No gear markings on SRAM Eagle 12 speed shifter?
06-21-22, 10:01 AM
#1
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No gear markings on SRAM Eagle 12 speed shifter?
I bought a used bike with the SRAM Eagle 12 speed gear setup with a grip shifter. I really like that 12 speed setup but what is weird to me that the grip shifter does not have any markings which indicate which gear I am in. I commute on my bike in city traffic and have quite a few stop and goes and I would like to know to shift down to the correct gear before I come to a stop so I can get going again in a gear neither too low or too high. But it is hard to tell how far to shift down not knowing which gear I am in right now.
Have people marked their shifters somehow?
Have people marked their shifters somehow?
06-21-22, 02:00 PM
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I'll never understand why people need numbers or some other indication to tell them what gear they're in. Road shifters don't have this. Mountain shifters don't have them. If you need to shift, shift. If you're slowing down for a stop you should know that you'll need to shift 2-3-4-5 gears to pull away. You don't need numbers. Just ride the bike.
06-21-22, 02:23 PM
#3
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If there's some particular gear you want indicated for some purpose, you could certainly mark an alignment line to serve this purpose. Just draw the line between the shifter body and the shifter grip while you're in that gear.
06-21-22, 06:58 PM
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Originally Posted by Harhir
But it is hard to tell how far to shift down not knowing which gear I am in right now.
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06-21-22, 07:20 PM
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Seeing as all you need is paint to add a gear indicator to grip-shifters, I don’t get why they would chose not to.
That said, you’ll soon find you don’t really need them.
That said, you’ll soon find you don’t really need them.
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06-21-22, 07:52 PM
#6
Banned.
When I was using 2x drivetrain, I did feel the need for rear shifter markings. My drivetrain had difficulty shifting into the "big-big" combo and tried to avoid that. It did prove not easy to know what gear I'm in the cassette when riding up mountains with gently varying gradients without any reference how steep you're going. Sometimes you see the road looks flat but might actually be about 10% steep.
Perhaps, if my 2x drivetrain shifted smoothly on all combos, I won't need the markings.
1x is a completely different story however. The drivetrain shifted perfectly on all cogs. So I don't really care which gear I'm in. I shift when needed with total disregard on what gear I'm on.
Perhaps, if my 2x drivetrain shifted smoothly on all combos, I won't need the markings.
1x is a completely different story however. The drivetrain shifted perfectly on all cogs. So I don't really care which gear I'm in. I shift when needed with total disregard on what gear I'm on.
06-21-22, 07:58 PM
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Luckily I can just look at or feel the position of my downtube shifters. If I’m unclear for some reason, I can just glance at my cassette.
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06-21-22, 08:20 PM
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Originally Posted by smd4
You should know by feel from the “gear you’re in right now” which gear you will need to be in to start from a stop, and shift accordingly.
06-22-22, 08:03 AM
#9
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Originally Posted by smd4
Luckily I can just look at or feel the position of my downtube shifters. If I’m unclear for some reason, I can just glance at my cassette.
06-22-22, 08:24 AM
#10
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Originally Posted by cxwrench
^This^ Exactly this. You should just know...if you're going 15 you might need to downshift 1-2 cogs...if you're going 20 then maybe 3-4. You should be able to feel what's going on when you're riding your bike.
06-22-22, 08:27 AM
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Just put a dot on the stationary part of the shifter next to where the rotating part is. Then put a dot on the moving part where it lines up with the stationary dot every 3 or 4 gears.
06-22-22, 08:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Harhir
I ride a recumbent. So glancing at my cassette is not possible without getting off my bike since the wide seat is kind of in front of it.
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06-22-22, 09:11 AM
#13
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Originally Posted by Harhir
It is not just 1-2 cogs. Going from start to 15 mph I guess I am going through 5-6 or more gears. Same the other way. Since I ride a recumbent it makes a big difference if I am starting on 2nd or 4th cog since I cannot use my body weight by standing up. Therefore it is important for me to know if I need to downshift 8, 5 or just 2 gears. Plus being on a recumbent I am constantly shifting up and down to get a similar spinning frequency in every gear. So I really don't know know what gear I am currently in without looking at my shifter. I may get used to it but for now I will mark my shifter. At least for the lower gears. It is my first bike in over 40 years which does not have gear shifters with markings on it.
This isn't that difficult.
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06-22-22, 09:12 AM
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There are a lot of things that seem to happen when gear indicators are brought up.
First off, those who rode miles and miles with down tube shifters, or bar cons, or thumbies, subconsciously glanced at the levers "every now and then" to see what gear they were riding in. There was no dishonor in easily gaining that knowledge back then. That said, for most riding it didn't matter.
But going from an era when there were no computers to tell you how fast you are going, it is humorous to hear comments about how much "feel can tell the rider everything". This is especially true today when some cyclists can't roll down their driveways without a giant screen telling them every stinking bit of data going on for each pedal stroke. So much for, "I feel I put out 230.659 watts on that last climb."
That said, it is a good thing that a rider has some sort of clue when riding along, (although at my age remembering my name without looking at my driver's license can sometimes be a success), and relying on gear indicators alone is probably not a good thing. It is always best to have enough feel to be able to survive a basic ride when there are more important things happening in traffic.
Then there are the shifters themselves. Most STI/trigger shifters need an additional mechanical gear indicator to show the gear. Grip shifters don't require that. There is actually no reason not to have some marking on a grip shifter. But at the risk of being called out, it is most likely that SRAM believes that real cyclists don't need them and they want to differentiate their high end products from those SRAM grip shift type products sold on low end bikes.
That is most likely why SRAM leaves off a seemingly innocuous feature that few cyclists will use. It is almost SRAM's way of saying, "We know you are going to take abuse by just using these, so we are going to try to make them look more "pro" and keep them blank.
Which is where these threads end up. A basic "if-then statement". If real cyclists don't need gear indicators, then needed them means you are not a real cyclist."
It is funny coming from an era of friction shifting and driving a car with an automatic transmission was sometimes a mark against one's manhood. It is just a bit of an odd cultural transformation.
John
First off, those who rode miles and miles with down tube shifters, or bar cons, or thumbies, subconsciously glanced at the levers "every now and then" to see what gear they were riding in. There was no dishonor in easily gaining that knowledge back then. That said, for most riding it didn't matter.
But going from an era when there were no computers to tell you how fast you are going, it is humorous to hear comments about how much "feel can tell the rider everything". This is especially true today when some cyclists can't roll down their driveways without a giant screen telling them every stinking bit of data going on for each pedal stroke. So much for, "I feel I put out 230.659 watts on that last climb."
That said, it is a good thing that a rider has some sort of clue when riding along, (although at my age remembering my name without looking at my driver's license can sometimes be a success), and relying on gear indicators alone is probably not a good thing. It is always best to have enough feel to be able to survive a basic ride when there are more important things happening in traffic.
Then there are the shifters themselves. Most STI/trigger shifters need an additional mechanical gear indicator to show the gear. Grip shifters don't require that. There is actually no reason not to have some marking on a grip shifter. But at the risk of being called out, it is most likely that SRAM believes that real cyclists don't need them and they want to differentiate their high end products from those SRAM grip shift type products sold on low end bikes.
That is most likely why SRAM leaves off a seemingly innocuous feature that few cyclists will use. It is almost SRAM's way of saying, "We know you are going to take abuse by just using these, so we are going to try to make them look more "pro" and keep them blank.
Which is where these threads end up. A basic "if-then statement". If real cyclists don't need gear indicators, then needed them means you are not a real cyclist."
It is funny coming from an era of friction shifting and driving a car with an automatic transmission was sometimes a mark against one's manhood. It is just a bit of an odd cultural transformation.
John
Last edited by 70sSanO; 06-22-22 at 09:15 AM.
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06-22-22, 09:26 AM
#15
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Originally Posted by 70sSanO
There are a lot of things that seem to happen when gear indicators are brought up.
First off, those who rode miles and miles with down tube shifters, or bar cons, or thumbies, subconsciously glanced at the levers "every now and then" to see what gear they were riding in. There was no dishonor in easily gaining that knowledge back then. That said, for most riding it didn't matter.
But going from an era when there were no computers to tell you how fast you are going, it is humorous to hear comments about how much "feel can tell the rider everything". This is especially true today when some cyclists can't roll down their driveways without a giant screen telling them every stinking bit of data going on for each pedal stroke. So much for, "I feel I put out 230.659 watts on that last climb."
That said, it is a good thing that a rider has some sort of clue when riding along, (although at my age remembering my name without looking at my driver's license can sometimes be a success), and relying on gear indicators alone is probably not a good thing. It is always best to have enough feel to be able to survive a basic ride when there are more important things happening in traffic.
Then there are the shifters themselves. Most STI/trigger shifters need an additional mechanical gear indicator to show the gear. Grip shifters don't require that. There is actually no reason not to have some marking on a grip shifter. But at the risk of being called out, it is most likely that SRAM believes that real cyclists don't need them and they want to differentiate their high end products from those SRAM grip shift type products sold on low end bikes.
That is most likely why SRAM leaves off a seemingly innocuous feature that few cyclists will use. It is almost SRAM's way of saying, "We know you are going to take abuse by just using these, so we are going to try to make them look more "pro" and keep them blank.
Which is where these threads end up. A basic "if-then statement". If real cyclists don't need gear indicators, then needed them means you are not a real cyclist."
It is funny coming from an era of friction shifting and driving a car with an automatic transmission was sometimes a mark against one's manhood. It is just a bit of an odd cultural transformation.
John
First off, those who rode miles and miles with down tube shifters, or bar cons, or thumbies, subconsciously glanced at the levers "every now and then" to see what gear they were riding in. There was no dishonor in easily gaining that knowledge back then. That said, for most riding it didn't matter.
But going from an era when there were no computers to tell you how fast you are going, it is humorous to hear comments about how much "feel can tell the rider everything". This is especially true today when some cyclists can't roll down their driveways without a giant screen telling them every stinking bit of data going on for each pedal stroke. So much for, "I feel I put out 230.659 watts on that last climb."
That said, it is a good thing that a rider has some sort of clue when riding along, (although at my age remembering my name without looking at my driver's license can sometimes be a success), and relying on gear indicators alone is probably not a good thing. It is always best to have enough feel to be able to survive a basic ride when there are more important things happening in traffic.
Then there are the shifters themselves. Most STI/trigger shifters need an additional mechanical gear indicator to show the gear. Grip shifters don't require that. There is actually no reason not to have some marking on a grip shifter. But at the risk of being called out, it is most likely that SRAM believes that real cyclists don't need them and they want to differentiate their high end products from those SRAM grip shift type products sold on low end bikes.
That is most likely why SRAM leaves off a seemingly innocuous feature that few cyclists will use. It is almost SRAM's way of saying, "We know you are going to take abuse by just using these, so we are going to try to make them look more "pro" and keep them blank.
Which is where these threads end up. A basic "if-then statement". If real cyclists don't need gear indicators, then needed them means you are not a real cyclist."
It is funny coming from an era of friction shifting and driving a car with an automatic transmission was sometimes a mark against one's manhood. It is just a bit of an odd cultural transformation.
John
If it gets harder...shift to easier. If it's too easy...shift to harder. When you run out of gears either work harder or get off and walk. If you run out of gears going down a hill..start coasting. Doesn't matter what gear you are in...just shift whenever necessary. Gear indicators quickly become irrelevant to riders as they gain familiarity with their bike.
I've had them in the past on bikes in the 80s and 90s and that was with 3x drivetrain...never used them.
06-22-22, 09:43 AM
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I apologize if I left anybody out.
Maybe the paddle shifter group with the gear indicator or the dash?
John
Maybe the paddle shifter group with the gear indicator or the dash?
John
06-22-22, 09:51 AM
#17
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Originally Posted by 70sSanO
I apologize if I left anybody out.
Maybe the paddle shifter group with the gear indicator or the dash?
John
Maybe the paddle shifter group with the gear indicator or the dash?
John
06-22-22, 10:11 AM
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Originally Posted by smd4
Then like I said: you should know by feel approximately what gear you’re in, and what gear you need to be in to start from a standstill.
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06-22-22, 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by livedarklions
If you're at a standstill, it is literally impossible to know by feel what gear you are in.
John
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06-22-22, 10:27 AM
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Originally Posted by prj71
You are complicating this more than it needs to be. It's a physical characteristic that you can feel with your legs and lungs. Knowing how fast you are going or how many watts you are putting down is much different than the physical feeling in your legs and lungs.
If it gets harder...shift to easier. If it's too easy...shift to harder. When you run out of gears either work harder or get off and walk. If you run out of gears going down a hill..start coasting. Doesn't matter what gear you are in...just shift whenever necessary. Gear indicators quickly become irrelevant to riders as they gain familiarity with their bike.
I've had them in the past on bikes in the 80s and 90s and that was with 3x drivetrain...never used them.
If it gets harder...shift to easier. If it's too easy...shift to harder. When you run out of gears either work harder or get off and walk. If you run out of gears going down a hill..start coasting. Doesn't matter what gear you are in...just shift whenever necessary. Gear indicators quickly become irrelevant to riders as they gain familiarity with their bike.
I've had them in the past on bikes in the 80s and 90s and that was with 3x drivetrain...never used them.
06-22-22, 10:30 AM
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Originally Posted by Harhir
I ride a recumbent. So glancing at my cassette is not possible without getting off my bike since the wide seat is kind of in front of it.
Originally Posted by 70sSanO
In defense of the no gear indicator group, I have found it a lot easier to glance at the cassette while at a complete stop. And if you are in the wrong gear it is a good lesson.
John
John
Ahem......
I ride a DD, and I'm with you on that, but OP doesn't and can't.
06-22-22, 10:47 AM
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Originally Posted by prj71
You are complicating this more than it needs to be.
The OP wants a gear indicator. Some people like them. Pretty simple.
And rather than giving him useful suggestions, everyone is instead telling him he should not be wanting one.
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06-22-22, 11:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Kapusta
And rather than giving him useful suggestions, everyone is instead telling him he should not be wanting one.
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06-22-22, 11:32 AM
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If the OP is still following this thread:
The simplest fix would be to buy a compatible Grip Shift setup (i.e., one with the same cable pull ratio) from a lower model tier, one that shows the gear numbers. I've put many thousands of miles on a 1995 Cannondale hybrid with lower-level numbered Grip Shift shifters, and they still work perfectly, so the quality is there.
If you buy just the right-side shifter, which I imagine is the one you really need, it should cost around $30 or under. Very easy to install and adjust. Watch a couple of YouTube videos if in doubt.
The simplest fix would be to buy a compatible Grip Shift setup (i.e., one with the same cable pull ratio) from a lower model tier, one that shows the gear numbers. I've put many thousands of miles on a 1995 Cannondale hybrid with lower-level numbered Grip Shift shifters, and they still work perfectly, so the quality is there.
If you buy just the right-side shifter, which I imagine is the one you really need, it should cost around $30 or under. Very easy to install and adjust. Watch a couple of YouTube videos if in doubt.
