I’ve had a couple messages telling me I need to try the under-bar Thumbie setup and I have the parts to do it, so I’ll be running this rig back to back with a friction Thumbie above and below the bar to compare.
Always prepared to be wrong!
MEATengines 2022...
Posted by: earleb
Also the solution for your missing thumbie top cap. I need to order some brass next time I order materials.
That’s very nice.
SunRace does an 11-46, and I think AliBaba or AliExpress or something similar had 11-48/50’s.
I too am very intrigued about wide-range 9-speed thumbies, but I gotta have indexing somehow.
Posted by: earleb
If you want to run a thumbie under the bars you can use either of these guys.
https://www.rivbike.com/products/kjalgjoihjga44451
https://www.rivbike.com/products/sunrace-one-at-a-time-thumb-shifter-right-side
Steam punk in modern mtb would be a pair of them under the bars, mod the left one to operate your dropper. Why not just a regular dropper remote? Because symmetry matters.
Someone needs to hack up a way to get an 11-48 9spd, just enough range and the jumps won't be too bad.
Last edited by: tashi on April 27, 2022, 10:06 a.m., edited 1 time in total.
Posted by: earleb
Also the solution for your missing thumbie top cap. I need to order some brass next time I order materials.
Oh my, that’s lovely. JUST pretty enough.
Posted by: nothingfuture
I'm old enough to have raced on friction downtube shifters- and while I've no urge to go back to those days, I'll say that getting a friction shift *just right* is a special sort of joy. It's a little like when you rev-match a downshift on a manual transmission and you bang-on get it.
It sure is satisfying. I ride an old road bike/commuter conversion frankenbike to work everyday, kept the downtube friction shifters as it allowed me to "upgrade" to a 1x8 (!!!) for a bit better range, and looks, without needing a new shifter.
I was just telling somebody about it the other day (they're too young to have ever come across friction shifting), that it's a lot like playing the violin. There are no frets on a violin, you just have to know, but once you get the feel for it, it hits just right.
Last edited by: silverbansheebike on April 27, 2022, 10:40 a.m., edited 2 times in total.
Thinking a bit more about bombproof budget set up.
CS-M4100-10 11-42 or 11-46 10 speed cassette.
RD-M5120-SGS rear mech, this will cover a 46t min sprocket.
Match that a Microshift 10sp thumbie. These have friction or index.
https://www.microshift.com/models/sl-m10-r/
Match to a 30t steel front chainring and you have a drivetrain to survive the apocalypse.
Kinda an updated version of Skyler's "People's Liberation" drivetrain. The widerange Shimano 10sp stuff wasn't out in 2017 when he did his version.
Posted by: fartymarty
Edit - I rebuilt my Hopes last night with the aid of a little mint tea and some Lee Scratch Perry - that worked a treat.
Big-ups on the choice of foundation Reggae! Definitely the right groove for wrenching.
Posted by: nothingfuture
Re: No Boring Bikes- back in the earlier days of riding extra-janky technical singletrack (and long before 1x had found it's way to anything that wasn't a DH bike...) I used to run a 32/22 2x up front, and I used an XT thumbshifter to allow me to set the front derailleur just right for chain retention. Even then it got lots of looks ("What's wrong with RapidFire?" they'd ask), but god did it work well.
The friction shifter idea for chain retention is a good one. I used to bias my 2x front shifter so it would just barely shift down, to emphasize retention.
Posted by: mammal
The friction shifter idea for chain retention is a good one. I used to bias my 2x front shifter so it would just barely shift down, to emphasize retention.
Back in the 3x days, also pre clutch derailleurs, for descending I'd shift into the biggest front ring and ~mid cassette or even a bit cross chained. This would put the rear derailleur in it's most stretched out position, thereby the highest spring force meaning less chain slap, and it seemed like fewer dropped chains (but could have all been in my head, placebo effect). The derailleur was also tucked up fairly high and thus less damage prone. Things were a little different back then.
Posted by: mammal
Posted by: nothingfuture
Re: No Boring Bikes- back in the earlier days of riding extra-janky technical singletrack (and long before 1x had found it's way to anything that wasn't a DH bike...) I used to run a 32/22 2x up front, and I used an XT thumbshifter to allow me to set the front derailleur just right for chain retention. Even then it got lots of looks ("What's wrong with RapidFire?" they'd ask), but god did it work well.
The friction shifter idea for chain retention is a good one. I used to bias my 2x front shifter so it would just barely shift down, to emphasize retention.
I don't know why roadies got trim adjust in their shifters and we didn't, unless Grip Shift.
RE: No boring bikes. Your barrel adjusters look like the those that come on the SunTour XC Pro thumbies I have on my commuter. I also have one on my BikeYoke dropper remote on my hardtail as they do look mighty classy.
Posted by: mrbrett
I don't know why roadies got trim adjust in their shifters and we didn't, unless Grip Shift.
I mean, technically MTB had it. Rear derailleur indexed, front derailleur friction, was the setup for most highend Thumbies.
I don’t really see why, even with triggers, it couldn’t have stayed that way. I see some advantages to front being friction including trim adjust, over-shifting on the up shift, lighter weight, and a more robust mechanism.
Last edited by: AndrewMajor on April 27, 2022, 2:48 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
I did this on my XC race bike back in the early 90' and I ended up using them pivoted way back so I could get my thumb under it to down shift as they interfered with the brake levers otherwise.
Posted by: joseph-crabtree
RE: No boring bikes. Your barrel adjusters look like the those that come on the SunTour XC Pro thumbies I have on my commuter. I also have one on my BikeYoke dropper remote on my hardtail as they do look mighty classy.
Yes, they’re from XC-Pro shifters. Mighty classy indeed! Thank you Darren @ Dream Cycle.
Posted by: joseph-crabtree
RE; Under bar shifters. I did this on my XC race bike back in the early 90' and I ended up using them pivoted way back so I could get my thumb under it to down shift as they interfered with the brake levers otherwise. They had the old band style perch/full fiction so I was able to swap left & right.
Last edited by: joseph-crabtree on April 27, 2022, 2:54 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
Forum jump:
