Twist grip thoughts/advice

[CC Rider]

Hello,
I'm asking for advice on behalf of my sister who is getting into MTBing and has a basic Forma MTB, triple front and seven (I think) on the rear. She has an old injury to her left thumb and is finding shifting gear quite painful. I've tweaked the set up for her and the bike shifts well - so she's the problem!

One answer is to change to a single front ring. Presumably that will require a change in the rear block in order to keep a decent range of gears? Would that also require a wheel change (for the increased block width) and maybe a crank change?

Another option would be a twist grip changer. That has the appeal of fewer component changes/less cost until she works out if she really enjoys it. I've never tried these myself so was after some general advice/thoughts on their use and set up. Also, perhaps recommendations on exactly what to get .... although I'd prefer to stick with Shimano if possible.

Thanks

 

[FluffyChicken]

As a user of twistgrips or GripShift they are really nice especially if using it relaxed and commuting.
I prefer the half pipe versions for commuting as you sit on the shifter when riding and everything is easy and just works.

Which one depends on the number of rear gears, or if only for the front, then SRAM Attack halfpipe are nice or any of the newer ones should be good too.

some random plucked of a picture search examples
older


newer, not actually half pip but to give you an example.
some have bearings in them and stuff to help out.

 

[FluffyChicken]

AS a side, you could look for shifters that trigger with the fingers.
You could look at chucky thumbshifters, these can be shifted with the palm of the hand on the top.

Do you have a picture of the current shifter?


Also do wait 'til others comment, especially the anti-GripShift idiots that are just not enlightened and woke enough to handle something as good as gripshift.
;-)

 

[jimo746]

Single chainring & wider range cassette would eliminate the need for shifters, altogether.
Twist shifters come in a variety of makes & models too, depends how she gets on with them in the end
Electronic shifting just has buttons to press, may be easier than a traditional shifter.

 

[CassidyAce]

For a 3 x 7 set up with Shimano MTB derailleurs, I'd look no further than SRAM's current MRX Comp GripShift which are compatible with Shimano derailleurs. They're very cheap—£18 for both left and right at Halfords at the moment—and shift as well if not better than the top end GripShift from the 1990s. Cable replacement is easier than it was on 1990s' GripShift too. I have a 3 x 8 set on my RockHopper which is used day-in-day-out over the winter months. However, they are not very tolerant of unclean cables, so perhaps get fresh cable outers at the same time if you get these shifters.

I have GripShift on all my flat bar bikes. An old thumb injury was the original reason for that but, now, I don't think I would want to go back to trigger shifters anyway: they just seem clunky and inefficient in comparison. However, there's no denying that it can take a while to get used to GripShift and some people never get on well with them. The other drawback to GripShift is that there isn't a wide range of handlebar grips available. If your sister is happy with the 3 x 7 set up though, a switch to GripShift is worth trying. I quickly noticed that my thumb felt better after making the switch.

Also do wait 'til others comment, especially the anti-GripShift idiots that are just not enlightened and woke enough to handle something as good as gripshift.
;-)

Indeed, the uncultured plebs lurk in our midst.

 

[Ren Rawbor]

It's called GripSh!t for a reason

I have arthritis and very limited movement in my right thumb due to an old injury but even that wouldn't convince me to not source a good set of RF or thumbies for any bike that comes my way wearing those hateful twisty abominations of a triathlon shifting gimmick!

In all seriousness though, modern ones probably work just fine and especially on the left side where there's less need for accuracy in only shifting between 3 rings then a grip shifter could provide an adequate solution to a bad thumb. Having (begrudgingly) said that, if your sister ends up catching the bug then I feel that a 1X system would be a better long term bet when she upgrades to another bike.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Also do wait 'til others comment, especially the anti-GripShift idiots that are just not enlightened and woke enough to handle something as good as gripshift.
;-)

Indeed, the uncultured plebs lurk in our midst.

Hi
Anti grip shift here, not an idiot though. Uncultured pleb on the other hand.......

 

[Ren Rawbor]

Hi
Anti grip shift here, not an idiot though. Uncultured pleb on the other hand.......

See, I'm both an uncultured pleb and an idiot. Still not daft enough to use Grip shifters though!

 

[CC Rider]

That's brilliant, thank you all for your help. I'll work out in due course whether I'm cultured, a pleb or an idiot!

Her current shifter is a Shimano EZ Fire Plus with a Tourney mech and she only needs the front triple. Very much low budget to test the water and see how she gets on with MTBing.

Does 'halfpipe' mean you have a longer length of grip to twist? From what I've found so far, Shimano's offering seems to be intended to operate with thumb and forefinger only. As her thumb is the issue, I would think the longer grip area would be better .... or do they mean, you only need the thumb/forefinger wrapped around the grip to operate it? As you can see - I know nothing!

When you say Gripshifters take a bit of getting used to, is that because they feel weird compared to thumbshifters or are they just a bit ... odd?

What are 'chucky thumbshifters'? Google throws up some interesting results!

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

I'm sure one of the twist grip elite will be along shortly, to enlighten and dissuade you from the obviously superior RF and thumb shifters