shifter. Good luck.

But if your shifter is salvageable, I would replace the rubber and call it a day. Replace all cables and housings of course: a yearly maintenance necessity.

I have found 3x7 Grip Shifters on eBay, new old stock. Is there anything I should be aware of other than the "Grip Shift" logo/series?

etherhuffer: absent some in depth knowledge of the gripshifter cable pull ratios getting something off ebay will be a shot in the dark. Since all of
this tech is '90s era, good luck with that. Especially with Dave Mayers comment about a 3d variant on cable pull with sunrace distinct maybe from
Shimano and SRAM. I noted one offering of a Sunrace gripshift for $25. Worst case if the shifting is off, you may end up getting a new RD.....
Also the ebay listings for the SRAM gripshifts: none mentioned whether they are SRAM or Shimano specific.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/drivetrain-mixing.shtml

My 91 Trek 750 had those and even after a rebuild were hopeless. I eventually found Accushift Plus shifters on eBay not overpriced.
Old Accushift is horribly overpriced but to go Shimano requires a wheel change also.
Cheaper to go with friction thumbshifters.

Very good info. I take it that a Grip Shift logo equal to the original shifters does not provide enough meaning. Model numbers on the shifters may clarify intended use. Whew... lots of info

I had original grip shifters but I replaced with this shimano altus shifter the other day and like it much better. Even came with shifter cable attached so didn't need anything else, can't be that.

https://www.amazon.com/SHIMANO-Altus...0199694&sr=8-1

More muddled and confused information here....

Shimano Altus shifters are not compatible with your Suntour rear derailleur. Since the front shifter on Shimano is indexed, it likely isn't compatible with Suntour front derailleurs either.

Then somebody raised the issue of 'Sunrace' components, as to add another layer of confusion. We are talking about Suntour here, not Sunrace. Completely different companies and products.

So you have to do some research here.. Your Gripshift shifters should be marked with something like: ST-F3 or ST-F2. You have to find the model number to match your Accushift derailleurs. Are these rare as hens teeth? Yep.

Do you want friction shifters? No - they are an admission of defeat. I used these for 30 years and they suck. Bar-end shifters suck even worse, indexed or otherwise.

I like those, but the owner of the bike is just looking to get the old bike back on the road with minimal mods

Here is what I can give you...

The Trek 750 came with Gripshift in 1992. In 1993 the 750 came with Suntour RapidFire shifters. The 720 and 700 came with Gripshift in 1993. When I was looking for a Trek 90's frame I downloaded a bunch of Trek manuals.

You can take a look at Suntour catalogs at Retrobike... "but" it does not show any gripshift products because they are SRAM.
SunTour Catalogue 1992 (MTB & Road) | Catalogues | Retrobike

I can't advise you on what will work, but this may be helpful in comparing what you have on the bike and they are from that time frame.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Suntour-MT-Twist-Shifter-3-x-7-21-speed-New-Old-Stock-1993/290964772026?hash=item43beda14ba:g:opIAAOxyMd1SFii-

Another piece of this will be addressing the Suntour cassette at some point in time. Not that I am suggesting this one, but rebuilding with NOS Suntour may not be the most economical way to go.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Suntour-Acc...4AAOSw849eTDaG

If it were a freewheel and not a cassette, it would be an easy swap to Shimano 7 speed derailleurs, shifters, and freewheel.

Good luck!

John

Thanks John, I did a bunch more digging. Its a 1991 bike with catalog stating SRT300 Grip Shifters. Finally got a pic as well:
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7e0f66bbe.jpeg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...389bf5be4.jpeg

If that's the case then basic friction shifters are the way to go. Remove the Grip Shifts and throw them in the trash.

As above, you will not find any new shifters that will index with your SunTour derailleurs. Your friend will have to learn how to shift without indexing, but plenty of kids learned how when I was teaching them back in the '70's and '80's.

These shifters and a pair of grips will get the bike on the road in a jiffy:
https://www.harriscyclery.net/produc...fters-2741.htm

Nevermind. I think it was the left shifter that would ratchet and not index.

John