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Review Microshift 1x11 bar end shifter

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Old 04-22-26 | 06:36 PM
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Review Microshift 1x11 bar end shifter

Was planning on putting out 150 bucks for the Uno bar end shifter, but came across the Microshift 11 speed bar end shifter and figured at 55 dollars I had nothing to lose by ordering it.
It came in a simple box, with the shifter itself packed into a paper bag, and a cable included with it in a separate bag. Inspecting it for finish blems and general workmanship, it appears to be what I can call near perfect, and it presents itself as a well made product.
Installation was no different from any other bar end shifter. Simple and easy, as I was able to use the existing cable housing that I routed for an old Suntour Barcon shifter. Mated to a Sram GX rear derailleur and a Sram 10-46 cassette in 10 speed configuration (of my own doing) the indexing almost works, but not quite. No worries as I do not use indexing on my touring bikes.
Set to friction it works perfectly fine as it should. After all friction is as simple shifting as one can get. The shifter runs the entire range and the tension at the lever is adjustable and I am able to dial in the tension and gear range without issue.
Overall I am thoroughly impressed with the quality and oddly enough, don't miss the ratcheting of the Suntour Barcons. I think that is because the jumps between sprockets is large enough to where the ratchet function is not a necessity because there is little fine tuning to settle the chain onto the sprockets.
Spent about a 90 bucks less than the Uno shifter and am very pleased with it.
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Old 04-23-26 | 03:21 AM
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Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.

Great, sounds like you have what you need.

Twice I have seen someone using a Microshift bar end shifter that loosened up in use. All it needed was a tightening with a allen wrench. But if you have any removable thread locker, you might use a drop of that on the threads so that the screw does not loosen over time.

One of those two times that one loosened up was a gal riding a 200k brevet. She had to start holding the lever in position to avoid automatically going into the highest gear. After her hand muscles wore out, she just rode the last part of the 200k on her smallest sprocket. That clearly was the wrong time to have a shifter stop working just right. In her case, a bike shop installed the shifter for her a few days earlier.

The other time it was a front (friction only) shifter if I recall, it was quite easy for me to tighten it up a bit for a friend with my multitool.
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Old 04-23-26 | 05:11 AM
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Bikes: 1992 Serotta Colorado II,Co-Motion Speedster, Giant Escape Hybrid, 1977 Schwinn Super Le Tour

Though not barend I did install MicroShift 9 speed Thumb Shifters on a frame I built .Paired with VO Granola bars. They are a pleasure to use.
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Old 04-23-26 | 12:34 PM
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I purchased a pair of Microshift 10 speed bar ends a few years ago and they also worked quite well, surprisingly better than a pair of Shimano Dura ace
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Old 04-23-26 | 01:55 PM
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Agreed, Shiimano bar ends don't do well in friction mode at all. I have used 7, 8, 9 speed in friction mode and it doesn't work well. Of course in index mode they work fine, but I'm a friction guy.
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Old 04-23-26 | 04:42 PM
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Originally Posted by TiHabanero
Agreed, Shiimano bar ends don't do well in friction mode at all. I have used 7, 8, 9 speed in friction mode and it doesn't work well. Of course in index mode they work fine, but I'm a friction guy.
The vintage Shimano bar end shifters that they sold before indexing did not have ratcheting like the Suntour. Instead they were true friction but they had an internal spring to counter the force of the spring in the derailleur. Thus with two springs, one on each end of the cable, those shifters worked pretty good. I used a pair for quite a few years on my road bike, I really detested downtube friction rear shifters of that era.

Front downtube friction, I did not detest that as much and I actually have that on my rando bike at this time.
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Old 04-23-26 | 05:10 PM
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I was close to buying Microshift 11 speed bar end levers. I found a set of Dura Ace 11 speed, barely used, for $70 shipped. They are index only.
I do use Shimano bar end models bs-050 and bs-6400, both set in friction mode, and have used them for 8 thru 12 speed cassettes. They work great, took a bit of time and use to get efficient with the short travel of the lever for 11 and 12 speed cassettes. I do not race, or climb aggressively, if I did, I likely would not be as pleased with the friction shifting. The 6400 is being used for a 1X dtivetrain, 42 tooth Xsync ring with 12 speed, 11-40, Sunshine cassette. The handlebars are Velo-Orange Porteur and Left Bank bars.
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