MicroSHIFT - Who Are They?
 

I was at a bike store recently and was told that MicroSHIFT is owned by SRAM and is their lower end brand. I had not heard of this and couldn't find anything online to substantiate this. Can anyone provide any insight into this? In the end it doesn't matter much but I'm certainly curious!

Might as well add the following in now as it'll come up.

"..and is MicroNew the same as MicroShift?"

Have never seen any evidence of that (and they don't use similar mechanisms for their shifters, so at least they don't share technology).

MicroShift is a Taiwanese company, I think founded in the '80s as part of the country's broader industrialization. I can't find any evidence of it having been bought out by SRAM.

MicroShift indeed produces more budget oriented components than SRAM, more comparable to Shimano's lower end like Tiagra and that level of gravel/mountain stuff. I have MicroShift trigger shifters that I got to replace the original twist shifters on my commuter hardtail MTB. They work fine for a bike that I expect will be stolen someday, their performance is solidly in line with their price point.

I recently build up a bike for my daughter with their integrated brake/shift levers (and RD, had a used Ultegra FD that went on front). I like that their up and down levers are separate from each other and from the brake. They won't replace my nice Campagnolos, but it seems to be a very solid design for a fairly inexpensive setup. Shifting was fairly crisp form what I saw even under a little load (hard pedaling on flats), but it was hard for me to give it too much of a test in use as it's a frame 12 cm or so smaller than what I prefer.

i used the bar end shifters for 8 years with no problems.

First I've heard of MicroNEW, thank you for introducing me to another budget option! I think I will start a bicycle component company and name it MicroINSERTALLCAPSSOMETHING.

I'd consider MicroSHIFT for converting an older 3x MTB to a 1x but there are also used or downmarket options if you can live with 1x9 or 1x10.

I have heard good things about their bar end shifters. The DA bar ends on my touring bike are showing their age. I might replace them with MicroShifts.

I have never heard of Microshift being owned by SRAM. This is the first time, actually. Microshift does not have any verbiage on their site to support this, nor does SRAM. SRAM very much advertises which brands they own- RockShox, ZIPP, Avid, Quark, and more.
https://www.sram.com/en/company/about/history

I would be wary of any shop that claims this sort of thing. Also, perhaps the shop is confusing SENSAH with Microshift. SENSAH is a Chinese brand that was started a handful of years ago by some people who used to work at a SRAM factory in China. Even if they are confusing the two, that sets off a signal that the person at that shop is not who should be working and advising customers.

Micronew is a brand that ripped off Microshift's external routed cable shifters. I have used two sets of Micronew and they feel and perform identically to Microshift's external routed cable shifters.

Microshift is a legitimate brand that makes road and MTB shifters. Their bar end shifters are very well made(the design should be tough to screw up) and they have expanded their lineup considerably in the last few years. They have Shimano compatible drop bar 1x, external and internal routed drop bar shifters, and even their own integrated line of 1x called ADVENT that is both flat bar and drop bar applicable. One of my family's bikes has 1x9 ADVENT and its so good I am going to put some drop bar ADVENT on one of my kid's road bikes this winter.

My daughter's bike has Microshift 1x9 Mezzo drivetrain on it. It's got an 11-36 cassette which provides a pretty big gear range for a kids bike. The trigger shifters work great.
I've been impressed with how well it shifts considering the price point.

I don't think SRAM has anything to do with Microshift. They seem to be direct competitors at the entry level end of things.

I don't know the history of the company but I have a set of their shifters on my flatbar gravel. Frankly they shift just as good as any lower end Shimano part IMO but maybe with a more clicky feel

At one point REI was specing at least one of its touring/adventure bikes with them. Might still be. I think that’s how I first heard about them. I think I was reading a review of an REI bike.

I have some Microshift stuff on 2 bikes. It works great. I suspect the shop was conflating Microshift and Grip Shift. Grip Shift is Sram.

Griftshift??

I think it was a mistake between GripShift and MicroShift. MicroShift makes plenty of cheap stuff but they do make some decent stuff as well nothing super high end but functional. They do make shifters that others aren't making anymore like thumbies and bar end/downtube shifters which is nice.

They are not owned by SRAM unless there was a secret backdoor deal that was never mentioned anywhere and told to anyone and didn't leak out anywhere.

MicroShift is not owned by SRAM and most of their line is Shimano compatible. They make budget priced components that work reliably. Their higher end stuff is similar in weight to higher end Shimano stuff and works just as well, in my experience. The clicks are louder and shifts are more positive, which some people don't like. I find the more positive confirmation of the shift to be an improvement over Shimano's "light action" shifting.

If you find the long throw of shifting Shimano brake levers awkward, Microshift is the way to go.

I have Microshift R8 brifters on a 3 X 8 drop bar 1988 GT Karakoram with 105 derailleurs and a Microshift R9 3 X 9 drivetrain on a 1990 Diamonback Interval road bike and I am quite pleased with both. I'm going R9 on another build as well.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e0d2e44004.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6098c57015.jpg

I've used thumb shifters in 3x9 and replaced some Ultegra brake/shifter levers with Microsoft. Good stuff. Never heard anyone complain about them.

Only problem is the Microsoft brake/shifter levers are vulnerable to hacking. :lol:

It seems like Microshift is at least as good a value for dollar as its competitors. But you need a breakthrough to get household brand recognition outside of us bike nerds. Raleigh 3-speeds, Schwinn stingray, Specialized mountain bikes, Shimano shifting, RockShox. SRAM (the part of it that used to be Sachs) finally broke though on drivetrains with XX1/XO1. Basically no one cared up until then. Microshift haven't had one.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then maybe we can trust them now since Micronew thinks them good enough to rip off

That’s why you buy the annual protection and update every week.

Microshift is founded by the lead vocalist:

it's all shifty with the brand names. the meaning for COO has faded into being a multifaceted franchise.

I have Sensah SRX Pro 1x11 on my bike and it's great. Very precise shifting for a price well below that of Shimano or SRAM. And they're legit, too, given that State bicycles uses them as their OEM drivetrain manufacturer.