Left hand trigger shifter - 9 speed?

[Magsy]

This is a a strange problem to have but in short my old man lost the use of his right arm some time ago and is now riding a MTB :shock:

He flipped a grip shift upside down and put it on the left side to get the rear over there but its just a bit naff....

I can't find any type of shifter in the world where the configuration is reversed but do you think I could take the guts from a right shifter (the ratchet, indexer etc) and transplant it into a left shifter giving 9 on the left? or does anyone have any clever suggestions? Compromises such as loosing the display etc are fine..

Ideally I'd use a trigger shifter for 9 and then an old school thumbie along side it for the front 3.

Thanks

Ian

 

[mikeekim89]

Don't think it'd work.. You'd have too rebuild it in the same way.. Thus making the triggers in the left hand side be on the opposite side too the current..

I can reccomend a thumbie though.. You should try less gears TBH. It'd open your options a lot..

Have you thought of a gearbox hub?

 

[mikeekim89]

Oh..

You also have the option of electronic shifting. But it's stupidly expensive..

 

[Enid_Puceflange]

Right hand thumbshifter, mounted on the left, but upside-down ?

Would that work?

 

[big.eck]

the older sram gripshift is back to front (you click forwards to go down the gears) so it would work the wrong way round

 

[cyfa2809]

what a predicament
come to think of it, its is odd that all shifters are aimed (generally) at right handed people
big ecks idea is pretty good, but still grip shift

let us know how you get on

 

[jamabikes]

have 3 3 speed shifters

on a more serious not, you could try mounting a r/h shifter on a bar end, or use a bar end shifter off a road bike

 

[Magsy]

Thanks for the thoughts peeps, something to mull over.

He is not really going proper off road, just 20 or so mile road/light trail or forrest rides. The gripshift can interfere with the reach for the brake and makes fitting a thumbshifter alongside a little less easy; that said it works without fuss and flipped over doesn't look too bad. I'll google up the older Sram one..

I will probably try to disassemble a trigger shifter first because the bodies are the same, plus the levers, the action and basic principal is the same, meaning its just the cams/cogs/ratchet (whatever creates the index) although of course, internally it is rotating the other way...

 

[stinus]

I dont think that you can rebuild a right hand shifter in a lefthand body, all the springs and cogs are build to be worked from right and can't be flipped upside down.

i like this problem! here is some idears:

a dual controle shifter will work just as fine flipped upsidedown, he just have to push down for down shifting not up

rohloff makes a lefthand shifter for there hubs, but thats a hole new setup needed..

I not sure if it will work but sram lefthand/front mech grip shifters has 30 small clicks, just like pre-index suntour shifters. thy are really inexpensive so maybe its worth testing.

If you flip a XTR Rapidfire Plus 180 degrees it might be an option, the position might be a littel odd but still okay if he is not "small" handed

the XTR SS95 Remote Shifter can be mounted on a barend if a longer cabel is fitted i might work as a left hand shifter.

any friction thumb shifter can be used for both front and rear mech, here a new one on a paul mount:

Bar-end shifters can be mounted on the end of the handlebar

specially a newer sram barend will be nice, thy jump back i center position after each shift, it might also work really nice on a paul mount placed upside down

here is an article aboud the some problem, but on a roadbike:
http://www.campyonly.com/howto/lefthandshifting.html

 

[hamster]

What about an Alfine hub instead? All 11 gears are on the one shifter.