kach

for the last 4 years I have been driving with shifters gevenalle and microshift 11 speed deraileur
and trp spire brakes
now I am building a new bike and I am thinking of upgrading the transmission to hydraulic brakes I think about gevenalle with trp hylex
because the new frame has a flat mount
maybe I should look at other manufacturers and why?
although I really love gevenalle
thanks

PedalingWalrus

I have no idea what gevenalle is. Should I google it?
brb

PedalingWalrus

ok. I"m back. Those are sweet! I would love to try them.

https://www.gevenalle.com/shifters/

HelpSingularity 

I've been intrigued by the Gevenalle shifters for a while now. I mostly use bar end shifters and friction on my bikes.
Have you used bar end shifters and if so can you compare the two? Do you feel like there are any negatives in terms of riding experience to making the switch? TIA

PedalingWalrus

A friend just texted me he had fear that if the bike fell down he would break the shifter…

masi61

Shimano GRX or Campagnolo Ekar gravel groupsets come to mind as alternatives to your Gevrnalle setup but if you are happy with the Gevenalle and they have the Hylix hydraulic ones you need in stock I’d say stick with what you know:

kach

I used bar end shifters
but I didn’t like having to take my hand off the hood every time I shifted
with Gevenalle I can't shift from the drop of my bar but that doesn't bother me

base2 

TRP Hylex are great. Though to be honest I have mine paired to Shimano post mount calipers.

That they only come mated to flat mount calipers now to serve flat mount frames kind of sux. But, whatever. All indications are they think post mount & IS mount bike frames are for losers...or something. They were unavailable for long enough due to supply chain issues they lost a sale from me. I cobbled mine together second-hand after 18 months of searching & patiently waiting. So, it's their loss, really.

It does seem that being unavailable in post mount seems like a missed opportunity to serve a huge swath of market.

Gevenalle shifters are pretty awesome. Even if the indexing is never as precise as I'd like. The friction mode & location more than makes up for it. Don't waste your time getting on their email list to be notified for hydraulic post mount brake availability. It'll never happen since they are dependent on the whims of another and TRP would rather you use Shimano post mount calipers than sell you their own or meet their customers needs.

SMH.

HelpSingularity 

Thanks kach . That is something I didn't even think about. I ride 90+ % on the hoods so that is cool. One of my main issues is just getting the bar ends out of the way so they don't get knocked around when I'm off the bike. So that is something to think about. Thanks again.

kach

and another gevenalel uses a super simple microshift shifter that is less likely to break from a fall than brifters
i have never used it but they have a broken parts repair program
right now the required shifters are out of stock in portland
but in the morning I ordered a hylex brake conversion kit
and order trp hylex brakes separately
keep you posted

masi61

I’ll be interested for your update.

I have the “Retroshift” (what Gevenalle was called before they changed their name) Audax brake levers with generic shifter braze-on posts running Shimano 105SC 7x3 gearing on my commuter bike. This setup works perfectly. Yeah the shift lever dangle off the front of the Tektro sourced aero brake levers but I have crashed out on dirt and all that happened was one lever twisted sideways a bit.
I am going to be building up a disc brake titanium frame and I am using mountain specific Industry 9 disc hubs that take no more than a road 10 speed cassette so I thought of using Gevenalle 2x10 shifters with hydraulic (Hylix) option.

mstateglfr 

I used 11sp Gevenalle shifters on my gravel bike for years and loved em. Loved em so much I chose to keep them and use hybrid disc brakes for a year on my current disc gravel frame.
They were simple, reliable, and comfortable.

There is absolutely 0 concern that my STI shifters, whether hydraulic or mechanical, are more likely to actually brake due to drop or crash compared to the Gevenalle shifters.

Polaris OBark

I took the hylex and (equivalent) microshift bar end shifters off of my touring bike and put on GRX hydraulics instead.

Frankly, I think it is much better.

I had to apply so much force to the left shifter it started to destroy itself inside the handlebar. As for the hydraulic brake calipers, I had to ditch the TRP calipers and put on Shimano (XT level I think). The levers themselves are actually reasonably good.

veganbikes

I would just stick with the Gevenalle with TRP Hylex. You can get the Hylex in flat mount these days and I bet Gevenalle has them or can get them or can sell you levers just as levers possibly or just the blades to replace the Hylex flat mounts.

Campagnolo Ekar intrigues me to no end and I really want to build a bike just to try it out but know that I want Koga Denham or VO Crazy Bars on my next gravel build and don't want some weird set up with Ergopower levers set up oddly. I don't dislike drop bars but I really love the Denhams and have enough drop bar stuff.

kach

i builded a couple of bikes on the campa ekar drivetrain
but never went to them.
i don't like campa because they use a lot of proprietary standards like freehub,
chain wringer and more
Ekar is interesting for me with 13 speeds, but the huge cable loop at the derailleur hides me

DonkeyShow

Just buy brifters with the thumb downshifting. They're old and crappy soo should be cheap but can provide a similar shifting speed.

kach

are you talking to me about old hydraulic brifters?
my criteria for hydraulic levers for a drop bar
and compatible with shimano 11 speed mtb derailleur

Tourist in MSN

Not sure what you have against Campy brifters, but that is my preference for brifters on the bikes where I use them. Photo is my road bike from the day I took it out of the box five years ago. I do not think five years is THAT old.



That said, this is the touring forum so I will point out that I prefer bar end shifters for touring on a derailleur bike. I have brifters on my road and rando bikes.

DonkeyShow

Didn't know Campy did those. I actually like the thumbies on my old shimanos. Thought they had mostly been phased out.

Tourist in MSN

I did not know Shimano used a thumb lever.

veganbikes

I mean everyone is using a proprietary freehub these days. Microspline, N3W, XD, XDR. We also had Uniglide back in the day, plus various freewheel threadings. Not sure what a chain wringer is but I am guessing reading the rest of the post I am guessing English is not first language.

Ekar is neat though.

himespau 

For my touring build (10 speed long cage rear Shimano and a triple), I'm debating between DA downtube shifters on Kelly Take-offs (have them), Campagnolo 10 speed shifters with a Jtek Shiftmate (have it), or the Diacompe Wing Shifters (don't have them but really want them).
The DT shifters with the Take Offs are nice (had them on my commuter for a while) because they're bomb proof. Bike gets banged up while parked at work and RD gets out of alignment? Switch it over to friction and off you go. Can't easily shift from the drops though and they stick out a fair ways into the area where I'd like to have my bag/horn.

The Campagnolo shifters are nice. Have them on all my other bikes. Shifting from anywhere is great. Not quite as bomb proof (something I'm a bit more concerned about with touring/gravel/commuting) and a little more finicky. Especially with the shiftmate.

The Dia Compe Wing Shifters (never tried them) look like they've got the shift from anywhere ability of the Campagnolo with the bomb proof nature of the Kellys. Plus, you can pick whatever brake levers you want because they're not integrated. Only downside is I already have the other 2 options and the Wing Shifters are like $200.

Tourist in MSN

I have Campy brifters on my road bike (photo in post 18 above). And on my rando bike have a Campy brifter for the rear, downtube friction for front and a Tektro brake lever on the left side.

And I mentioned above (post 18) that I have bar end shifters on my derailleur touring bikes. (Also have them on my folding bike.)

From that mix of shifters, I have concluded that one big advantage of the bar end shifters is that I do not need to look at my derailleurs to know what my gearing is. Simply putting my hand on my shifter gives me mental feedback by feeling where the lever position is and from that I know roughly where my chain is on the cassette. Same with my downtube shifter or bar end shifter for the front, I know which chainring I am on by feel. But, with brifters, I have no clue where I am on the cassette or which chainring I am using.

The result of that is that I am virtually never cross chained when riding with my bar end shifters because when I make a shift, I know where my chain was and where it is going to. But on my road bike and to a lessor degree my rando bike with one or two brifters, I find that I am frequently cross chained which causes more wear on the system.

Since you have downtube shifters on your Kelly Takeoffs, and on other bikes you have brifters, I am sure you know exactly what I am saying.

On a bike tour, I try harder to avoid cross chaining because I am putting a lot of distance and a lot of wear on my drivetrain. But when riding near home where I have my spare parts and tools, I do not worry as much about cross chaining. I still try to avoid it, but I am putting a lot less miles on a bike per month when not on a bike tour.

Maybe you are one of the rare people that can remember what gear you are in as you are riding and using brifters, but I am not.

Or, if avoiding cross chaining is not a priority for you, then forget what I just said.