Guys thanks for the feedback. I did not want to start a philosophical discussion here. All valid points brought up. I am going to use a simple approach and just use some paint or markers on my shifter. I really only want a visual gear indicator to make sure I am getting down to a good gear to start before I have to come to a stop. And there are plenty of them on my ride to work.

I love the people who keep saying you should be able to feel what gear you're in. Have they never encountered a headwind?

Too late!

Well, "What gear you're in" may mean simply how hard that gear is in the context of the gradient and the direction and speed of the wind. I rarely know without looking which cog I'm in, and sometimes I don't even know which chainring - sometimes I'm surprised to find myself trying to sprint in the small ring or climb in the big. Of course, this only happens on the bikes with 10 or 11 speeds in back.

I don't have a preferred gear for any particular situation. As I'm slowing down to a stop, I change gears so I'm in a gear that feels like what I'll need to start. Back when I was trying to get my kids into cycling, they had Grip Shift with numbers, and they'd ask me what number they should be in, which was impossible to answer, of course, since I wasn't riding their bike.

A thought - maybe we need gear indicators that work like CX bar-top levers when not in use. Say at the inboard end of our handlebar tape. Have a band that clamps round the HB with two cable housing stops. In between, an indicator clamped on to the cable corresponding to the gear. Done right, it could be small, barely noticeable, near friction free, simple and reliable.

I won't invent this. I'm still riding those easy to see DTs but those who feel the need should don their thinking caps.

Edit: I too was one who thought (and almost commented) "why no just look down?". Glad I didn't. (Now, a mirror could be set up in the right place to make that look easier, but I wouldn't. But I might scrounge the closet for that magic cap.)

This is bike forums. When somebody asks "how do I do this?" the standard answer is "you're wrong for wanting or needing to".

I propose Lycrasplaining as the term for "real cyclists don't..." type of correction.


How about Schwinnsplaining for the reverse snob "it's all market hype for suckers" kind of correction?
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Enjoy! Now's the part of the thread where we goof on the people who went after you.

Lower the blast shield as use the force.

I'll get the popcorn. :popcorn

This is obviously the sort of issue that demands managers be talked to.

Wow. Out of thin air, you've somehow identified Sram's "most likely" reasoning, and presented it as though they actually thought it and said it. You have amazing powers of conjecture.

I think he basically got it right.

They chose not to include something that some people might want that would pose zero downside and (for all practical purposes) no extra expense.

Really, the only explanation that makes a lick of sense to me is that they thought the cool kids would make fun of them.

If you are at a standstill...you aren't shifting gears.

How could you not know unless your legs and lungs are numb? If I want a lower gear, I shift down. If I want a higher gear, I shift up. If I can't shift either direction, then I know I'm in my lowest or highest gear. I don't need a visual indicator to explain the obvious to me.

When I'm on a MTB trail there is no time to check the chosen gear (risk of crashing) and it is mostly irrelevant to have the gear displayed. There is only one chainring so just shift the gears for the given riding conditions...by feeling

When I'm on a road bike there is no time to check gears either cruising along at 18-22 mph. Again...it's easy to feel if you are in the right gear.

That would be a correct statement.

Numerous times. 20 mph headwinds on my 51 mile ride this past Tuesday. Guess what...It felt hard to pedal...So I switched to an easier gear so I wouldn't blow up my legs and lungs for the remaining 25 miles home into the wind.. Pretty darn simple.

But then there is Di2. If someone is so inclined to go to Shimano’s electronic shifting system, you can add a digital display that prominently shows the gear.

I know Di2 is UCI compliant, although the digital display may not be, but it is somewhat ironic.

But there is some sense to it. The mechanical gear indicators are a bit funky, especially the inline ones. But with electronics it is not an issue; even if it is merely an unneeded convenience for some.

Maybe someday we can remove our feelings from the sport and just ride.

John

Apparently this was covered here 7 years ago. The overall consensus back then (like now) is by feel.

https://www.bikeforums.net/hybrid-bi...-shifters.html

NOT a safe thing to do.

By the time you put your eyes back to the road, your front wheel is about to roll into a giant pothole or there's big truck stopped right in front of you and it's too late to evade.

You don't really need to know what gear you're on if your drivetrain is shifting through the whole range including cross-chaining without any problems. Especially on 1x. Shift as you need. Downshift at least two gears when coming to a stop but that will depend on the gapping of your cogs and the size of your cassette. On a tight range cassette, you'll have to downshift a lot more.

For gripshift, nothing could be simpler. Its just paint.

Consensus is utterly irrelevant, here.

Agree.

John

You have got to be kidding. Your assumption is that the rider will not look in front of them and make sure the distance covered while looking down at their cassette, which takes about 1 second, isn't occupied by a giant pothole and/or big truck.

Here's where you all go off the beam. I don't use them, but I don't think I or anyone else is qualified to tell someone who finds them useful that they shouldn't. Why should any individual rider care about the consensus of people who aren't on the bike with him?