Brake/Gears Angle Question

Yoe

Hello there,

I've just bought myself a new bike, it's something I loved as a kid and wanted to try and get into again. But I have a slight problem is finding a comfy position for my brake/gears. It came with SRAM X4 trigger shifters where both up and down changes are done by the thumb which I'm struggling with

Here's a couple of pictures of how I have it set at the moment. I also struggled originally on seeing what gear I am in.





Can anyone tell me a correct angle for your brakes/gears or any tips/tricks on how to make changing gear a bit easier

Thanks

supersonic

Whatever feels best! Undown the bolt and rotate until you get a set up you like - might take a few goes, but you'll get there! Of course you may have to rotate the brakes too, the levers do look a bit steep. Or rotate the whole bar.

concorde

They're nearly vertical!

cooldad

Levers do look a bit low, try around 45 degress and fiddle from there. Don't worry about what gear you are in - spinning out, change up, too hard to pedal, change down.

delcol

also try moving your shifters inboard of the brakes,, so you can move the brakes further down the bar and one finger brake...

like this...

1mancity2

For normal trail riding your levers look to low to be comfy, raise them up and move in board as in delcols pic.

The Rookie

As a starting point the common advice is to have the brake levers set so that with your fingers straight in line with your arms (in riding position) they just lay on top of the levers, yours look to low, once you've tried that adjust as necesary (I don't have to on any of my 3, different rider positions but following that guide works every time!)

You shouldn't be looking at the gear indicators, you won't see them in the dark anyway, just select a gear up or down to achieve the right leg speed for the bike speed!

Simon

nobby2607

m,m k;lk

386ka

delcol wrote:

also try moving your shifters inboard of the brakes,, so you can move the brakes further down the bar and one finger brake...

like this...

Only if he had hydraulic brakes. Otherwise, don't move the brakes inwards, you need 2 fingers at least to stop with cable disk brakes.

Blind Danny Johnson

Yoe wrote:

Hello there,

I've just bought myself a new bike, it's something I loved as a kid and wanted to try and get into again. But I have a slight problem is finding a comfy position for my brake/gears. It came with SRAM X4 trigger shifters where both up and down changes are done by the thumb which I'm struggling with

Here's a couple of pictures of how I have it set at the moment. I also struggled originally on seeing what gear I am in.





Can anyone tell me a correct angle for your brakes/gears or any tips/tricks on how to make changing gear a bit easier

Thanks

Also ditch the reflector and bell!

Mojo_666

Keep the bell, bells are cool.

tortoise not hair

As most have said if you loosen of both the brake and the gear shift and sit on the bike.
With your hands on the bars and your fingers outstretched your hand should fall naturally onto the levers.
the gar shifts on a trigger should be a push forward motion, in the picture it looks like you have to move them downward not forward.
The bell keep it or bin it you decide
If you do keep it you should move it next to the gear shift so you can easily reach it from the normal riding position.
as if you do need it you ant to be able to get to it in a hurry.

Most importantly just get out as often as you can and ride...... Reclaim your youth.

Enjoy

aongo

You could experiment with removing the "gear window" indicators from your shifters too (I mean how often do you really refer to them? Plus they equal a weight saving of 0.008kg), to give you more room to move brakes outboard of shifters... I'm not sure what SRAM shifters are like, but I run Shimano SLX... 2 x little screws remove the indicators, and tucked inside is a little screw-on cover to seal the top of the shifters in place of the window, quite nifty... precedure is entirely reversible if you decide you miss your indicators too...
That got me more room to move the brakes out, and tuck both together neatly and gives you 1 finger braking with 3 fingers & thumbs on the grips for control.

The Rookie

Gear window isn't removeable on those, nor is it on base Shimano (just SLX up).....in fact X7 and X9 no longer have indicators at all!

Simon

cooldad

Would appear OP has gone.

dudleypipe

Wow! I guess its all personal, but I'd say they were way to far round. Won't having your wrists so far over naturally force your weight forward to the front of the bike? :?: