Why so big love for thumbie, and little for gripshift.

[sylus]

Once I get my bike set up then it's ready to go and that includes my position on it and how to set the levers in a way that offer less stress on my hands and particulary my wrists. Gripshit saw that variable uncomfortable if ridden often and for long periods.

As to the race riders saying grips were better, I pressume advertising obligations and races of short distances had inputs on their opinions

 

[B3]

Still considered to be a lower-end product, SRAM turned to the racecourse to prove their merits. American downhiller, Greg Herbold was one of the first racers to use the new shifters and in 1990 he won the first UCI Downhill World Championship—putting SRAM on the world stage.

In 1992 SRAM released the Grip Shift SRT 500, its first shifter aimed at the upper end of the market. Then in 1993 SRAM made its most important sponsorship agreement to date with the signing of 1991 world champion, John Tomac. The signing of Tomac coincided with the debut of the Grip Shift SRT 500R, SRAM’s first professional-level shifter. The signing of Tomac gave the SRT 500R insistent credibility, while Tomac’s aggressive riding style and popularity provided SRAM with a much-needed marketing vehicle. Success on the racecourse continued with Greg Herbold using SRT 500R to capture the NORBA National Downhill Point Series, while Giovanna Bonazzi claimed the Women’s Downhill World Title.

If 1993 was considered a success, the 1994 season was spectacular. Grip Shift shifters virtually dominated the race circuit, with Missy Giove and Francois Gachet laying claim to the downhill world titles, Alison Sydor and Bart Brentjens capturing the Cross-Country World Cup and John Tomac winning the NORBA downhill title.

There's a big difference between the real world that you and I live in and the world of a sponsored rider paid to use/promote a product.

Having experienced Gripshift x rays when they came out has made me a life long Shimano user. They needed two hands in the wet to get the lower gears and after 3 weeks they snapped, so did the warantee replacements and their replacements too.

 

[rocky ridge]

gripshift = shitshifts

 

[FMJ]

For trail riding I'm split 50/50 between thumbies and triggers. For DH, DS, 4X, and DJing I won't use anything other than Grip Shift. Nothing comes close to the ease and speed to use when the clock's ticking and you're riding at your limit. The biggest caveat is that it HAS to be maintained properly or you will not get along with it.

 

[feetabix]

i wouldnt rate gripshift above thumbies, but im a fan.....i feel it is very intuitive to use and doesnt require any hand movement to facilitate a change when you are on the edge of control on a dark wood somewhere.....i like gripshift....

 

[chefmiguel]

Original GripShift was garbage, later versions 500-800X-Rays were an improvement but not nearly as accurate as Shimano. They didn't last long either, cracking after a months worth of use. Their later incarnations 9.0 to current XX work, but are too new to be used on a vintage bike.

 

[Rich Aitch]

Gripshift enrages me:

The rear changer turns the wrong way for anybody who rode motorbikes before trying gripshift,

Mine [SRT 300 only retained because they are original] have a really flimsy sounding index click, like when you break the anti-tamper ring on a screw top milk bottle,

There is no friction option,

No tension adjuster like on Suntours,

If the terrain is too rough to read the numbers then they can't show you what gear they are in- with thumbies you just look at the leaver angle-

Changing the cable involves looping the cable round the barrel in a really specific manner and either pulling back the handlebar grips or moving the break leaver mounts so that you have room to work, then finding that your controls feel all wrong when you have finished.

They stay in tune for about five hours,

No matter how high specced they have the vibe of a supermarket B.S.O.


I have never been able to see the merit in S.R.A.M's lawsuit against Shimano. Shimano offered a discount of 15% for customers buying an all Shimano groupset. This was probably a way of ensuring that everything on the bike would actually be able to work together. It wasn't a discount based on sales volumes. I suspect that if Shimano had held out until court they could have won. There is no merit in breaking another businesses monopoly if you are going to use it to peddle an inferior product. It's the equivalent of beating Microsoft in court and then expecting computer buyers to buy a computer that has no word-processing but it does come with a cardboard box with a typewriter inside and a lifetimes supply of carbon paper.
With their millions that they earned from this S.R.A.M went shopping, bought up established European component makers like Huret, Sachs, Maillard and Sedis and then offshored their production. So now the mountainbike world has a choice of only three groupsets S.R.A.M, Shimano and- maybe S.R-Suntour [Not sure if they offer a full groupset]. Thanks Gits!

 

[Rich Aitch]

As I don't want to sound completely negative [Difficult when dealing with dross like gripshift] I ought to say that it is an improvement on trigger shifters- not exactly a massive complement in itself- and at least it didn't have a full width twistgrip like Campag Bullets or the S.A twistgrip on a Raleigh Grifter, as they continually alter your hand position and by implication the angle of your joints all the way up to the elbow.
For my money Suntour XC Power thumbies are the best. They have an action like a hot knife through butter and have fantastic tension adjusters that look like Dzus QR fasteners.
Campagnolo Euclid thumbies are the most beautiful but maybe the most impractical with an index- friction setting that is really difficult with cold hands and textured grey soft touch plastic coated leavers that will quickly get mucky. And try finding ones that aren't cracked.
Shimano Deore XT II [SLM732]'s look instinctively right and give an aura to a bike; "This rider has chosen well, the force is with him!" They are subtle class and they just work. Forever!

 

[FMJ]

The rear changer turns the wrong way for anybody who rode motorbikes before trying gripshift,

I raced MX for 15+ years before I swung a leg over a mountain bike. Your statement made me say "huh?" out loud to myself, as my gear changes were made with my left foot, not my right hand.

If the terrain is too rough to read the numbers then they can't show you what gear they are in- with thumbies you just look at the leaver angle-

I don't need to look at indicators, levers, dials, or my cassette. I know what gear I'm in.

 

[T'boo Ted]

Never had a problem with gripshift, ran 800 i think for a little while, but much prefered my DX thumies. Compared to rapidfire plus, they're both useless