opinions/facts - XT thumbies Vs XT trigger shifters??

[dyna-ti]

I prefer the rapidfire
You dont take one hand off the bar.Yes i know some place them closer to your grips but you still at some point have to look at what your doing or take one hand to fiddle with it
I love to fettle me gears ,so they never rub and change instantly and flawlessly
That said ,thumbies are simplicity themselves,they can loosen off but all do, and thats part of their design life.
As to not changing fast enough on triggers,Try clicking the them faster

Thumbies make my wrists hurt

Dispatched :
Model: Blouse/Ladies
Size:large

 

[PurpleFrog]

only real drawback for thumbies is that they are mounted on top of the bars (so brake easily when crashing) and you don't have as much control while shifting.

Who says that thumbies should ride on top? They won't explode if you put them underneath. They work very well in fact!

 

[tintin40]

I like thumbies on top. Thats were my thumbs are :roll:

 

[jango]

I like thumbies on top. Thats were my thumbs are

Really? my thumbs are below the bar :?

 

[baj]

a friend had a sudden impact (on a downhill IIRC) and broke one of his thumbs on his way over the bars because it was under the handlebar, since then i've always found it more comfy with thumbs over the top!

 

[MikeD]

since then i've always found it more comfy with thumbs over the top!

You ride downhill with your thumbs above the bars? And you think that's safer? :?

 

[baj]

I don't ride downhills!

I have 2 children under 4yrs old, I work full time and I surf when I can - I don't have time for recreational riding!!!

 

[Hooter]

I've been using the same pair of XT thumbies on my main MTB since c. 94. They've done 1000's of miles of year round riding and really do just keep going. I just run them on friction so never have to worry about cables stretching, indexing etc. The downside is that you occasionally mis shift changing across several sprockets at once. I put another pair on the GFs bike for a while, but she hated them

 

[canuckinboston]

I'm getting used to thumbies again after 15 years of gripshift and do like it. Never have used rapidfire or STI (!)
One question: my setup is with a 7 speed cassette and derailleru (M732 XT rear mech I believe is the model #); can I fiddle with the XT 7 speed thumbies to allow use of 8 speed cassette and 8 sp XT/XTR rear mech?

 

[Hooter]

8 speed works fine on friction with XT and DX thumbies. I've heard that some people get them to work ok with indexing too as there is an extra "click" available, but I never managed to get it right myself. 9 speed on friction didn't seem to work well tho.