seely

For anyone who has been patiently waiting, the VO Thumbies are back in stock. I saw a few grumblings on the forums about these disappearing for a few months but happened to notice today they're back: https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...22-2-23-8.html

The Golden Boy 

Those look cool- I hope they're available when I'm looking for some!

southpawboston

They're an obvious copy of Paul thumbies, and the price is approaching that of the real deal, as well.

norskagent

I guess you would also need cable stops for where the DT shifters were mounted?

owenmyers

Why? When you can pick up a pair of your favorite Shimano Deore thumb shifters?

seely

They're good if you already have the shifters, or want to use 8 or 9 speed shifters with indexing, but still want the friction option & rebuildability of thumb shifters.

Grand Bois

I think I can make a pair of first generation Simplex Retrofrictions work with them, but I'm not willing to pay $50 to find out for sure. If I needed them I'm sure I'd feel differently.

auchencrow

$50.00?!


Edit: $74.00?!

rootboy 

...makes you wanna reach down for those shifters, doesn't it.

ColonelJLloyd 

You think? I don't consider 33% to be a small amount. It might not be important to most people, but the VO mounts will work on 22.2 or 23.8 bars (they include shims). FWIW, I have used both and the Paul's have their typical CNC'd appearance and flat finish, but they both do the exact same thing with the same results; it's a pretty simple product.

kaliayev

It took me about 5 seconds to find Paul's for $47.99. Still not cheap, but the quality is top notch.

jeirvine 

Yeah I still don't know why either aren't like $25. I have both, and I like the VO finish better.

ColonelJLloyd 

They are $25 - to a dealer or distributor. It's just economics. If ten thousand people wanted thumb shifter mounts (and that's a small number) the price would drop dramatically.

southpawboston

Right, I suppose that's the same reason why V-brakes can be had for a fraction of the price of similar quality canti-brakes. The tooling and raw materials are just as expensive. But almost every new department store bike has V-brakes.

calstar 

...or at least reconsider.

Puget Pounder

The ability to work with bars that aren't MTB diameter is one reason.

Sidney Porter

I guess I am cheap the Sunrace ones comes with cables and are $15 for the set.

Hijack
Can someone explain the history why these went out of fashion? It seems like they were replaced on entry level bikes with grip shift. I like the thumb shifters so much better.

ColonelJLloyd 

Obviously the purpose of these isn't clear to you. They're not shifters, but a way of mounting down tube or bar end shifters to a handlebar with a diameter of 22.2, 23.8 or (in the case of Paul's) even 26.0 and 31.8.

Edit: kaliayev dropped knowledge

kaliayev

Paul's also come in 31.8 now.