Grip shift or XT shifters

old codger

Hello,
i am going from 2 x 10 to 1 x 11 and i am thinking about the shifters.Do i go to Gripshift or the XT shifters,reason for the Gripshift idea is purely about aesthetics but a little worried on the realiability and longevity.
Any opinions or experiences please chip in,bearing in mind i havent looked into wether or not that they will work an 11 speed.

Thanks for looking.

rockmonkeysc

Gripshift is the work of the devil. Can you still buy it?

cooldad

I think Sram still make some top end ones. I wouldn't buy them.

WhyteSky

Grip shift is awful! Although I have to admit to not trying SRAM top end stuff, on,ya the cheap crap that came in my sons bike which I quickly changed for triggers.

I guess it depends on what you're after but if it's purely for aesthetics then I wouldn't bother. If you're going XT M8000 then get the iSpec shifters. Pleasing enough on the eye and frees up bar space.

The Rookie

I have a grip shift on my commuter as it declutters the bars, on that it works fine, it is an X0, and lasted for 3 years and 3500 miles before I had to replace the grip part due to wear, replaced just the grip (cheaply available) and still working 1500 miles later.

As to better or worse, I'd say different, I use a range of shifters and would certainly consider using. Grip shift on an MTB.

Herdwick

Never used a grip shift before, like sram's xx whatever, but the idea of changing gears faster and with out releasing the grip and searching for the shift lever sounds good to me. Basically you can move through the gear range faster without to much effort
Always talking about the top notch gripshifters, not shimanos 5 quid crap you find on kids bikes

The Rookie

Actually most cheap bikes use SRAM MRX which is rather nasty (very heavy shift loads) with Shimano mechs, my town hack bike has a Shimano Revoshift (everything to make it look cheap and nasty and worth nothing) and that works much better with a Shimano mech, don't think they make them anymore, mine is rather bizarre as it has an integrated cable brake lever and a remote display.

MrDanielPrice

The grip shifters on my crappy first bike are absolutely terrible. Shifting into the easier gears is actually harder and I've now scraped away a patch of my skin off doing it.

Not sure if this is the same for all grip shifters, but I'm looking forward to using XT shifters when I get my proper (decent) mountain bike.

The Rookie

Holy thread resurrection batman!

If you'd read the post directly above yours it would have answered your question.

johnmcl7

I hired a bike abroad that had gripshift and was surprised how good it was as my only previous experience of Gripshift before was a rubbish version on a cheap Raleigh bike. This was the newer higher end Gripshift and it had a really nice precision click to each gear change and it was easy to flick up and down the cassette, I have a GX1 1x11 bike that can't take a front derailleur and I'm missing being able to change the front derailleur when I hit a kill and need to drop down gears quickly or need to speed up so I've been toying with fitting a gripshifter instead. I'm concerned about accidental gear changes though and the fact I'd need a longer brake lever.

John

plugp7

I ran 9 speed XO gripshifts for many years. I found them excellent. I've changed to an X9 2 x 10 with thumb shifters (cos I got them very cheap) and find them a less than intuitive and awkward.
I've been told that the 10 and 11 speed are not as robust as the 9 speed and that's the only thing stopping me from me forking out £130 or so for pair, however LH 2 speeds can be picked up for silly money as riders who rush headlong into 1 x setups ditch them.
The other thing with gripshifts is that you have carpel tunnel problems or arthritis in the fingers, they are less painful than triggers especially in cold weather.
Accidental shifts were never a problem for me.