1992 Konas - why all thumb shifters?

[DoctorRad]

The first generation of STI was utter dogshit in terms of reliability, and I was sufficiently burned that I didn't try it again until the early 2000s.

Did you ever see the early GripShift (pre-SRAM) advert where they showed you all the parts in a first-generation STI shifter?

 

[greencat]

Did you ever see the early GripShift (pre-SRAM) advert where they showed you all the parts in a first-generation STI shifter?

No, I didn't. But like many, I opened it up to see what was wrong and instantly regretted it

 

[markoc]

Massive thumbie fanboy here.

I remember reading a pro's rides article in MBUK back in the day, that I think was about a Pace that could well have belonged to Brant Richards. They did a series with a one page spread of the bike and then an overview. It mentioned upside down thumbies. Being an impressionable teen I went and faffed in the garage for a good while. That man must have had thumbs like popeye, as they got quickly changed back again!

 

[Splatter Paint]

I think it was a marketing gimmic. Faffing around with indexing certainly doesn’t make you faster.

When I got a thumbie equipped bike ~15 years after the last one, I remembered why I hated them, especially over rough terrain.

 

[FluffyChicken]

It's a marketing differentiator.

Bin them and fit some nice GripShift.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Massive thumbie fanboy here.

I remember reading a pro's rides article in MBUK back in the day, that I think was about a Pace that could well have belonged to Brant Richards. They did a series with a one page spread of the bike and then an overview. It mentioned upside down thumbies. Being an impressionable teen I went and faffed in the garage for a good while. That man must have had thumbs like popeye, as they got quickly changed back again!

Did you also see the MTBs with Road handlebars on. What a daft idea that is.

 

[markoc]

Did you also see the MTBs with Road handlebars on. What a daft idea that is.

Road Bars. Curly ones with funny brake levers. On a mountain bike?

It'll never catch on...

 

[FluffyChicken]

Them's the ones, stupid idea.
At least they didn't stick them on 700c hybrid bikes, that would be ghastly.

 

[al-onestare]

Other cynics have suggested the possibility of an overstock

Blasphemy!

You're right though

 

[Beagle2]

Thanks for replies. Are the early 7 speed Sti levers/shifters really that bad?