Changing gears

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Icemanhgv

Road Warrior
Location
Hull
I know about twist grip gears but how many other types of gear changing is there on a trike, im coming from a df which has integrated brakes and gear levers, I've been offered a trike with 27 gears twist grip style bit thus seems a bit much to twist !
 
personally l prefer bar end changers on a trike.
 

oldwheels

Legendary Member
Location
Isle of Mull
I am about to buy a similar set up I think. In my case SA 3 speed plus 9 cogs = 27. You could have 3 on bottom bracket and 9 on back = 27 again tho’ in practice only about half of the 27 are sensible to use.
 
Normally you'll only change one gear at a time unless your changing chainrings.
Then it could be 2 or 3 gears depending on the overlap between chainrings.
So it's change gear, shift your hand on the grip a little, change gear, shift your hand, etc, etc.
So you'll almost never go from one end of the twist shift to the other in one twist.

I can only twist shift 4 gears out of my 14 Rohloff gears in one movement.
To get any more gears I must reposition my hand.
So to 1 to 14 in the minimum number of moves takes me 4 twists and 3 hand shifts.

Luck .......... ^_^
 

Bad Machine

In the garage .....
Location
East Anglia
My preference is for twist shifters as it leaves the end of the twistgrip free to accept various accessories; I have a Mirrycle Mountain mirror on the right, and an Incredibell (bar-end mount) on the left. Some say the twist grips are slippery, but I have had no trouble changing gear even with winter mittens on (admittedly, there's much less grip if you've only just finished your take-away fish and chips. Different season, different problem).
 
Some say the twist grips are slippery, but I have had no trouble changing gear even with winter mittens on (admittedly, there's much less grip if you've only just finished your take-away fish and chips. Different season, different problem).
They do.

The sweat and oil off your hand slowly degrades the rubber of the grip which then wears smooth.
Once it's smooth you've no chance of changing gear without a glove on if the grip is wet.
That's why the standard Rohloff twist grip has ribs on it.
I tend to have change the grip on my non standard Rohloff twist shift after about 8k miles.
I think I'm now on my 5th new grip cover ......... ^_^
 

Nigelnightmare

Über Member
Plus with trikes your using your pinky and ring fingers to grip Not your thumb and fore-finger's as you would on an upwrong.
 
Plus with trikes your using your pinky and ring fingers to grip Not your thumb and fore-finger's as you would on an upwrong.
That why I've gone with a Toxiholic full high shifter with my Rohloff.
I think it works better on the trike than the standard shifter as there's more to grip.
I ended up cutting mine down slightly so it's now only 3/4 full height.
This is so the top of the shifter is just below the top of the brake lever.
With a bar end on top of it to lock everything in place, I've now a nice hand rest I can work the brakes from.

Pity you cannot get new ones for a trike anymore as Toxiholic stopped production of them years ago .............. :sad:
 

Cupples

Well-Known Member
Location
Whitehead
I find the grip shifter on my trike awkward without wearing gloves, and even then, it depends on the type of gloves. I've got a bar end shifter on the way (an old SunRace one that cost a tenner) which I plan to run in friction setting, so I can run whatever size of cassette I want to, without compatibility issues.
 
I find the grip shifter on my trike awkward without wearing gloves, and even then, it depends on the type of gloves..
I find that when it gets to that stage it's time to cut the old rubber off the grip and replace it with a new one.
Then it's just a question do you get a soft rubber grip for more friction in the wet or a hard rubber grip for a longer lifespan.
 

Cupples

Well-Known Member
Location
Whitehead
It's not that the rubber is worn, it's just that the action is too stiff and hard to turn. Cheap microshift shifter, I suspect.
 

jeffoi

Active Member
My toe has twist shift, and having gone from integrated brake lever shifters I find it no harder. Barely need to move my hand to shift the back gears. Front gears takes a big twist, but I can manage to shift from big chain ring to little without having to take my hand off and reposition.

The rubber on mine is sticky, so likely needs changed soon before it fall apart altogether. Likely over vulcanised due to uv or something. But the stickiness certainly doesn't hurt, grip-wise.
 
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