rhm

Well, I tend to agree with all the above.

They are pretty much incompatible with any road handlebar, and the workarounds are cumbersome at best. The grip gets slippery when wet. The rubber turns to nasty gooey gluey gum. And I don't like working on them. Some are better than others.

But the bottom line is a lot of IGH's use grip shifters and that's all there is to it. You want a Rohloff hub? Or a NuVinci hub? Better get used to twist grip shifters.

J.Higgins 

My wife is a nutjob. She loves her grip-shifters on all of her bikes that have them. She's the type person who simply HAS TO know what gear she is in at all times, and she hates looking down to see what cog she is on in the back. My secret plan is to undermine her fondness of grip-shifters and covertly install better shifters on all of her bikes. The Marin I'm building for her right now will be a 1x11 SRAM build anyway, so she can get over it!

canklecat

If a 7-speed RevoShift seems unusually difficult to shift, check a few things:

• Derailleur spring tension. Some are worse than others. Grip shifters are often paired with low end derailleurs like the Altus (actually not a bad derailleur), Tourney (getting worse) and some off-brands made of plastic and paperclips that barely qualify as derailleurs. Clogged debris in the derailleur can hinder shifting too (for those of us who get muddy).
• Cable friction inside the housing. Grip shifters and low end thumbies like the SunRace SLM10 usually come with galvanized cable and the lowest end housing. If the housing isn't the right type or length it'll make shifting difficult.
• The shifter may just be broken, or on its way.

The first warning sign I got from a left/front derailleur RevoShift twister was that it became increasingly difficult to shift, to the point my wrist was aching after a ride. It happened gradually so it took awhile for the coin to drop. If it had just broken and there was a sudden change in effort I might have caught on quicker.

I disassembled it, hoping to repair it. But that's practically impossible -- or possibly impractical? It's about 97% plastic. It all snaps together and is intended to be a one-time assembly, not serviceable. But I used some tiny flat blade screwdrivers to nudge the snap locks open. The only metal is a couple of flat and coil springs. The plastic ratcheting mechanism was warped and cracked.

Somewhere in my computer I should have photos of the disassembled RevoShift but I can't find 'em at the moment. Anyway, not worth the trouble to repair. Just replace 'em, check the cables, housing and derailleur spring tension.

Ferrouscious 

As a shop mechanic, I can definitively say that there are good twist-shifters and bad ones. SRAM made some super high-end GripShifters with ball bearings, metal internals, and whatnot. Those come in once or twice a year and are always fine to work on. The bad ones come on big box bikes and are made of the cheapest Chinesium® plastic they could find. They flex out of the way when you try to shift. Shimano's 8 speed RevoShifts are somewhere in the middle.

bad..................................................decent...................................good
big box stuff......SRAM GripShift...........RevoShift 8 vitesse.....................SRAM high-end GripShift
.......................microShift
.......................RevoShift 7 vitesse

Glennfordx4

While non of my own bikes sport Grip Shifters I do install them on bikes I build up and flip. They are simple and work good, Sram Max series 7spd work the best and aren't hard to change the cables once you learn how they work. The Shimano Revo shifters have been hit or miss as far as ease of operation goes and the grips suck as most turn to goo with no replacements to be had.

Glenn

daoswald

A problem with grip shifters is the conflation of concerns.

• Grips wear out for different reasons than shifting mechanisms. It is hard to replace the grip of a shifter, yet the shifting mechanism may be in excellent condition.
• Grips are supposed to be a stable anchor point. Shifters are supposed to move. Grip shifters place additional demands on the outer portion of the hand to provide that strong anchor point because the inner part of the hand is sitting atop a thing that will rotate.
• Wrists flex comfortably along an approximate 120 degree arc. Shifters turn along 180 degree or more arc. So the ergonomics are wrong.

I hated the SRAM grip shifters on my old 2001 Cannondale H400. If I knew then how uncomplicated it is to switch to trigger-style shifters I would have done so, and may still have that bike.

madpogue 

Just walking / riding around town, noticing the trashed/abandonded bikes around, one of the most common things I notice about them is grip shifters, of various brands but generally low-end, that have just @$$-ploded. Bits of internal white plastic gearing sticking out, cables all akimbo.

We have one bike with grippies we use regularly. But in asset management lingo, I consider it "run to failure". That is, keep using 'em until one @$$-plodes as described above, then swap in... anything else.

As for "cable" replacement, I'm guessing one of the more common procedures is:
1) Disconnect cable core from derailleur and pull from housing(s)
2) Remove shifter with cable
3) Install new shifter with cable
4) Feed cable, attach and adjust

DMC707

I cant deal with SRAM's push push shifting on my late moddel mtb, so I specce'd their Gripshift when I upgraded to 12 speed Eagle and it is AWESOME --- total intuitive shifting for me

But admittedly , those shifters alone likely cost me more than some of the budget bike horror stories I am hearing about in this thread cost complete

cinco

I build lots of free mountain bikes for homeless people and around 3/4 of them have grip shifters. The old original ones from the '90s a bit annoying to re-cable but rarely have problems other than their inherent imprecision. It's a simple design with little to go wrong and barring physical damage from abuse they pretty much always work. The newer Shimano version is much more unreliable internally and even less precise. The old double-thumb and slightly newer Rapidfire thumb/finger "trigger" shifters always require a bunch of effort because the grease Shimano used is lousy and causes the ratchet pawls to seize. Old-school '80s-style indexing thumb shifters seem to be indestructible so far.

I'll keep all of my friction downtubes, though.

LesterOfPuppets

It's only $44 for GX, or since Valentine's Day is coming up, you could splurge a little:

https://www.jensonusa.com/SRAM-X01-1...pshift-Shifter

LesterOfPuppets

1. It's really not that difficult to swap out a grip shift grip cover. Finding ones from the early-to-mid 90s takes a bit of doing, since there are so many different types, but a skilled eBayer can get some without too much trouble.
2. I've never had that problem. I've had accidental shifts while bunnyhopping, etc with stock gripshift grips, so usually run full length or near full length grips, so there is room for my whole hand on the stationary grip.
3. Sram Attack 8sp are maybe a hair over 90° full sweep.

LesterOfPuppets

Yeah, the newer MRX are really sloppy like the Revos, too: (avoid if possible)

The older style MRX weren't too shabby considering their cheapness:


Both have cable hatches, so cable replacement is fast and easy.

scarlson 

I'm gonna start using that one.

OldsCOOL

This “component shaped object” is the first thing to go when I refurb a mountain bike, gravel bike or hybrid. They simply do not perform to standards of quality and durability.

madpogue 

^^^^^ "CSO" lol

Smokinapankake

In the mid 90’s when I worked at Fishers Cyclery, 8 speed Xray Gripshift were the latest hottest thing, and they worked fantastic. Right up until you had to change the cable, or they got a speck of dirt in them. After riding them for literally a week, I could never get them to shift cleanly again. No matter how clean they were, new cable or not, nothing I could do would make them shift well. So I finally fixed them with some NOS Xc Pro 8 speed thumbies that lasted me for years. I hate Gripshift!
Later, I picked up a pair of Suntour’s fantastic Ergotec shifters, kind of a mix between rapid fire and Gripshift, and they’ve proven as durable as the their thumbshifters. In fact, they’re still doing shift duty on an old Giant Boulder mtn bike I have hanging around

Digger Goreman

My wife, too, swears by them... I just swear at them!

Biggest problem, besides occasional accidental grip shifting, is deteoration of the rubber(?) compound into sticky yuck, then dust....

ryansu

When I see old MTBs for sale and I see they have grip shifts that is almost an auto pass for me unless I really love the frame and want to take the time to swap to thumbies. Not that Trigger shifters are the bee knees but with lots of brake kleen I can usually free them up as I recently did on a Trek 850 Antelope. When I finally build one up for myself I am going with the vintage Suntour Thumbies I have in stock

dweenk

My son's bike is now wearing a pair of Shimano SIS thumb shifters that I salvaged some time ago. It's ready to go again and the Revoshifts are ready to go as well (they're just going somewhere else).

sloman

I've used GS for years and love them and the clean look. Are you sure the DRLR was not the problem. They get bent ,dirty and bind. No shifter will shift that. Esp. if it is kept outdoors .

Ballenxj

I have to wonder the same thing after reading through this thread. Then I started wondering if I just got lucky? I installed my own. Thinking back on it, I may have bought a higher end version, since I worked at a bicycle shop? and mine was a seven speed rear set up. I can tell you this, mine worked like a fine Swiss watch after dialing them in, and I don't recall that being too difficult. Again, they were my favorite, most accurate, and quickest shifters bar none.

Kent T

Thank you. I have a 2002 Trek 800 Sport I love, it's rear SRAM grip shift failed. I will replace with thumb shifters, learn how to use them, and adapt. Glad to know it is not me or how I cared for it.

Kent T

Glad to know this, my fingers have arthritis and finger muscles are a bit challenged.

schiavonec

When I raced xc mtb bikes in the late 90s, i had gripshift shifters, goretex cables, xt rear, lx front... It was really smooth and responsive. Agreed about the cheap ones tgat don't really work though. My sons old bike was horrible as is my wifes.... I don't like the triggers either, and put thumbies on an old steel mtb converted to commuter.

RiddleOfSteel

Good trigger shifters feel great, IMO. And I've brought a few back from their 'air-shifting' ways via lots of Tri Flow. Can't say that about grip shift unfortunately. I'm all road though, so it's STI/Ergos, downtubes, or bar-ends for me on my bikes.

Like I said earlier, I'd give these a try. So sleek and integrated! Killer photo, too.