Grip shifters?
 

I'm thinking about moving away from the rapid fire shifters and picking a SRAM grip shifter. I'm running a 1x9 and Nashbar says that the SRAM grip is compatible. What is y'all's take on it?

Good choice...I have 5 bikes with Grip Shifts...may convert more. The big advantage is that you can keep your whole hand on the bars when shifting and shift through a wider range of gears with one flick.

Just have to make sure that the shifter is compatable with your derailleur...Sram makes the same model for both Sram (2:1) and Shimano (1:1)

I just made the switch a month or so ago when I built up my new bike. Now that I am getting used to it I love it. I'll probably be changing my other bike over in the near future.

I originaly had them on my mesa. You have to be careful not to accidentaly shift, but once you get used to it its no big deal. It really is a matter of preference, and in my case I prefer my XTR shifters.

i have been using gripshifts for almost 12 yrs and never had problems. hope it works for you

I hate grip shift. Although I've never had a good set. The only advantage, is being able to slide through all the gears at once. They may be okay for commuting/general purpose, but for XC and other rather technical stuff, it's too easy to make an accidental shift.

Matt

old crappy ones get you leaning down just to get the leverage to shift. the newer, better models work nice though, but I always mess up and shift after a drop becuase my hand is on the grip...i mean grip shift

I hate grip shift. Although I've never had a good set. The only advantage, is being able to slide through
I believe that is a matter of own preferances like between SRAM and Shimano. Anyway I believe that you just need to get used to it, like using a Shimano Dual Shift ^^

You forgot another huge advantage, the left shifter is basicly friction. Being able to fine tune the front derailleur to avoid rubbing is a huge advantage. That as well as being able to drop five or six gears at a time are what make me really like my grip shifts. However I do have to admit, before I decided to put them on my bike I really didn't think I would care for them either.

Glad to hear you liking 'em, LowCel. Ahhh, another convert; I was beginning to feel a bit like somewhat of an outcast ('course there are those who'd say I still am, GripShift or no :))

Elton, I cured the accidental shifts by running full-length grips. Looks a little funky, but it works for me.

Mis-shifts are a matter of technique.
 

Mis-shifting rarely happens to me. After a brief switch to triggers a couple of years ago, I went straight back to grip shifts. Mis-shifting with the hand rarely happens to me. It should not happen to anyone so long as they learn to to death grip the bar with their index finger (which is good anyways as locking the index finger limits mobility of the lower arm (you learn this in Aiki arts (Aikido, Hapkido, Kempo))).

Cavet: On my last bicycle that did not have a long enough top tube (this is weird because it was a 23" Yukon) I would occasionally strike the shifter with my knee and accidently upshift. That's ok because if I was running triggers I would have simply busted or bent the levers. My new bike is a 22" Karate Monkey and the knee shifts are gone now.

Well said ...
 

Well said LowCel. In fact, there are a great many people who run triggers for the rear and a gripshift on the front specifically for the ability to tune out derailleur rub on the fly.

Thankyou! I had gripshifts on my last bike and rode it for 8 years and loved them. changed them only once in 8 years. Now I have these rapid fire shifters and the front dr rubs the chain and makes a racket when I'm in higher gears. with the gripshifts I could adjust it in the shifter, now it rubs somewhere nomatter how I adjust it. I'm going back to gripshifts for sure!

i understand what low cel talking bout rub!, haha

SRAM sells halfpipe & quarterpipe grip sizes. Definately get the quarterpipe to help avoid shifting when you don't want to. I've always run grip shifters because my background is Motocross racing & it feels natural to me. Sorta like a throttle.

The newest models have a better "detent" & are not nearly as easy to mis-shift.