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Check out these 9 speed thumbshifters!
http://www.forge-mtb.com/shifters.asp?cat=FORGEMTB&product=FMBF001
Philip Wolfe West Allis,WI
rocketman58 wrote:
> I don't catch what you mean by thumb shifters...
>
> ... I thought everyone knew what thumb shifters are. I guess if you are sort of newer to cycling
> or never saw an older mountainbike, you may not know. Thumb shifters were the mainstay of MTB
> shifting from the late 70s through the early 90s. They were pre-rapidfire and pre-grip shift. You
> will still find a select group of people who hold them to be the best shifters ever made - the
> holy grail of shifters. They still demand a premium on ebay.
>
> Thumb shifters are simple and rugged. Maybe too rugged. I am still using two pairs of Shimano XTs
> on MTBs (mountainbikes). They have out lasted dozens of frames and every other component I have
> ever purchased. (I personally think Shimano killed them off because they would never wear out!)
> They were phased out for the less durable rapidfire.
>
> They also had a friction option. This let you use the friction mode incase you had a problem and
> the indexing did not work. I've used this a couple of times after smashing a rear deraileur.
>
> As far as what they look like - they are just a simple lever. The lever sits across the top of the
> bar. The pivit point is just in front of the bar. You shift to a lower gear by pushing the lever
> forward with your thumb, the palm of you hand, or even your whole hand. You shift to a higher gear
> by pulling back on the lever with a finger or two, or any other part of you hand. Since you are
> not limited to shifting with just a thumb or one or two fingers, your hands/fingers do not get
> tired or cramped so easy.
>
> I can not use grip shift or rapidfire shifters due to a wrist/hand disability. I can use thumb
> shifters however. The only problem is they have not been made for a number of years. They are only
> 6/7/8 speed - depending on model. No 9 speed. A number of us are still waiting for those 9 speed
> thumb shifters.
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<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> Check out these 9 speed
thumbshifters! <br> <a href="
http://www.forge-mtb.com/shifters.asp?cat=FORGEMTB&product=FMBF00-
1">
http://www.forge-mtb.com/shifters.asp?cat=FORGEMTB&product=FMBF001</a>
<p>Philip Wolfe <br>West Allis,WI <br> <br> <br> <br>
<q>rocketman58 wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>I don't catch what you mean by thumb shifters...
<r>... I thought everyone knew what thumb shifters are. I guess if you <br>are sort of newer
to cycling or never saw an older mountainbike, you <br>may not know. Thumb shifters were
the mainstay of MTB shifting from <br>the late 70s through the early 90s. They were
pre-rapidfire and <br>pre-grip shift. You will still find a select group of people
who <br>hold them to be the best shifters ever made - the holy grail of <br>shifters. They
still demand a premium on ebay.
<s>Thumb shifters are simple and rugged. Maybe too rugged. I am still <br>using two
pairs of Shimano XTs on MTBs (mountainbikes). They have out <br>lasted dozens of frames and
every other component I have ever <br>purchased. (I personally think Shimano killed
them off because they <br>would never wear out!) They were phased out for the less durable
<br>rapidfire.
<t>They also had a friction option. This let you use the friction mode <br>incase you had a
problem and the indexing did not work. I've used <br>this a couple of times after smashing
a rear deraileur.
<u>As far as what they look like - they are just a simple lever. The <br>lever sits across the
top of the bar. The pivit point is just in <br>front of the bar. You shift to a lower
gear by pushing the lever <br>forward with your thumb, the palm of you hand, or even your whole
<br>hand. You shift to a higher gear by pulling back on the lever with a <br>finger or two,
or any other part of you hand. Since you are not <br>limited to shifting with just a thumb
or one or two fingers, your <br>hands/fingers do not get tired or cramped so easy.
<v>I can not use grip shift or rapidfire shifters due to a wrist/hand <br>disability. I can
use thumb shifters however. The only problem is <br>they have not been made for a number of
years. They are only
6/7/8 <br>speed - depending on model. No 9 speed. A number of us are still <br>waiting
for those 9 speed thumb shifters.</blockquote> </html>
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