Sourcing 10 speed twist grip shifters

[arnsider]

Hi,
On other pages I extolled the virtue of grip shift changers. I did have a very reliable and cheap Claud Butler hybrid Odyssey that came with the original US grip shift changers.
A few years down the line I fitted butterfly bars and replaced the shifters with Sram. (8 rear and 3 front)
I had no problems whatever with these excellent shifters and covered many hundreds of miles on the road.
I now have a Whyte hybrid E bike I also use exclusively on tarmac. This came with straight bars and thumb shifters (10 speed. No front derailleur)
Ageing has brought on arthritis in my thumbs and changing gear is bloody painful.
Thumb shifers are a liability to anyone with arthritis and I am amazed the E bike builders haven't seen the market for changer options.
I’m looking to fitting butterfly bars and a similar set up to the Claud.
I have seen very few 10 speed twisters but the prices were ridiculous and nearly three times that of fewer gears.
Has anyone been down this road? It might be cheaper to replace block and mech with 8 or 9 speed, to get the more widely available and far cheaper changers.
Any ideas?

[arnsider]

One solution might be to just replace the ten block with a nine and buy a cheaper nine speed twist grip before they all go off the shelves!!
Question is are the Rear Derailleur Shimano T670 10-speed mechs compatible with 9 speed?

[Stradageek]

Can we start a 'We love Grip-shifters' campaign?

Is it just that they been associated with cheap MTB's for so long that they no longer have the necessary 'street cred' to be used on more expensive bikes despite their manifest advantages?

I totally agree with the OP, thumb shifters are a 'pain in the thumb'. Grips shifters are an ergonomic 'tour de force' and should be much more widely available.

The one disadvantage (they can get a bit slippy in the wet) can surely be cured by simple design/material changes?

[arnsider]

The Shimano Revoshift 8 speed changer SL-RS45 is widly available at around £15.
Does anyone know if this would work with my existing Shimano M781 Deore 10 speed mech if I changed the 10 block for an 8 block?
Loosing two gears on an e bike is not really a problem so long as the bottom gear is low enough.

[AndyK]

No, you'd need a new rear mech too. 7/8/9 speed MTB rear mechs are pretty much interchangeable, but not the 10-speed. Something like this should do the job if you want to keep the budget low:
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/derailleurs ... long-cage/

Edited to add: I use the SRAM MRX gripshift on my "vintage" 3x8-speed mountain bike. Cheap as chips, reliable and (unlike most SRAM shifters) Shimano-compatible.

[slowster]

Twist shifters are SRAM's forte rather than Shimano's. I think for 7/8/9 speed SRAM rear derailleurs and shifters used the same actuation ratio and cable pull as Shimano. I don't know whether there is any inter-compatibility with Shimano 10 speed MTB rear derailleurs, and I suspect 10 speed SRAM Grip Shift shifters are no longer made/available.

Since a twist shifter is what you require, and since you are using a 1x drivetrain, it might be worth considering switching to 11 speed and getting a SRAM 11 speed grip shift and rear derailleur. You would need to check that SRAM and Shimano 11 speed cassettes use the same spacing. A Shimano 11 speed cassette will fit on a 10 speed freehub if the largest sprocket is 34t or more. I don't know about SRAM cassettes, and the introduction of cassettes by Shimano and SRAM using different drivers/spline patterns (Microspline and XD) has complicated things further.

Edit - another option would be SRAM 11 speed shifter and derailleur, plus a Shiftmate 1 to allow you to continue to use your 10 speed cassette: http://www.jtekengineering.com/shiftmat ... s-choices/. Note also that according to that Jtek document, SRAM and Shimano 11 speed rear derailleurs, shifters and cassettes are close enough to be interchangeable.

[Nigel]

I was going to write something similar to "slowster" above - SRAM being the "gripshift" company, so a probable option is 10 speed SRAM shifter, and a matching rear derailleur from SRAM. Don't know about cassette sprocket spacing, but looking that up should confirm if the Shimano cassette is same spacing.

Other forum comments suggest that SRAM's 10 speed gripshifter is nicer to use than the older 9 speed ones.


Moving away from grip-shift, I don't know if old-style "thumb shifters" with a lever above the bar is any help ? If so, the Microshift ones seem very smooth and light action.


- Nigel

[arnsider]

Thanks to everyone.
I'm still a bit confused.
The shimano 9 speed long cage mech on offer from SJS looks good. Please can anyone say for sure what 9 speed gripshift changer is compatable?
If I bought the mech and changer, then a suitable 9 speed block, then I presume all would work.

[Stradageek]

Twist shifters are SRAM's forte rather than Shimano's. I think for 7/8/9 speed SRAM rear derailleurs and shifters used the same actuation ratio and cable pull as Shimano. I don't know whether there is any inter-compatibility with Shimano 10 speed MTB rear derailleurs, and I suspect 10 speed SRAM Grip Shift shifters are no longer made/available.

I stand to be corrected but I believe some SRAM rear derailleurs and shifters use a different cable pull to Shimano derailleurs.

SRAM do make some Shimano compatible 9-speed grip shifters (the Centera) with 2:1 pull ratio but they also make some which will only work with an SRAM derailleur 1:1 pull ratio.

[arnsider]

Thank you for that Stradagreek.
It appeares that a Sram Centera 9 speed changer cabled to a Shimano long cage Altus Mech might be the trick.
Many thanks.

[CyberKnight]

there was a kit that converted your bike to electronic shifting, no idea if its still going?
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/the-xshi ... -a-budget/


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/15 ... -smart-shi

[arnsider]

I had thought of going down the electronic shifter route, but the cost would be high.
I think the Shimano Steps controller will work with electronic shifting in a sort of automatic gear change system, though I'm not sure how it's configured.
My controller is set to "manual" mode so I presume Automatic mode is available.
I've got hold of a Sram Centera 9 spd changer and for it to be positioned against the disc brake lever in the present relationship, it leaves a bare 55 millimeter stub of a handlebar grip.
Can anyone suggest an off the shelf suitably short stubby grip or will I have to cut one down?

[Stradageek]

Just cut one down, I've had to do it many a time, hence my collection of cheap or second hand grips

[arnsider]

Well, it was a punt, but my Sram Centera grip shifter and Shimano Altus 9 speed mech are up together and in adjustment on my Whyte Comiston E Bike.
If I'm allowed to, can I commend the work of the Lancaster On Yer Bike dealer/mechanic who did the work for me.
I can now look forward to a bit more comfort and less arthrituic pain from my right thumb.
Thanks.

[Stradageek]

Excellent news, glad the guys here have helped