Triggers or Grip-Shift?

[Scotty]

My bike has SRAM Grip Shift 4.0 and I keep breaking the Grip Shifts on it. I think the whle 4.0 system is pretty beginner and I've been thinking about upgrading my whole drivetrain soon. I may switch to triggers but I'm not sure if one is better than the other. The SRAM I have now skips alot of gears and seems to be taking a beating, I may need something more durable. Please give me your suggestions. Trigger shifters seem like they would be more durable but may take slower to shift.

[buttychunkster]

You cant beat XTR for peformance and durability but Im gonna switch back to some old XT thumbies soon and when Ive got some real cash Im goin for a rohloff speedhub

[DaveW]

I don't know about going to XT there mate.
I had heaps of problems with them especialy the rear shifter pod.
After the 3rd one broke and the warranty replacement came out of the box buggered
I gave up and got a LX which so far has lasted 1.5 years.
:(

[SandMan]

I have XTR and XT shifters and I never had a problem, plus they do shift very fast, faster then twist shifters.

Later

[chunk]

Diffidently trigger.

[Joe Pozer]

I also prefer trigger...I like being able to brake and shift at the same time. But I guess it's a matter of personal taste. Most of my friends prefer Gripshift.

[novice]

what are you guys talking about? The absolute fastest shifting acheived has been with Sram 9.0 shorties with a Sram 9.0sl rear derailluer. The only reasons not to go with grip shift is if you don't like the motion needed to shift, or need to shift under braking. The reason you are experincing ghost shifting is that you have a cheap setup. A similarly price shimano setup would do the same.

[Merwin5_10]

Bottom line is preference. If you compare XTR to 9.0 you'll find both set ups to be absolutely awesome if you keep the DT consistent. (Don't mix brands. Shim shifters with sram ders.) If you put SRAM and SHIM head to head with full DT's the only thing to talk about is price and personal preference.

As far as price goes, SRAM kicks the crap out of Shimano.

I personally use XT/XTR and love it.

[MuDHoG]

I personally prefer the rapid fires to grip shifting, but it's only because that's what I have become accustomed to using, now grips just feel....wierd... I sense a little heat in this debate though, I didn't realize that shifters and opinions of shifters was so serious....:D lol, ~MuDHoG

[SK6]

Well, Im with MuDHoG on this one as well, I like the triggers better. They seem more natural for me.

Just my 2 cents..............

[Scotty]

I'm going with the sram 9.0 grip shorty shifters and a shimano xt (i think) derauiler. I'll let you all know how it works out. The whole setup will cost about $200.

[Scotty]

I'm actualy going with the SRAM 9.0 rear deraulier and a shimano rear crank, or whatever it's called.

[oldfart]

Trigger or twist its really personal preference. They both work very well now although I'm never a big fan of plastic parts. The engineers say if its designed right plastic is fine. I have short fingers and I like to brake with just my forefinger. So rapidfires require that I move my hand into a funny position to hit the release trigger. Therefore I use 9.0 shorties. Still have to move but not into an awkward position.

[shocktower]

I have grip shifters on both of my rigs , the things I like about them is you are about do short climb and you need to hang on and shift because there is a steeper section you did not see GRIP`S only work in this ,Also on the down hill you can shift while hauling ass and hanging on for dear life ,I love my sram attacks they rock ,One thing I dont like about the triggers is you gotta think for to long once you are used to the grip shifters it is hard to change:gripshifter=:D , BTW I love this one I have some sock`s with this guy on the back I bought them just for my friend to see them as I smoke him on the down hill run`s :p

[thatoneguy]

A lot less problems with shimano. Fo rsome people the Grip Shift is easy to use, and yeah it works great for the first couple of rides, but blows up after that. I have heard the only way to run grip shift is rung everything SRAM.
'
If you loce grip shift though, try to find some sachs shifters pre SRAM, those work well...

[Scotty]

OK, I bought a Trek 8000 bike with Shimano XT Deore trigger shifters. After some minor adjustments they are working good. I'm still not used to the switch from grip-shift to triggers but I think I'm going to like triggers. The shifting is smooth but just a little awkward from being used to grip shift.

[arcticwanderer]

I have just bought a 1998 RM Blizzard with SRAM Gripshift 6 shifters with Shimano LX derailleurs. This is my first taste of Gripshift but I must say that they are very crisp and the front is not indexed so you can fine tune it so the chain does not rub depending on what cog you are in at the rear. My last bike had DX shifters and I upgraded the rear to XT rapidfire STI and an XT rear derailleur. It worked flawlessly so I am waiting to see how I like the SRAM setup. Now, the guy I bought the bike from said that a lot of the precision of shifting comes from the rear cogset and that XT and XTR cogs help to provide the crispest shifting. Only time will tell...:rolleyes:

[ATXjimATX]

i have always had trigger-shift bikes; but i setup a Jack Flash RAD with an 8 speed grip shift and thought "what the hell, i'll give it a shot". i had to try to change my normal hand positioning to avoid unintentional shifts on rough stuff and felt plain awkward. I admire the simplicity of the gripshift design and the idea is cool; but in practice -- it didn't work out for me and i soon found myself scouring shops for a used rear 8 speed xt pod and ended up with lx and felt "aaahhhhh". but that's just me.

O_D_D

[cbchess]

Its all about personal preference. I Love Grip Shift. I also enjoy the fact that SRAM is American made. I have just recently Installed SRAM 9.0 shifters with a SRAM 9.0 esp rear derailuer. I love it ! it is super crisp and clean and very light weight!. Added bonus of being less than half of the cost of an XTR setup. I got mine off of pricepoint.com for a great deal. I would also recomend a SRAM cassette with a SRAM Chain the whole package really runs very well together.

If you do go with triggers get the LX pods it weighs a bit more but works just as well as the XT with out the tendancy to break the many many tiny parts inside.

Ride on!:monkey:

[Rik]

personally, i will only ride trigger shifters
theres something so simple about -push-click-shift- that i love
its simple and easy

and i dont like the idea of having to use my whole forearm to twist a shifter, especially when having to wrench it into gear, eg low speed high force situation
whereas with triggers, you can use your thumb to push it, and pull on the bars with your fingers, so only your hand gets worked

plus, i was just thinking about this before
i get in some situations where i need to have total control, and lots of leverage on the bars
yet i need to shift gears as well... like wheelies, hops and other trials trickery
i'd imagine trying to shift with my wrist would change my whole weight distribution and throw me off balance.... a minor thing, but still, it all adds up to the fact i prefer trigger better