On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 06:07:25 +0000, anonymous coward
<
[email protected]> (
[email protected])
wrote:
>Whingin' Pom wrote:
>> Good. I'm not keen on twist-grips, so this is very useful
>> to know.
>>
>>>You would probably want the SACHS 3-speed hub-gear
>>>shifter that is compatible with the hub gears, and your
>>>choice of Shimano compatible shifter for the rear-mech.
>>>SRAM Head office were very helpful to me in determining
>>>what would / wouldn't work - I think my LBS gave me the
>>>number but I've lost it now - sorry.
>>
>> OK, I'll see if I can find some details on it.
>
>The bad news is it's a twist-grip shifter. I did read on
>the internet that you could use the old Sturmey-Archer
>ones, but this seems to be a lie.
Oh well.
>>>> It looks as though it might be a little awkward with
>>>> Optima's upwards-and-forwards USS bars though.
>
>As you push the handlebars round on an USS bike, your hand
>twists around the handlebars. It sounds to me like it might
>be awkward with twist-grip shifters - though lots of people
>seem to sell them like that and I expect to be told it's
>not a problem.
This is why twist-grips seem less than ideal to me.
>>>>> Which shifters would be best to use for underseat
>>>>> steering? I like the look of the shorty or rocket
>>>>> shifters as I assume that I'll be able to operate them
>>>>> with my thumbs, but they move in a horizontal plane as
>>>>> opposed to a vertical one. Where does the cable go for
>>>>> them?
>
>These are twist-grip shifters.
>
>
http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Shifter/product_78845.shtml
>
>The cable comes out of the sticky-out bit at the silver
>plasticy business end of the shifter that is in a fixed position-
>not the twist-grip end. They don't need to be routed
>through the bars. I don't think you'd need to mod them - my
>only worry would be that they might get totalled if you lay
>your bike heavily on its side (i.e. fall off, or maybe
>that's just me).
Ahh! It all slots into place, now. Without having had
previous experience of these, I'd assumed that the silver
plasticy bit did the shifting whilst the black rubbery bit
attached to the bars! <slaps forehead>
So, you twist the black bit to shift gear. That's not what I
assumed and not really what I'm after. I'm not even sure
that they make what I'm after, now!
>> Hmm... I may be confusing terminology here. What I have
>> is the Shimano shifters that look like little levers and
>> fit into the ends of the bars with the levers pointing in
>> an upwards direction and are pushed/pulled with the
>> thumbs.
>
>I think the problem's me writing muddledly again - those
>sound like what I'm calling 'thumbshifters' - actually bar-end-
>shifters. I think they're great
>- a shame if you have to get rid of them.
I don't mind the indexed one, it clicks between gears quite
nicely, but the friction one is driving me round the bend.
>> What I'd like are shifters that move in a rotational
>> direction, IYSWIM. I'm pretty handy with a Dremel, so if
>> they need modding slightly in order to run the cable
>> through, that's not a problem.
>
>I'm not sure I know what you mean.
Neither am I, now! What would be perfect would be something
shaped similar to twist-grips, but with the grip staying
fixed and the cable-holder bit doing the moving, so that I
can flick them with my thumbs in a left/right fashion rather
than bar-ends which move in a forward/back fashion. Given
that I now realise I've been talking Total Bollocks, this
may not make much sense at all.
>> Heh. It's the front mech that I'm having trouble with and
>> want to lose. I've set it up and trimmed it the best I
>> can, but it still makes a bloody awful noise when
>> shifting and takes a couple of attempts to get it in the
>> "sweet spot".
>
>Might there be something wrong with the existing one?
>Perhaps it would be cheapest just to change it to
>something better?
It's a possibility. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong
with it to me, but I could be wrong.
The LBS's round here are not much help if you're not riding
either the latest CF road bike or several thousand dollars
of double-boinger. The one that has the best stock seems to
delight in using tech-speak as a stick to beat less
knowledgable customers with. <sigh> I miss my LBS in
Blighty. They were nice. They didn't mind if I talked out my
**** and would gently correct me, rather than rub my nose in
it.
Back to the drawing board I suppose.
>>
>> Now a Rohloff is what I *want*. What I can afford,
>> though, is another matter. I could buy a new Brommie for
>> the cost of a Rohloff. :-(
>
>I think you can also get geared bottom brackets now - I
>have no idea whether they're good, bad or indifferent.
I've heard many good things about them and have tried one
fitted to a Greenspeed. My ideal commuter bike would have a
MountainDrive on the front and a Rohloff on the back giving
me a nice 2x14 range. It would also be a trike.
--
Matt K Dunedin, NZ
