todd92371

I have been using a new alt bar and the gear window of the shifter is blocking me from placing it correctly. I have to move the shifter down the bar. Do you think it would be okay to simply cut off the gear window? I never use the display anyway. Thanks.. todd

veganbikes

Why not just remove it. Why use a hacksaw when unneeded many of the Shimano shifters had removable display windows. I have had a few over the years. Or get a shifter that has it. It is possible that particular shifter doesn't have a removable one but generally the really cheap stuff looses out on all the useful features to save a tiny bit of money just initially.

bboy314

I’ve done it, to use a Velo Orange crazy bar. Had to hacksaw off a bit and then cleaned it up and covered the opening with electrical tape to protect from the elements. Been riding it that way for about 5 years.

maddog34

IF the shifter in question is the one shown, it's not "removable"... but it could be hacked off... i'd seal it back up with Caulking or RTV.

i'd find one without the gear indicator pod... but that may not be easy and cheap... shimano 7sp. shifters of that style usually have the indicators.... and the "7 speed" thing limits options now available... Microshift makes one, but i'm rather leery of their products for good reason.

todd92371

Thanks guys! Just finished it and works great.

veganbikes

Leery of their products for "good reason"? What is that good reason. Having used Microshift stuff it is of fine quality and they do stuff Shimano and SRAM don't do like actual thumb shifters. Plus their Advent groupset is decent for the money and one I would ride if I was building a budget gravel bike or something along those lines. It is not the best stuff in the world and certainly at the 7 speed level it is crap but everything these days that is 7 speed aside from some highly specialized Downhill groups is all crap so you aren't really convincing anyone.

maddog34

i just removed a "nearly brand new!" Microshift MTB Rear derailleur... it was worn out from the factory and refused to shift consistently. The Shifter was also having trouble.. it would hang up in between shift points and cause more grief.... every pivot point on that Der. showed a "worn out" level of slop... it sure looked cool, though!.. the Shifter flexed around so much i feared it would break at any moment. The bike still had the stock tires on it, in decent condition, low wear... it is a "high end Carbon Fiber Hyper" if there is such a thing.

both went out in the Garbage.

i have installed their thumbies.. no issues noted with them.

veganbikes

So a single bike of likely low quality origins had issues and because it had Microshift all Microshift must be similar? That is really crazy to hold that as a belief. If you were saying that consistently and Microshift not addressing it then yeah done but this seems less about Microshift and more about those particular parts. Having focused heavily on warranty for years now I have seen issues on all sorts of stuff including brands I like the only time I might issue a warning is if the company doesn't support their product and the issues continue and we see a lot of it but one sample is not useful in this.

I am sure low quality stuff on a wal-mart bike no matter who it is made by is going to have issues. We know that, that is nothing new. But Microshift actually makes some decent stuff. I am not saying it is high end I am not saying it is perfect and I am not saying all of Microshift is good but they make a decent amount of totally usable and serviceable stuff and stuff that would work and last quite well.

Hondo6

FWIW: there is a concern in the PRC that appears to make products that are Microshift "knock-offs" - right down to nearly identical external "look" and model numbers. That entity calls itself "Micronew". I personally don't think the similarity in names/product look/model numbers is coincidental.

Microshift is based in Taiwan. Most everything I've heard about their products has been that they're reliable and well designed.

I have heard that Micronew's products are not nearly as good as Micronew's Microshift's equivalent items. But they do seem to be considerably cheaper.

Haven't bought anything from either except some Microshift cassettes. They seem quite good.

maddog34

ASS ume away... re-read what i said. And ****the hell off, BF. Bye.

veganbikes

Wow people really escalate quickly.

You stated initially that you were leery of their products for good reason and the reason you provided was a single cheap bike having issues and parts going in the garbage no sense of filing for a warranty or what had happened to the bike. That is not a good reason. Now you are asking me likely to fornicate the hell off over that. I don't believe I took it to any level close to that.

I re-read what you wrote and notice the addition you had which didn't exist when I first responded to make yourself I guess look better on that front. Why are you actually leery of their products? Is it truly the single cheap bike with possible Microshift parts on it? If that is the case it is not a sensible position to have. A sane sensible person would recognize that. If you had those same parts on multiple bikes and a large number of them were having issues and they wouldn't support warranty towards them then yeah I would be leery as hell but again single cheap bike not really a good reason to be leery.

Mr. 66

Microshift, lol, if you like it good for you.

veganbikes

Why the laugh? I am not saying they make the best stuff but for the price it is decent. Their Advent groupset is decent and they like I have said are the only ones making thumb and bar end shifters for different purposes. I don't know a lot of companies making clutch derailleurs of decent enough quality for the price. I think because they aren't Shimano or SRAM making the latest and greatest all the time people give them a negative connotation. Yeah they make low end stuff so does Shimano and SRAM they have and have had tons of stuff on bikes in places like Wally-Mart and Target and places like that. If we attack Microshift for their low end garbage we should do the same for Shimano and SRAM and any other manufacturer.

Sure they are not the first choice for groupsets and really probably the most I would run is their thumb shifters but the constant hate probably mostly among shop employees is silly.

Hondo6

To expand on my comment #9 above: here are pictures of two 8-speed road shifter sets. The first is Microshift, from their web site:


Microshift 8-speed drop bar shifter set.

The next is Micronew, image from Amazon:



Micronew 8 speed drop bar shifter set.

My recollection is that the cable adjusters on the Microshift 8-speed shifter set are a recent addition, and earlier versions did not have them. I could be wrong about that.

FWIW: they appear to be different corporate entities. Microshift has also apparently indicated that Micronew products are counterfeit copies of theirs and are of inferior quality.

https://www.bikeforums.net/21573614-post11.html

Point about counterfeit products is found in the comments section of the 2nd link in the BikeForums post linked immediately above.

soyabean

If you can kindly please post a pic (or PM it to me if you still aren't allowed), because you've certainly poked my curiosity.

I have never seen any setup where a shifter's design was "in the way".

Perhaps you are using a riser bar cut too narrow, so there isn't much real estate there for shifter/grips/bar ends. I can only guess without pics.