Secret Alternative Shifter Setup!

Exploring the "hipster shifter" setup for thumbies.

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[coreyreeder]

“I know it sounds crazy, but indexed shifting on the chainstay allows you to shift effortlessly with a flick of your heel while drastically reducing the length and total friction of the cables.” - Russ, circa 2025

[VeloObscura]

"Big Friction" writing those cheques 😂

[chrislowe]

I remember people doing this in the 90s. Pretty sure Greg Herbold was among them and running thumbless under the bar is what led to Shimano developing Rapidfire.

[ectorgerson]

Thanks for the tip. I Decided to use this on the left side with an indexed Shimano bar end for a 1x setup. My priorities: sub-zero winter bike/lobster glove usable; Does not swing into brake hand; fits under cross-top levers on a 40cm drop bar; cable routing under the bar clear of brake cables (moving with cross-top levers). I would prefer right side, but for me it is worth the compromise. I also replaced the screw adjuster with a custom threaded aluminum 60 degree brake noodle bit taken from an old headset brake stop to improve/shorten the shift cable routing.

btw other considerations: this started when sti levers and long housing runs froze in prior winters. I ran bar ends for years and am tired of nailing my thighs. Used downtube, but am old and tired of reaching down.

[keven-matthewlarrivee-font]

I've been using that position with my front derailleur. Got a regular 10 speed rapidfire shifter for the back and friction for the front. Been rock solid!

[tinycmo]

I feel Big Friction's greasy fingers all over this. Honestly though. Your friction shifter video make riding 3 by anything fun again. It's amazing. Like..how it probably used and should be.

[sadhu]

Nice! Glad you discovered this old trick. We would do the same thing when installing drop bars on mtbs back in the 80s-90s. For drops u could mount them slighty below the brake levers on the inboard side and for normal flat/riser bars it also allows flipping the bike upside down for field repairs and not scratching/damaging the shifters. About to do this same setup on my drops mounting the shifters underneath and up near the stem. 31.8 shifter mounts are now available. Better than bar-end shifters that break if/when the bike is dropped. Solid oldschool hack before they called things a hack

[ericpmoss]

I love that shifter position -- it never made sense to have to lose grip to shift. Mavic did this 33 years ago with 'Butterfly' MTB shifters, which were beautiful, but... 8 speed index-only. 8 speed lasted about one month before being left for dead in the dust of 9 speed. I wish they would come back.

[jbholts]

One work around for using a friction shifter without enough throw for 11 speeds is to also use the Wolf Tooth Tanpan. I use this setup to make my 10-speed Dia Compe bar end shifter work with an 11-46, 11 speed cassette.

[thinkpadBentnoseTheBlind]

I love them old thumbies. I have some Suntour XC Ltd ones on my 91 Rocky Hammer. I used to do the same thing as it made it easier to place the bikie upside down and not damage the shifter ends.

[tylermcpherson]

I thought about doing this with my Microshift 3x9 thumbies but then I realized that part of the advantage (for me) of having them above the bar is that thumb fatigue is greatly reduced. The effort can be shared with other digits. Also- when tired I can change gears with the brute force of my palm, if needed. I prefer like the shiny red anodized parts to be where i can see them.

[youcanifyouwantto]

I like this so much. This was the push in needed to buy friction shifters. I'm 40 and I grew up with friction shifters, they were usually in the down tubes and this just annoyed me because they were too fast removed from my brakes. I built a 1*10 l-twoo road bike recently and ahhh... Other reviews of the a7 groupset don't really lie. The rear derailleur has only the slightest stamp and probably flexes way too much. The index shifter... Well... It's very inconsistent to say the least. I'm hopeful the Microshift will do the job right. I like the idea so much.. I want to run both levers inverted on different bikes. Thumb down power just makes more sense when you're on the grips for braking. I love it. I'll update in l-twoo 1*10 Microshift when it arrives :)

[ianmacdonald]

Some really old bikes had shifters which mounted on the 22.2 mm handlebar stem. I've mounted them on the right side and used them to shift the front and rear. Interesting to see someone else use a friction shifter in this age of skill-free shifting.

[hansstoops]

Old Suntour index shifters also had the ratcheting mechanism in the left lever, been running one of these set up like this shifting an Advent derailleur over an 11-42 8sp for a few years now.

[davyhaynes]

I run the Riv remake of the old Suntour power ratchet design downtube shifters on my road bike. On my Riv Atlantis, I run a hybrid setup with a downtube front (left) friction shifter, with a bar end friction for the rear (right side). Allows me to use a bar end mirror on the left. My Trek Mountain Trak Frankenbike has thumbies mounted reversed and upside down, with the cables crossed as they go from the downtube housing stops to the BB cable guides.

[BitterCurrant]

These friction bar-end shifters are great on a bullhorn handlebar. Additionally, the inclusion of interrupter levers (also known as cross levers) used on touring setups make for a good combination. This setup also enjoys the same benefit as your solution and makes both brake and shifter within fingers' reach.

Bike on!

[gilerd]

Making thumbies greater again this is sweet. Fun winter project list item right here.

[ezraimazagi]

I just built a '94 GT with a wide range 1/7 cassette, that XT rapid rise rear der and a Suntour right thumbie mounted underbar on the left. Works great for me as a lefty.

[-MacCat-]

I don't have any friction shifters, yet, but I'm about to take a deep dive into this whole "friction" thing.
Your messing around with different units, the alternative ways of mounting them and the comments from your viewers are always helpful.
I have wondered about you association with "BIG FRICTION" though 🤣

[derekhobbs]

It doesn't matter how high end components are if they're not ergonomically friendly. I have friends that look at me strange because of bike setup, but the thing that I have to really fiddle to get right for me is bell mounting. I prefer it by my right thumb, but most are made as left hand operation, so I mount them on back side of bar or upside down. They're legally required in my state, and I use it a lot on shared paths to let walkers with dogs know I'm approaching. Most of them actually thank me.