Shifter Upgrades

dryburger_3.0

I just bought a brand new set of Formula Oros K18 brakes. I had no problems fitting them until I went to attach the brake levers to my handlebars to find that the original shifters on my GT Avalanche 3.0 were an integrated shifter and brake lever unit. I now need to replace the shifters before I can fit my brakes. So my question is: What are a decent pair of shifters for around £60-70.

Any advice on fitting would also be well received.

Cheers

Matt

supersonic

I take it you have an 8 speed gear set?

dryburger_3.0

yeah

Anonymous

these look ok:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Shima ... 000000467/

but i prefer sram shifters:

this for the rear and this for the front works out about 45 quid for the pair but might be cheaper elsewhere

dryburger_3.0

I gotta admit that I do like that look of the SRAM's but my only concern would be that I have a Shimano Alivio rear derailleur. Would the SRAM's be compatible with that?

toasty

Nop, you'd need a new rear derailleur. There's no right/wrong answer on SRAM vs Shimano, I find SRAM a bit cluinky personally. A set of LX would set you back £30, Deore for £25 would be similar, bit more plasticy though, very reliable none the less.

I think you'd be better saving cash in case anything else needs upgrading rather than putting 1 silly overgeared bit on there. Chain/weakest link analogy springs to mind.

To get it in perspective, £70 would get you front + rear Deore derailleurs, Deore shifters, Deore cassette, chain and a new decent cable set. Similar spec to the Avalanche 1.0 gets (except derailleur). If you genuinely want to start swapping every bit for expensive components you'd have been better off just spending more in the first place.

supersonic

Yes I agree, 70 quid is overkill really.

I'd get a set of Shimano Alivio shifters:

http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/Product/0/ ... spair.html

Put the 50 quid towards a new fork maybe? But as above, too many upgrades and it starts getting more effective to sell up and buy afresh!

toasty

£250 Avalanche 3.0
£60 now
£140 brakes

£450 total would have been more than enough to get an Avalanche 1.0, decent hydraulic discs, 9 speed deore/lx gearing, better fork, better wheels/tyres. A few places even do them for £430 now.

If you're still specced as normal, you're going to have a pretty bad fork as mentioned above. If anything I'd aim to change that. You might end up stuck on an 8 speed gearing though, which obviously limits your options.

Anonymous

Toasty wrote:

Nop, you'd need a new rear derailleur.

wrong, check the link before mis informing someone, the sram shifters will work perfectly with the shimano deraileurs, do you think i am some kind of a mong?

also, they are only 35 quid from chain reaction once they come back in stock and are tonnes better quality than lx in my opinion.

finally, the OP didnt ask what you would spend the money on but what he could get for his own money

stumpyjon

Thought the whole point with the Shimano vs SRAM thing was the pull ratios, 2:1 for Shimano & 1:1 for SRAM meaning the rear deraillers aren't compatible? Not 100% certain as if you cut me in half it says Shimano down the middle.

Nick / Sonic - adjudication please.

rd350lc

sheepsteeth wrote:

Toasty wrote:

Nop, you'd need a new rear derailleur.

wrong, check the link before mis informing someone, the sram shifters will work perfectly with the shimano deraileurs, do you think i am some kind of a mong?

also, they are only 35 quid from chain reaction once they come back in stock and are tonnes better quality than lx in my opinion.

finally, the OP didnt ask what you would spend the money on but what he could get for his own money

...................................... :shock: Time of the month ?????

supersonic

stumpyjon wrote:

Thought the whole point with the Shimano vs SRAM thing was the pull ratios, 2:1 for Shimano & 1:1 for SRAM meaning the rear deraillers aren't compatible? Not 100% certain as if you cut me in half it says Shimano down the middle.

Nick / Sonic - adjudication please.

All shimano MTB stuff is 2:1, SRAM prefer 1:1 (all their numbered gear) BUT they do some 2:1 shifters called Attack and Rocket. Also used to do 2:1 rear mechs a while back.

Anyway Sheeps, bit harsh eh, easy mistake to make ;-)

stumpyjon

Well now I know. :shock:

Cheers

supersonic

You don't see it often, quite rare! And not on new bikes.

Anonymous

and the reason it is seen rarely here is because half of the advice dished out as experience is regurrgitated internet tosh in an attempt to look all knowing.

the links i have made are for sram attack shifters which once again will work perfectly well with shimano as that is their intended role.

the last thing i need is adjudication, if i wasnt certain i wouldnt have posted.

also whilst im on the subject, how often is it quoted that the best sense is to buy a bike with a good frame for your money so you can upgrade parts when you can afford them? that is clearly what the OP is doing and if he needed a new fork, he would be asking about one.

supersonic

Part of giving good advice is to occasionly look outside the original brief. It was a mere suggestion, not a definitive remark on how to upgrade your bike.

People make mistakes, people have different ideas - this seems a genuine mistake. Let's keep things contructive and friendly.

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

Part of giving good advice is to occasionly look outside the original brief..

i think we've had a conversation about this before, there is nowt wrong with giving any GOOD advice, my complaint is against the folk gobbing off without actual genuine and factual avice, especially those disputing my all knowing knowledge as gospel

(heres the smiley but i dont mean it )

supersonic

*bows down*

I shall ban people who from now on dispute you!

;-)

warrerj

Oooooooooo all a bit up tight in here tonight !!!

For my 2p ....

spend what you like it's your bike after all. But no point in getting a £60-70 set of shifters for £10 (ish) derailleurs UNLESS you intend to upgrade them later. Even then I personally wouldn't spend that much. I'd stick to something like LX at around £30 for the pair and if the cash is burning a hole in your pocket ( I know how it does that ) spend it on another upgrade (rear mech, cassette or something else).

dryburger_3.0

Ok guys, cheers for all the advice. I've decided to go with the M748 XT Triggers because they've got a deal on at ukbikestore.co.uk/. In response to a few other posts, the reason I'm not spending the money on a fork is because I've already swapped it out for a Marzochhi MX PRO LO. On top of that the breaks are only being upgraded because the old ones are Kaput and I figured if your going to swap them you might as well get a decent set.

Sorry about the initial budget figure which I guessed may have caused some confusion. In reality I only threw up an arbitrary number because I didn't have a clue about what a set of triggers might cost and so I thought that I might as well go high and work down from there, although in hindsight this maybe was not the cleverest thing to do. :oops:

Anyway, Cheers

Matt

supersonic

Cool! Looks like you have a nice steed there.

dryburger_3.0

Yeah, it would be if it wasn't in bits, But schools about to start again so it was going to be difficult to go out and ride anyway. Just gotta wait for all the bits to get here. And being the imaptient type doesn't help either.

toasty

Wow, who shit in your dinner today Sheeps?

Ok, I confess, I didn't click the link in your post and realise you were talking about SRAM attack shifters, yes I knew of their existance.

When you stated you prefered the feel of SRAM shifters I assumed you actually meant SRAM shifters running on their 1:1 ratio, much like every other derailleur system SRAM makes. Isn't that where the bulk of this "feel" comes from anyway?

How was my advice not good advice? I suggested a way of upgrading to a modern 9 speed drivetrain within the budget. Do you purely mean you don't like people disagreeing with your own? Yes, I was wrong on the random attack shifters, I admit. Sorry!

You mention the op asking about what he wants, when you had your first bike did you know what would cause the biggest improvement for £x? Spending 25% the value of a bike on a set of shifters you can pick up for £20 doesn't sound that sharp to me. It's an opinion, which is the point of this forum.

Besides, have you actually run a bike with Attack shifters or is this purely a hypocritcal rant about nothing? Have you infact just suggested he spend £50 on something you don't even use yourself, because the brand makes a similar looking product you like, running on a completely different system?

toasty

sheepsteeth wrote:

do you think i am some kind of a mong?

Can I confer on this one? :roll:

Anonymous

Toasty wrote:

Besides, have you actually run a bike with Attack shifters or is this purely a hypocritcal rant about nothing? Have you infact just suggested he spend £50 on something you don't even use yourself, because the brand makes a similar product you like, running on a completely different system?

i have used sram attack shifters yes, not on bikes i stil own but on 2 bikes i sold, an avalanche and an epic, a while before i started posting here, they operate in the same way as other sram shifters and that is what i like about the feel. also, see later that i reccommended they were purchased form CRC as they are 35 quid for a set when they come back instock.

finally, i only ever make recomendations about kit i have direct experience with. if i offer advice i have read, i state that to be the case or if its from what i have been told and believe, i also state that too.

toasty

Fair enough, sorry for sticking my nose into your recommendation. Really though, chill out.

i think we've had a conversation about this before, there is nowt wrong with giving any GOOD advice, my complaint is against the folk gobbing off without actual genuine and factual avice

Aside from being wrong about those specific SRAM shifters combined with Shimano derailleurs though is that infact not what I did?

rd350lc

Ive just upgraded to XTR shifters from LX and I'm amazed by the difference such a quality shift and you can drop 3 gears at a time which is cool.....For £80 I think they are a steal.


Rich