Grip shift vs rapid fire

[TopDrawer]

Not so fast!!! I'm a fulltime bike wrench in California's Marin County - the birthplace of mountain biking - and I'm amazed by the lock-step litany of praise for rapid-fire over gripshift. I've overhauled literally thousands of mountain bikes over the past six years...and in that time have come to fully appreciate SRAM and gripshift. My downhill bike sports SRAM 9.0 ESP gripshift with matching rear derailleur...and I wouldn't take rapid fire if you bought it for me. ESP shifting is tight and quick and has NEVER shifted on its own...even flying down "Repack" on Mt. Tamalpias!! Word is SRAM's X.0 is even better. Don't just listen to anyone here...find a LBS that has both and try them both. i think you may be pleasantly surprised by higher end gripshifters!!!

cheers
michael

Note that I'm not saying they shift on their own, or that they are poorly made. My point is that in times of fast riding over rough, undulating terrain when I want maximum control, I would need to relinquish some of that control in order to twist the shifter.

On the other hand if all I'm drifting along on a smooth as a baby's behind pine covered trail like in Marin , Grip Shift may be fine, then again I would ride a hard-tail there too.

In AZ where the trails are rough, I can go faster and longer on my dualie than my friends on their hardtails. My preference is for a rapidfire. If someone else comes up with a better pardigm I'll switch, Grip-Shift isn't the one for me.


If you've never neeeded to quickly shift into a lower gear as you're coming into the bottom of a ravine but need to hang on so your wheel stays pointed in the right direction, you haven't been going fast enough to notice the difference

Peace

 

[izzodesh]

rapid fire

break ur wrist or shift fast?
rapid fire for me!

 

[closesupport]

I have the earlier versions of shimano decore XT rapid fire, and it kills my thumb when shifting a lot. My thumb gets so painful that I reach over and shift with my left hand frequently. I haven't heard of others with this problem though, so it might just be me.
--Bob

maybe it is just you, i use bar end shifters, ergo levers on my training bike,
DEORE rapid fire on my Mtb, i have never experienced thumb pain.

i have however had grip shifts on my mtb that i thought where sh**, i wouldnt give them to a stranger they are poo! not only did i find myself changing gear when going over bumps, or changing gear after jumps. personally i think rapid fire are alot better smoother and easier to use.

 

[UMbiker06]

I run XTRs and they are a dream. Maybe we should post some gripshift reviews of the SRAM X.0 I heard they are good.

But rapidfire is sooo much easier.

 

[rudebalz]

Switching to rapid fire was the best thing I ever did. I seem to have alot more control

 

[SGSeries2]

It depends. For me, I use a rapid fire for my front derailleur, a grip shift for my rear derailleur, and a thumb shift for my internal hub. A grip shift on the front derailleur always seemed kind of clunky to me because I always had to turn it a lot more just to shift gears. A rapid fire for the front always gave me a quicker shift. 'course, that could be partially because the only grip shifts I've ever used were made in the mid nineties!

So, I'd say, if it's for the front, a rapid fire. If it's for the rear, grip shift for space and style or rapid fire for symmetry. (Preferably style for me.)

Does that mean I can't vote, or I get to vote twice?

 

[DiscGolfer]

Rapid fire shift all the way.
i used the grip shift, but then i felt rapid shift, and so much easier.

my parents bought me a grip shift bike though. and refused to get me a rapid fire one. kinda pisses me off.

Your parents buy it and you are ****** off? Jeez. Get a job or something.

 

[yukon_08]

As of right now I'm ridin a single speed (untill X-Mas anyway), but I've had my friend's bike for a week now, and I must say I like the rapid fire much better than the grip shift. My dad's old bike had the grip shift, up hills I always managed to accidently shift . Plus I just didn't like having to twist to shift.

 

[Steve420]

My grip shift has fallen apart off my iron horse g-out. Sholud i replace it with new gripshift or rapid fire?

I have tried my friends rapid fire and it felt a lot better than gripshift and my gripshift used to change gears sometimes, are all grip shift like that or did i get a **** one?

Here is a vote for gripshift (sort of). I have been on gripshift for several years now and really like them. I have also been with rapid fire for a while before that. I really don't have an extreme preference, but found that the grip shift (higher end product) can shift extremely fast....sudden uphill around the corner?? One twist of the wrist and !!! your in low gear....OR vice versa....sudden down hill....slight twist and your 9 gears lower...HOWEVER, if you are standing up...it is hard to move your hands to shift, which can cause you to have to sit down to grab hold of the grip shift. Sooo, to put an end to the chatter...they both have pros and cons...best bet may be to try both on a ride.

 

[HNS]

My grip shift has fallen apart off my iron horse g-out. Sholud i replace it with new gripshift or rapid fire?

I have tried my friends rapid fire and it felt a lot better than gripshift and my gripshift used to change gears sometimes, are all grip shift like that or did i get a **** one?

Demo. Try the grip shifter you would replace yours with and try the rapidfire you would replace your gripshift with and see which one you like better.

Even if one was better than the other, if it isn't better for you, then it isn't better.

Derek
Think

 

[Lonnie Utah]

I have the earlier versions of shimano decore XT rapid fire, and it kills my thumb when shifting a lot. My thumb gets so painful that I reach over and shift with my left hand frequently. I haven't heard of others with this problem though, so it might just be me.
--Bob

Bob,

My wife has the same problems. Considering a grip shifter for her....

L

 

[fattires]

I've used rapidfire for 10yrs ,love it!

 

[King Fisher]

My grip shift has fallen apart off my iron horse g-out. Sholud i replace it with new gripshift or rapid fire?

I have tried my friends rapid fire and it felt a lot better than gripshift and my gripshift used to change gears sometimes, are all grip shift like that or did i get a **** one?

From my small ammount of wrenching exp, I'd say definately go with the rapidfire and give the new guy at your Lbikeshop a break!!!

 

[gclark8]

Upgraded my 7 speed to 8, so I have a set of EF-29 Shimano 3/7 speed Rapid Fire shifters/levers to sell... Aus only, $50.

 

[King Fisher]

It depends. For me, I use a rapid fire for my front derailleur, a grip shift for my rear derailleur, and a thumb shift for my internal hub. A grip shift on the front derailleur always seemed kind of clunky to me because I always had to turn it a lot more just to shift gears. A rapid fire for the front always gave me a quicker shift. 'course, that could be partially because the only grip shifts I've ever used were made in the mid nineties!

So, I'd say, if it's for the front, a rapid fire. If it's for the rear, grip shift for space and style or rapid fire for symmetry. (Preferably style for me.)

Does that mean I can't vote, or I get to vote twice?

For the thumb problem, try rotating the shifter on the bar so your thumb is more comfortable, maybe even positioning the shifter closer or farther away on the handlebars will help? I had the same problem, then got inventive and started putting the shifter in different positions on the bar, I solved the problem by moving the thumb lever farther up under the bar so I wouldn't have to extend my thumb so far in order to shift. It was also a lot more intuitive to shift in that position.

Hope this helps!!

King

 

[Mr_Kingkillaha]

You appeared to answer your own question there.

Like rapid fire better? Go with rapid fire. Want something different? Go with rapid fire. I use it.

i think his question was- did he just get a crappy shifter on his bike.
and the answer is no. as far as i know, grip shift generally sucks all the time, you werent just unlucky this time.

 

[dan0512]

Rapid fire all the way, the grip shift on my older bike fell apart, I love my Shimano Alivio rapid fires...

Dan

 

[Serbian_SPIRIT]

Rapid fire

 

[guppie]

I went from Rapid Fire to SRAM x.9 trigger (had to change RDR). The SRAM setup is freaking awesome. However my new bike has XTR RDR and LX RF's. Its hard to go back to rapid fire and I don't want to buy another RDR to get back with SRAM. I know SRAM has the rocket triggers but its my understandig that they don't work as good as the Shimano sifters.

If you can, go with SRAM, better quality that Shimano. Gripshift is not my style so I stay away from them.

 

[hophead]

I switched over to grip shifters last year on the advice of one of my riding buddies. I replace my Shimano LX rear derailluer with a Sram XO and my triggers with 9.0 grip shifters. As long as the drivetrain is well maintained and the cables are properly adjusted, shifting is flawless. I've had no durability issues yet and neither has my friend who has been using them for several years. I'm also running a solid pin Sram PC-99 chain, XT casette, & XT crank & chainrings with no compatability issues.