Shifters
 

Which types of shifters do you prefer for touring?

What is it you like about them?

Twenty years ago I bought a touring bike with lower end (Shimano RSX) brifters. Prevailing wisdom is that they're not reliable enough for hard-core touring, and my plan was to replace them with basic downtube shifters if they ever break. (If I do any more hard core travel, I'll carry those with me.) Well over 50K miles later, they still haven't broken and have never missed a shift. The hand position and easy shifting are perfect for me.

My preference is friction bar-ends. They’re quiet, dependable, and close at hand.

Trigger shifters.
I have discovered Trekking bars, which are now my preference.

-Snuts-

Brifters. Hands never have to leave the handlebar. plenty durable. Personally I hate bar ends.

Brifters, specifically the Campagnolo Ultra-shift variety.

Provide great hand positions, reliable, precise, almost friction-like front shifting and trimming, wide rear shifting with a single lever press.
Easy to maintain, fully repairable.
Ensure very neat bar-ends so I can use the LH one for a rearview mirror.

Indexed bar end shifters.
- friction front shifter allows for exact trimming to eliminate chain rub.
- extremely simple to set up and use.
- know where your chain is on the cassette by a quick glance or feel. this isnt possible with STIs.
- they can run in friction mode for the rear in case anything wonky happens...though that isnt likely to be needed.
- can use MTN front derailleurs since its friction shift up front and doesnt rely on a preset amount of pull.



I havent used Gevenalle shifters for touring, but...
- they are bar end shifters mounted to the front of the brake lever and so they are just as simple to set up and use as traditional bar end shifters mounted to the bar end.
- having used them for a few months on a gravel bike, they are extremely easy to shift with.
- they still provide the benefits mentioned above like knowing where you are in the cassette without looking at the cassette, being able to use a MTN front derailleur, and ability to trim front derailleur so there isnt ever chain rub.

When I built my Disc Trucker I went with bar end shifters because it seemed like that's what most touring bikes had, including the stock Disc Trucker.

After riding with them for a few months and slowly growing to hate them, I looked at brifters but decided against them. I was already running full Deore XT derailleurs plus I didn't like the complexity and lack of friction mode.

Did some research and found Retroshift (now Gevenalle) and really liked the idea. Been using them since 2013 and really like them. Best of both worlds.

Being able to dump from a high gear all the way down to your lowest for a panic stop is nice too.

After using them on bikes I rode all over the areas where I've Lived , Day Touring and commuting since the mid 70's

(You probably dont care about the Bike I Built up in 1957.. )

I made several Multi Month Long Tours.. The Length of the British Isles , around Europe, West to East and Back Included , between 85 & 97..

Sun Tour Friction Bar end shifter ..


Then I Found a Used Trekking Bike with a Rohloff Hub .. the Derailleur bikes got Parked..

It uses a 2 cable Grip Shifter, with all the gear change sequencing Inside The Hub..





...

For what kind of handlebars? And what shifters are you currently using?

lightwpree, For the drop bar bikes I like bar end shifters and integrated shifters, maybe a slight nod to the bar ends. For flat bars I think I'd rather have twist shifters for the extra hand room.

Brad

Barends, I like them because of they're of their bulletproof functionality and they're what I'm accustomed to. I've got bikes with Shimano, Sram and Microshift bar ends and I don't really have a preference of one over any of the others.

I like bar ends. I had Shimano indexed bar ends, but they died this year. Thankfully they can be switched to friction mode. I replaced them with friction only Silvers from Rivendell Bicycle. I love them, very smooth shifting.

I won't buy another pair of Shimano bar end shifters. If I needed indexing I would probably go with Microshift.

I like fast and effective shifting and comfortable ergonomics, that's why I prefer Shimano brifters to any sort of bar end arrangement, indexed or otherwise.