Cycling UK Forum

With a career using hand tools in a manual trade, I think my wrists may be no weaker than the next man's; yet I recall, back when I rode with flat bars, that if I was riding a landscape with little short choppy hills, the part of me that tired first might be my left thumb. I eventually changed to a twist-grip shifter, which was better.
I've recently made the same alteration, for the same reason, to my wife's bike. She says that the strain on her wrist with the twist-grip is different, but not better, and I'm wondering what approach to pursue next. The twist-grip shifter works cleanly, the cable is new, and smooth as a baby's bum. The front mech is Altus, and maybe a more up-market mech would need less of a heave? Or would it?
Other than that, what are the options? As a last resort, change to 1x11, or a hub gear? Anything else?

In my experience, the problem with twist shifts is very often not the bike but the way the shifter is used, most people use their whole hand with an exaggerated wrist movement to make a change where all it needs is a thumb/forefinger grip.

Might be worth checking Mrs mirakoro's method?

Electronic shifters reduce the effort of shifting gear to almost nothing. One friend with a bit of arthritis in her wrists was complaining of problems changing gears. Her husband fitted SRAM Force AXS shifters/derailleurs to her bike, and she's much happier, as she now just has to gently tap the shifter blade to initiate a gear change. I also fitted SRAM Eagle AXS to the bike that my wife rides most of the time (she previously had GX Eagle mechanical gearing), and she similarly now finds it much easier to change gear.

This may not be relevant but I will mention it anyway as, being in the bike repair trade, I see it a lot.
Are you holding the bars with straight wrists or dropped? It’s very common for brake levers and shifters to be set up horizontally. The backs of your hands and the tops of the levers should be angled to match the line of the forearms so the wrists are kept straight and road vibrations are transmitted up the arm. Any fatigue created by badly set-up levers will be exaggerated when your grip is changed to twist or lever the shifters.

peetee wrote: ↑1 Jun 2021, 9:42amAre you holding the bars with straight wrists or dropped? It’s very common for brake levers and shifters to be set up horizontally. They should be angled to match the line of the forearm so the wrists are kept straight and road vibrations are transmitted up the arm.

That's where I'd start.

Could you add photos to show if her wrists are cocked, and a side-on view to show if the reach is a bit short, which can encourage cocking.

Jonathan

Some good advice can be found in this earlier thread. viewtopic.php?t=113692


I like Colin's suggestion of clamping a L shaped lever onto the twist grip. Even a jubilee clip on its own may suffice by giving something better to grip.
Increasing the grip shift diameter makes shifting easier.

Another option are those Shimano palm shifters, often seen on bso's. And cyclo-cross bikes.
https://images.app.goo.gl/GahzX552einQgPWdA

Extend the paddle of an STI
Wrap elastic bands round Gripshift (yes, really!)
Try old-fashioned thumbshifters, or bar-end levers fitted to a short flat-bar bar end

Angle of the wrist makes a big difference, as said.

Lots of inspiration (?) here ...viewtopic.php?f=5&t=57027&hilit=skinflints&start=195

Some MTB STi units have an action that is so light that it is barely there. Just the thumb . Try a few in bike shops to see what feels nice.
My experience has always been that even tbe lightest gripshift isnt as delicate as a decent modern STi.

I rode my bike for ages with the cable to the front derailleur routed the wrong side of the tab next to the pinch bolt. Made the front change very much stiffer. As I am sure you know it should go like this.
(Grandmother, Eggs, Suck ....)

nirakaro wrote: ↑31 May 2021, 10:08pm The twist-grip shifter works cleanly, the cable is new, and smooth as a baby's bum. The front mech is Altus, and maybe a more up-market mech would need less of a heave?

Anything else?

What state is the mech in generally? Has the cable and it’s outer been replaced with one of a suitable length and cut and finished correctly? Has the front mech been inspected to ensure it moves freely? Lastly, is the bottom bracket a square taper design and been replaced recently? If the wrong length has been chosen and the mech stops adjusted to suit, the shifts can still operate as they should but can be much harder work.
All the above are easily overlooked when doing jobs yourself. Likewise, they are also the sort of bodges that occur in some so-called professional workshops for the sake of getting the cash in the til and the bike out the door.

What's the model of trigger shifter she has? Some lower end ones have a really heavy action, and some higher end ones have a really light action (with much better ergonomics, which can also make quite a big difference). You can often pick a decent one up relatively cheaply too as front shifting MTBs are increasingly out of favour.