beauknowsdiddly

Hey everyone!
I need help figuring out what shifters to get. I have an old Denali 7005 21 speed road bike with the twist shifters which need replacing. Shimano Revo 3x7. I would prefer to keep the twist kind so I ordered these cheap ones, "MEGHNA Bicycle 21 Speed Shifter Twist Shifter Lever 3 x 7 Speed Grip Shift* from amazon
and no way will they fit around my drop handlebars. The original ones were quite the pain to get off. Can you recommend any twist ones that will work? What should I get?

Thank you, thank you!
Beau

ScottCommutes

Twist shifters on drop handlebars? That's new to me. You might strike out on that one. Fortunately, there are other shifters that would at least work. If you don't get an answer here, try your local bike shop - they have suppliers and could probably look that up for you to see what's available.

LesterOfPuppets

Some of those Denalis had split handlebars so you could undo the stem and then remove the shifters that way.

Although the original Gripshifts in the early '90s were made for road bars, the vast majority are made for MTB bars which have a skinnier bar. Not sure what the shifters that came on the Denalis were like.

choddo

Those shifters are for very old bikes or maybe some kids bikes. 22.8mm (7/8 in) - your bars are probably 1inch and maybe 1.25 inch where they meet the stem.

Saw an Amazon ad that said “will fit most bikes”. Absolute BS.

edit: although this site claims the Revoshift shifters are also for 7/8in bars. Interesting.

Shimano don’t specify. Have you measured your bars?

beauknowsdiddly

Holy crap! I believe they ARE split bars. Let me see if I can figure out how to get them apart! Thank you! I'll let you know

bboy314

This should be the ticket. Any Denalis I’ve seen with grip shifters have the split handlebar, bolted together through the sleeve at the stem clamp.

bboy314

22.2mm, or 7/8”, is the diameter that the vast majority of grip shifters fit, as well as other non-drop handlebar controls. The Denali is an outlier, using 22.2mm shifters on a drop bar, hence the split in the middle of the bar.

BTinNYC 

Microshift Mezzo thumbshifters $15
Might need to use a wrap of old tube as a shim.

dedhed

​​​​​​https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...drop-bars.html

choddo

Thanks. So are most MTB bars 22.2 at the ends? I’ve replaced grip shifters once with thumb shifters and they were the same diameter clamp. It was a while back and I don’t remember checking the bar diameter.

bboy314

Yes, 22.2 is pretty much the standard grip diameter for MTB bars. Really most handlebars other than drop and a few mustache bars.

wheelreason

I would have thought there would be more of a weight difference between a Denali and a Denali...

LesterOfPuppets

Same here, but the road bike Denalis are only a few pounds heavier than the MTB Denalis

veganbikes

I mean if you can split the bars go for it otherwise I would avoid putting much money towards that bike. It is made from old boat anchors and hope.

beauknowsdiddly

LOL I've had the thing for so long it's kinda grown on me.

beauknowsdiddly

I like that idea! The new ones I got are crappy pieces of plastic! I hate them. I'll be doing something different for sure. $88 bucks for the end ones though.... and could I use a 3x9 shifter on a 3x7 bike? A little expensive but that might just be the route to go. The bars do split. I got them apart and they slid on just fine. I wish I knew about the split bars before I attempted to take the left shifter off. I got it off only in about 20 pieces LOL. Live and learn! I'm probably going to end up replacing both derailleurs as well as the back wheel. So now I have to figure out what to get there as well. Thank you everyone for your help! You guys are awesome!

choddo

That’s still considerably less than a pair of STI brifters which are de rigeur on drop bars.

Two other options which I think are worth considering:
bar end friction shifters. More elegant than gripshifts and without the indexing hassle.

in-bar thumb shifters. I just much prefer these on flat bars to gripshifts.

hokiefyd 

If you otherwised liked the original Revoshift shifters, then I'd order up a new pair of them. Your original ones were probably SL-RS25 or SL-RS35...which are on the lower end of the Revoshift line. I recommend the SL-RS45 or SL-RS47...whatever you can find easily. These, with the silver bodies, have a much nicer shift feel than the lower grade ones. Pulling cable feels about the same between the two, but letting cable out is much nicer on the higher grade ones. The low grade ones just have a harsh snap-snap-snap feel, but the higher grade ones have some sort of clutch or slip mechanism inside to where you apply twist force and the cable is released somewhat slowly to where it's not just a snap/bang. It's not a 1:1 movement.

Hard to describe, but easy to appreciate, if you've felt the difference between the two.

veganbikes

If stuff is growing on you I highly recommend a shower and cleaning the bike as well. Bikes shouldn't have anything growing out of them or from them. All around bad show.

People do silly things with their Denalis but don't put a bunch into it trust me even if you have had it a while there are so many bikes to be had that you will soon forget about that one.

beauknowsdiddly

Hey, thank you hokiefyd. The specs just say the originals were " Revo SIS" I'm sure there's more to it than just REVO SIS, but I went ahead and ordered the SL-RS45's. Couldn't find an SL-RS47.

Thanks again!

hokiefyd 

It looks like the SL-RS47 might be 3x8 only...so you did good with the 45s. I hope you like them!

beauknowsdiddly

So now I'm slightly confused. (not hard to do btw) But you left me a picture/link to the RS41's and I ordered the RS45's. Which ones are better?

choddo

No there seems to be a 7 speed version of that but I’m sure he’s fine with the 45 since he couldn’t find a 47 anyway.

hokiefyd 

There is a lot of variation in the Shimano Revoshift line. The RS41s also have a silver body, and I think they share the more premium feeling "overrunning action" of the RS45s and RS47s. The RS41s have a slightly different gear display type. Functionally, as long as you buy the model with the number of speeds that matches your crankset and cassette or freewheel, they all should work about the same. In general, the higher the number in Shimano's nomenclature, the more premium the product, at least relative to its peers.

If you ordered the RS45 in 3x7 format, it should work on your bike...and I think you'll be happy with how they work and feel, especially compared with the Revoshift model that probably came on the bike (which is probably an RS25 or RS35).

beauknowsdiddly

Yeah I put these on and what a piece of plastic crap they are! (I cant' post links to show you yet) but they are the "MEGHNA Bicycle 21 Speed Shifter Twist Shifter Lever 3 x 7 Speed Grip Shift Left and Right Shifter" I got from Amazon. Thanks again! I'm sure those will be much better!