Ladies - tiny wee pixie hands (Microshift shifters?)

davis

Evenin'

The less repellent half has acquired herself a new road bike. Yay!

Turns out it's got Shimano Tiagra 3x10 shifters. They're pretty chunky, and she can only get her fingers a very short way down the levers, so she's got almost no leverage, and therefore no much braking power. I've tried adding shims to the levers and getting the cable pull right, but it's not enough for someone with hands of her size.

Now, options appear to be swapping wholesale to Campagnolo (too expensive), going to SRAM, although they seem to have binned the triple support, so it would require a big change too. However, Microshift seem to be somewhat rated for people with smaller hands, and they're apparently Shimano-compatible.

These seem to fit the bill, but the pivot points for the brake levers still look a little high.

So, any ideas or experience? I'm thinking of fitting interrupter (cross-top) levers too, just so she's got some effective braking.

If all options fail I guess there's always the option of going flat-bar on it, but there's only so much vomiting I can do.

It's a 2015 Trek Lexa SL if it matters.

itboffin

woah now it's not the 80s :shock:

Campag Centaur or Athena will fit the bill
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... 0000000000

i assume it's 10 speed not that it matter 11 speed is a bit cheaper

Shimano 105 triple is only £132
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... himgrss650

plus no doubt Ribble and others will be running TDF discounts

davis

itboffin wrote:

woah now it's not the 80s :shock:

Campag Centaur or Athena will fit the bill
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... 0000000000

Ummm different pull ratios innit?

itboffin wrote:

i assume it's 10 speed not that it matter 11 speed is a bit cheaper

Shimano 105 triple is only £132
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/road-t ... himgrss650

plus no doubt Ribble and others will be running TDF discounts

But the 105 looks even bigger than the Tiagra!

itboffin

shifting with Shimpagno is just fine, i run it on two bikes, i find the new 105 shifters very small compared to the 5600 series and before.

go try some out

Initialised

My son (9) has a bike with Microshift, it took him a few rides to get used to them but he changes gears confidently now.

Take her to a bike shop and have her try a few different shifters out.

itboffin

And still not one joke about tiny hands ....

vermin

Swap the calipers for Ultegra 6800s? Much better ratio of effort at the lever to force at the caliper.

bikergirl17

I have ultegra short reach shifters (with shims) and also wee hands (but not pixie). My sets are 7 and 12 years old (10/9 speed) so they may not be sold retail now.

I'm a little worried as I'm thinking of going 11 speed but there's no short reach option.

Applespider

davis wrote:

But the 105 looks even bigger than the Tiagra!

Can she test ride a bike with 105s? I've got little hands and I've always struggled with Tiagra. I just can't get comfortable on them or have the confidence when braking.

Having said that, I test rode a 2014 Lexa in the winter sale and the only reason I didn't buy it was that I felt I didn't have any leverage since my fingers were too stretched. And that, bizarrely, was also a 105. Now I have a unisex Fuji with 10 and disc brakes which is just fine...

davis

Applespider wrote:

davis wrote:

But the 105 looks even bigger than the Tiagra!

Can she test ride a bike with 105s? I've got little hands and I've always struggled with Tiagra. I just can't get comfortable on them or have the confidence when braking.

Having said that, I test rode a 2014 Lexa in the winter sale and the only reason I didn't buy it was that I felt I didn't have any leverage since my fingers were too stretched. And that, bizarrely, was also a 105. Now I have a unisex Fuji with 10 and disc brakes which is just fine...

Are you saying you get on with current-series 105?

As it happens my normal bike needs new shifters (crashed, like everyone else on here at the moment!), and I'm torn between the Campag stuff that Boff talked about, and just going for 105. Whichever I get she can try them out on her bike.

I also do plan to take her back to the LBS, but if I can provide her another option while fixing mine, it would be sensible.

davis

bikergirl17 wrote:

I have ultegra short reach shifters (with shims) and also wee hands (but not pixie). My sets are 7 and 12 years old (10/9 speed) so they may not be sold retail now.

I'm a little worried as I'm thinking of going 11 speed but there's no short reach option.

Ummm thanks, though I thought that "short reach" referred solely to the drop of the brake calipers.... :?:

The Rookie

I wouldn't go to flat bars, the frame will be too short (on drops you hold the bars in front of the stem face plate by a few inches)....

Crosstop levers are a good option (I run them on my flat bars as they are nice and light!), alternatively you could see if a local engineering shop can make you up some thicker 'shims' to move the levers closer to the bars at rest, also look at where the lever is mounted, moving it up or down the bars a few mm may help (the bar is curved so moving it down may well move the levers closer to the bars where she is holding them).

Applespider

davis wrote:

Are you saying you get on with current-series 105?

Yes... admittedly I still have a shim in there but my hands don't feel too stretched out.

davis

Thanks all.

A quick trip to the LBS and the approximate order of preference is revealed:

Tiagra (current) < 105 < Ultegra < Campagnolo Veloce

Not sure there's much to choose between 105 and Ultegra shifters, but Ultegra calipers felt slightly better to me. Therefore it's looking like switching to Campag shifters and Ultegra 6800 calipers with softer pads.

small_bloke

Don't know much about Campag, but I have very small hands. Various bikes different groupsets.

SRAM Rival - best fit. Levers have reach adjustment with internal cam. I love them.

'105' 5700 - fingers still stretched even with 20mm shims.

Tiagra 4600 - not good for reach. Large knobbly bit on the hoods.

Sora 9 speed - worst of all. very large knobbly part on the hoods.

Make sure you use very short reach handlebars e.g 70mm reach. Also a shallow drop (120 - 125mm). This makes the hoop of the handlebars much smaller and a lot easier to reach the levers in the drop position.

davis

Righto, just for Google's sake or people who find this thread.

Eventual result was swapping the shifters to 10 speed Campag Veloce (running via a J-Tek Shiftmate to the rear derailleur) operating shimano Tiagra gears, and Ultegra 6800 brakes.

She's much, much happier with the braking now. Still got to play around with the lever positions to make sure she can reach the levers from both the drops and the hoods (yep, she's on tiny handlebars), but there's a lot more scope for adjustment here.

Thanks all.