What is needed when changing gear leavers from gribshift to leavers

[Rippie]

Hi everyone,

I would like to ask what is needed if I want to get away from GribShift to proper shifters? My Ammaco Ethos has 21 gears with 3 in the front and 7 at the back. I know they are Shimano, but cant remember the model.

my bike: http://www.cycleking.co.uk/AMMACO-ETHOS-ALLOY-GENTS-5-9-product-237.html

Example of shifters i was thinking of: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=40547


Any help is much appreciated.

Rippie

 

[Froze]

Grip shifts are just as proper as lever shifters, it just depends on the application and personal preference. Obviously if you're going from flat bars to curved bars you may want to levers, other wise there's no need to make a change unless you want to. I have a couple of mountain bikes and one has levers and the other has twisters, I actually prefer the twister grip shifters because if I crash and burn or the bike hits something the griper shifters won't break whereas the levers could snap off...which I've had happen!

 

[alfeng]

FWIW. Well, your current rear wheel may use a Freewheel AND may-or-not have a Freehub ...

• if your rear wheel does not have a Freehub ([COLOR= #808080]and, even if it does[/COLOR]), then you will probably want a new rear hub onto which your current rim will have to be relaced OR a complete, new rear wheel ...
• if your rear wheel has a cassette, then you can just use a SHORT STACK ([COLOR= #0000ff]8-out-of-9-cogs[/COLOR]) on the "compact" Shimano Freehub body

You would need a [COLOR= #ff0000]9-speed Shiman-or-SRAM CASSETTE [/COLOR]...

You probably would need [COLOR= #ff0000]a different Shimano rear derailleur [/COLOR]since most 7-speed rear derailleurs have fatter pulley wheels (this is really only an issue with regard to spoke clearance when the chain is on the largest cog) ...

You would need a[COLOR= #ff0000] 9-speed Shimano chain[/COLOR] ...

You would need a new, [COLOR= #ff0000]9-speed Shimano FRONT derailleur [/COLOR]...

If you can do the work yourself ([COLOR= #ff8c00]including relacing & truing the rear wheel[/COLOR]), then you need to [COLOR= #ff0000]add at least $100[/COLOR] to the cost of the shifters ... some rear derailleurs cost more than $100, so you probably want to be as wise a shopper as you can be unless you happen to have an unlimited budget ...

• if you have an LBS do the work, look to double-or-more whatever amount you would spend if it is a DIY upgrade ...
• the least expensive components which your LBS will 'have' will probably be LX
• eBay will probably be your best friend for most of the components you choose to buy

I'm a big fan of updating-and-upgrading ... BUT, it is fraught with hazards (mostly, financial) if you don't know what you are doing.

• most of the components you buy for your current can be moved to another bike in the future if you deem that to be worthwhile

I am ALSO a big fan of GripShifts, BTW ... there are advantages to GripShifts beyond what Froze mentioned.

 

[Froze]

Since Alfeng didn't go into more detail about grip shifters I thought I would. Keep in mind that the reason I like grip shifters is because I don't due any radical off road stuff, while there are many advantages of grip shifters there are advantages for lever shifters as we. If your doing MTB racing you may want lever shifters so when your using the handlebars to jump over stuff, climbing or pulling a twist shifter could accidental twist due to you applying force on the shifter grip to perform certain stunts. People who get radical off road tend toward levers. I've done quite a bit of off road stuff but nothing extreme so the amount of pressure I put on the grips I've been able to keep the shifter from moving but mine is fairly stiff. But I like the grip shifters also due to not having to think about which lever to press, I just twist and I'm done, also in that same vein I can rapidly twist the shifter from one extreme to the next if needed. Grip shifters are also less expensive, especially in your case because that's what you already have! But if yours need replacing a quality grip shifter is about 1/2 the price of a quality lever shifter. SRAM makes some really nice twisters. There may be more ideas Alfeng can provide that I probably missed.

I've seen some MTB'rs mix theirs with twist for the front and levers for the rear, never asked why they do that though, maybe so they can trim the front?

Your going to run into arguments pro and con for both depending on that persons opinion, some will hate one and love the other, me I wouldn't go as far as to say I hate one over the other, but I do prefer one over the other. If possible I suggest you ride a bike that has levers doing the kind of riding you do with your current bike and see which you like.

Like Alfeng said, we could go on and on about this stuff, you just need to decide what will best work for your needs and budget.