Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

For discussions about bikes and equipment.
SteveGray
Posts: 85
Joined: 20 Dec 2015, 8:53pm

Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by SteveGray »

I now have some arthritis in my right hand, in the base of my thumb. Now riding my Cube Reaction Race 500 E bike, causes increased pain in this joint, due to repeated gear changing. The bike has what I think a "Rapidfire" double levers. Changing up is fine as the spring does the work. Changing down takes a lot more force.

Applying my school physics, a longer lever will spread the work over a longer distance and reduce the force needed to change gear, resulting in less pain I hope.

Has anyone invented a reliable lever extension ?

Initial thoughts are copper water pipe, flattened to fit closely over the existing lever.

Out of interest, my second e bike, a KTM Ventura has the excellent Shimano STEPS hub gear with electronic shifting. The Cube is however better for rougher ground and offers more assistance.

I can't be the only older rider, 65 soon, with this problem.

Steve Gray
TheBomber
Posts: 520
Joined: 16 Feb 2020, 8:18pm

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by TheBomber »

Not sure if 'Gripshift' or other twist grip is compatible with your gears, but it always used to be the solution for arthritic thumbs/fingers.
gom
Posts: 66
Joined: 10 Mar 2021, 3:23pm
Location: Glos.

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by gom »

Have you made sure that everything is running smoothly?
I was on the point of giving up on my left hand tiagra shifter due to pain in the base of my thumb, I even bought some down tube shifters to try out. But replacing the cable and outer and ensuring there were no snags etc made things much better. I can stick with the tiagra at least for a little while yet.
Jdsk
Posts: 24478
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by Jdsk »

1 As above: check that everything is operating as easily as possible.

2 Can you add some photos of the position of your hand as you shift up and and down.

Jonathan
zenitb
Posts: 832
Joined: 7 Aug 2018, 9:59pm
Contact:

Thumb Shifters ?

Post by zenitb »

You can get most of your hand onto these.. just grab and turn ?
9 speed example
9 speed example
djnotts
Posts: 3024
Joined: 26 May 2008, 12:51pm
Location: Nottingham

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by djnotts »

I've installed old Shimano thumbies for my arthritic fingers and hands in place of rapid fires. As above, can use different parts of my hands.
Problematic for rear indexing if not 7 or 8 speeds, but great for any front mech.
rjb
Posts: 7183
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 10:25am
Location: Somerset (originally 60/70's Plymouth)

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by rjb »

Some use a rotary gripshift lever with an L shaped extension clamped to the lever with a jubilee clip. May not be pretty but very functional for arthritic hands. :wink:
At the last count:- Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X3, Raleigh 20 stowaway, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840 :D
re_cycler
Posts: 214
Joined: 13 Dec 2022, 7:18pm

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by re_cycler »

If you know someone with a 3D printer you could try to get an extension designed and printed. There may be downloadable designs available already but I couldn't see one for that model of shifter.
User avatar
531colin
Posts: 16034
Joined: 4 Dec 2009, 6:56pm
Location: North Yorkshire

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by 531colin »

gom wrote: 31 May 2023, 2:35pm Have you made sure that everything is running smoothly?
I was on the point of giving up on my left hand tiagra shifter due to pain in the base of my thumb, I even bought some down tube shifters to try out. But replacing the cable and outer and ensuring there were no snags etc made things much better. I can stick with the tiagra at least for a little while yet.
^^^^^^^^^THIS!!!!
My thumbs and forefingers are arthritic....I blame building bicycle wheels, but thats another story.

Make sure the action is as smooth as it can be.....thats mainly down to the cables.
Try the shifter(s) at different angles on the bars....it works best for me it the lever more or less follows the slope of my forearm, a common mistake is to have the lever horizontal, so you have to push it UP as well as away.

Arthritic thumbs have stopped me riding drop bars, because i can't brake from the hoods, and I don't do well with pickle jars, but well set up and well maintained trigger shifters are OK

Those SunRace thumbies didn't index well when I tried them, I think that was 9 speed road Shimano indexing.
PT1029
Posts: 1742
Joined: 16 Apr 2012, 9:20pm

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by PT1029 »

A while back I had a thumb issue of some sort, changing down (pushing the lower lever) was a problem for a while. What I did to change down was to present my hand to the under side of the lever with my palm facing up. I then used the palm/base of my thumb to push the lower lever which seemed to work for me.
The extended bit of the thumb did no work at all while doing this.
I might (or not, can't rembember) have also curled my fingers around the front of the lever housing while I did this.
Might be worth a try.
irc
Posts: 5189
Joined: 3 Dec 2008, 2:22pm
Location: glasgow

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by irc »

IMG_20230601_115231.jpg
It isn't pretty but when I lost the thin rubber cover for my Shimano bar end lever I replaced it with a big lump of plastic made from those thermosetting granules you buy. Deliberately oversize to be more comfortable.

If you don't like the first effort remove, heat it in hot water, and try again.

Not sure if it would work with MTB style shifters but cheap to try.
Jodel
Posts: 60
Joined: 27 Oct 2020, 8:19pm

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by Jodel »

I have pretty much the same issue. I posted my 'solution' on another forum and I'll paste my story below:

My ageing wrists / thumbs are suffering from wear & tear and I decided to fit the latest version of the Archer D1x Trail electronic shifter to my Orbit tandem. Many people will see this device as a solution looking for a problem, but if you suffer from hand pain or have restricted movement in your hands / thumbs, it’s well worth a look.

I’ve always liked using Shimano Rapidfire Plus shifters on flat bar bikes, but either arthritis or some other condition in my thumbs has made these very painful to use. I tried converting some DuraAce bar end shifters to old style ‘thumbies’ and that worked ok for a while. Similarly, I started to use a SRAM Gripshift which was also fine for a period, but I got to the point where even these were too uncomfortable for me to use easily and I had to cut short several rides before things became too painful.

I converted my tandem to an e-bike with a rear hub-motor some time ago. That was / is an excellent upgrade, but the width of freehub body fitted to the hub-motor means that I am limited to 9 speed cassettes (10 speed at a push). The newer SRAM / Shimano electronic systems only work with 11 speed or greater cassettes, otherwise I probably would have bitten the bullet and gone for one of these expensive systems. They certainly aren’t cheap, but if it keeps you riding …. Enter the ‘cheap’ Archer version of electronic shifting.

The Archer system can work with any speed cassette and any type of derailleur. The latest Gen2 iteration of their system has been improved quite a bit compared to their earlier efforts. Most notably, the speed of gear shifting is much faster and the electronic gear change trigger (what Archer call a remote) is now quite a neat paddle type rocker switch, similar to SRAM AXS. Archer also plan to release a power cable to link into the main battery of e-bikes, so running out of power for gear-shifting is unlikely.

For those who wish to get more detailed information on this device, there are several reviews of the system on the internet and on YouTube. Archer themselves provide many videos describing their product. I won’t repeat comments that others have made as there are many reviews to read / watch which will highlight the features of the product.

My experience so far is almost entirely positive. The version I fitted has a paddle type switch to change gear, but several other types are available. I’ve found that the much lighter pressure is a big improvement over mechanical shifters for my weakened thumb.

One of the Archer’s unique attributes is that it allows individual calibration of each gear on the cassette. Adjustment can be made with as little as 0.25mm increments. I can confirm that this does indeed provide very accurate adjustment of every single gear on the cassette. Normal mechanical shifting does of course allow for ‘trimming’, but only across the whole cassette. It is not unusual to encounter one or two slightly awkward gears when setting up a cable system regardless of how much you persevere. The Archer system allows for pretty much perfect alignment of every single gear. The difference over a well-adjusted and maintained mechanical system is small, but it is there and is noticeable.

I tend to ride at a cadence of between 80rpm to 90rpm and I find I constantly change gear to remain close to that figure. For me, the Archer system is a real boon on undulating terrain where the road conditions require frequent gear shifting. The lack of effort to make shifts is really beneficial for preserving your thumb! The app provides some data too - I've found that on an average 25 mile ride, I have been changing gear around 500 times. No wonder my thumb is sore.

Changing up the cassette from small to larger cogs I think the Archer is as fast as a normal mechanical shifter, it is certainly easier as the required thumb pressure remains constant. Going down the cassette, it is not as ‘snappy’ as a good mechanical setup. If you are the type of rider who wants to go from first gear to ninth in a single twistgrip movement, mechanical is faster (but not by that much).

There is no visual indicator to tell you which gear is selected. This was not a deal-breaker for me, but it would be a nice-to-have. On a tandem, you can’t just glance down to look at the cassette as it’s a long way behind you. In practice, I’ve not really had any issues with this.

In my opinion, if you have mobility issues and/or painful joints, the Archer system is worthy of consideration. If you are a techy geek, you’ll like it too!
Stradageek
Posts: 1651
Joined: 17 Jan 2011, 1:07pm

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by Stradageek »

+1 for the grip shifter solution. My thumbs started getting painful with thumb shifters maybe 15yrs ago. I converted the entire fleet to grip shifters and at 67 I am still riding pain free. :D
Jodel
Posts: 60
Joined: 27 Oct 2020, 8:19pm

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by Jodel »

Stradageek wrote: 1 Jun 2023, 12:26pm +1 for the grip shifter solution. My thumbs started getting painful with thumb shifters maybe 15yrs ago. I converted the entire fleet to grip shifters and at 67 I am still riding pain free. :D
I agree - Gripshift is a great option and it worked very well for me too (for a while). It's certainly a darn sight cheaper than the Archer solution!
AndyK
Posts: 1495
Joined: 17 Aug 2007, 2:08pm
Location: Mid Hampshire

Re: Extension for Shimano Gear Shift Lever

Post by AndyK »

Jodel wrote: 1 Jun 2023, 1:10pm
Stradageek wrote: 1 Jun 2023, 12:26pm +1 for the grip shifter solution. My thumbs started getting painful with thumb shifters maybe 15yrs ago. I converted the entire fleet to grip shifters and at 67 I am still riding pain free. :D
I agree - Gripshift is a great option and it worked very well for me too (for a while). It's certainly a darn sight cheaper than the Archer solution!
Unfortunately the OP's bike model appears to be kitted with a 1x11-speed Shimano MTB drivetrain, so a straight swap to grip shifters isn't an option as no-one makes 11-speed Shimano-compatible grip shifters that I know of. SRAM make 11-speed Gripshifts, but only for their own 11-speed configuration, so that would mean changing to a SRAM rear mech too. (The cassette would be OK though.) Still a lot cheaper than going electronic though.
Post Reply