I have moderate osteoarthritis. Sharp pain in my shoulders and hips sometimes wakes me and I have to roll over and take another dose of Ibuprophen. All this is okay for a man about to turn 75.

However --- I ride bikes with thumb shifters and my thumbs are my ‘worst’ arthritic feature. It, often, hurts to shift!

I recently spent a couple of hundred to convert my daily bike (2008 Gary Fisher HiFi Deluxe) from SRAM 3x9 to Shimano 3x10 – because of my thumbs!

I truly love the feel of the SRAM shifters, but – they require much more thumb pressure, which hurts and interferes with the pleasure of riding.

The conversion was a success. Shifting-pain is substantially less.

However, I got to thinking --
Why not eliminate the pressure altogether? The Shimano Di2 system uses switches instead of levers. It has proven itself to be reliable and stable.

I don’t have the money to build such a bike but I would if I did.

Would any of y’all consider such a bike?

Joe ;o)

The only people I know with Di2 have arthritis... I think Shimano missed the market.

I have your thumb problem. Brought on by working on bikes, model raileays, caravan, cars, motorbikes . . .I was not gentle with those little appendages.

The race bike style gear changers for drop handlebars are fine, and you can use them on curved bar ends too with great control over your brakes etc. Releasing the gears can be tricky when you press that little black thing, but bearable.

The old SIS levers they had 30 years ago on those off roaders that swept the market are in short supply now. You might get a 7 speeder, as I have in prep fpr the future . . . These were fuss free and were the equivalent of the old downtube shifters of the racing /road bikes 60`s era and before.

Now why they don`t make a straight handlebar equiv of the modern brake lever /gear change I`ll never know.

Business opportunity! Anybody listening?

I am a old school guy who does not readily embrace new bike tech. But I would certainly consider Di2 or anything else that allows me to continue biking as I age. Luckily, the arthritis that is starting to affect my knuckles is irritated by shifting brifters only so far.

I have two road bikes with Di2 and one with Campy Super Record EPS. My problem with my hands is/was carpal tunnel, not arthritis. I put a thread in Road Cycling a while back complaining a bit about shifting difficulties with Di2 because of my carpal tunnel. There are several different shift switches available with Di2 which offer alternate placement on the bars - someone suggested I try those - I had carpal tunnel surgery instead in August on one wrist and the other scheduled in 3 weeks. It was easier for non-mechanical me than dealing with switching shifters.

So - while I complained it still wasn't easy to shift Di2 with completely numb hands -- it was still somewhat easier than shifting some of my other bikes with various Shimano or SRAM mechanical group sets.

I'm somewhat interested in this issue, since I have one great metacarpal pretty arthritic and the other on the way. The referred wrist pain is not good, so I'd probably be interested in minimizing aggravating the joint as they deteriorate further. I'm currently using Campy 10, which to my mind has pretty light actuation pressure - but I lack point of reference not having used Shimano.

Same here. I have elbow and wrist problems on my right arm. Shimano road bike shifters cause me pain eventually, especially if I ride that bike regularly. My Sram, bar end and down tube shifter bikes don't.

If / when I can't ride my road bikes without pain, I'll gladly buy electronic shifters if they would help. I'd also switch everything over to indexed bar end shifters. I love integrated shift/brakes, but really bar ends work fine as do down tube if you are OK with reaching down for them.

As far as MTB type shifters, I don't really know too much about them, as the MTB I ride has 90s era Suntour shifters. They'd be murder on arthritic thumbs, I think.

I have both. Campagnolo mechanical on a gravel / adventure bike, and Di2 on a road bike.

The Athena 11 right shifter (Powershift light action) has already failed, after less than 3000 miles. So I'll swap in a replacement Ultrashift body this winter. I liked the Powershift, it has a pretty light action, less than my old Veloce 10. I think the Ultrashift will take more finger and thumb force, comparable to the older 10 speed shifters.

The Di2 is just like clicking a mouse, with two paddle buttons next to each other on each shifter. I often just reach down with my ring finger to shift, and have even used my pinky when I'm holding the top knob of the shifter with the palm of my hand, and resting the side of my palm on the base of the shifter.

The rear shifts are instantaneous, and the front is fast and precise, and it auto trims the front as you shift the rear. I shift gears way more often, just because it's so easy.

If your fingers can tolerate the (mechanical) braking, then the Di2 shifting would be no problem at all. And you can reach the buttons with different fingers, from all kinds of hand positions, which might help, too.

You might consider XShifter. It's designed to use the thumb for shifting, but can also be turned upside down and easily use index finger. You don't need to replace your drivetrain to use it. Just retrofit the remote controlled servos.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...less-smart-shi

I don't have issues with my hands or grip but Di2 would be a great alternative to mechanical. It takes little effort and multiple gears can be done by holding lever. I have Sprint shifters and these make shifting in the drops pretty easy as well. These are placed on bar in the drop so I can brush the button with my thumb and shift up or down in rear. These do not shift the front but work great. Other than the braking working normal it's minimal effort system and should not aggregate any issues with arthritis or carpel tunnel. I am a big fan but mechanical still is my favorite system.

I have it. At the time it was bundled with the hydraulic brakes I wanted. I have no regrets, nor arthritis. But if you do have arthritis, getting hydraulic brakes might also be a big help.

I've got arthritis and the beginnings of diabetic neuropathy in both hands and while Di2 wouldn't be beneficial to me right now, I can envision myself needing it a few years down the road if things continue to "progress" the way they have been.

I had carpal tunnel on my left wrist when using flat bars on my commute bike but it totally went away when I switched to drop bars.


Okay, my commute bike looks funny (odd) with drop bars but the pain is gone so I don't care!


Can't comment on Di2 since I've never used it but I do have E-Tap (SRAM wireless electronic shifting) on my go-fast carbon bike and love it in that context. Shifting takes no more force than tapping a key on a keyboard. Quick and very precise; but probably no better than Di2.


Rick / OCRR

Gee, maybe we can get health ins. to pay for dI2 shifters as a medical devise!!