Shimano Dual Control levers
- Hotdog
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Shimano Dual Control levers
Postby Hotdog » Thu Feb 07, 2008 10:11 am
I know Graeme has these on his 'bent, and that's what inspired me to give them a go too, but how many of the forum MTBers have used/use dual control levers?
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Postby Birdman » Thu Feb 07, 2008 12:41 pm
Mitch.
Until next time...
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Postby Hotdog » Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:01 pm
When mounted on the 'tweener' handlebars on my recumbent the shifting action is towards/away from the centreline of the bike rather than downwards/upwards, so even more like road bike shifters.
- Bnej
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Postby Bnej » Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:38 pm
Postby Hawkeye » Thu Feb 07, 2008 2:04 pm
For shifting to an easier gear there is an optional thumb lever attached to the brake lever. IMO it's better than the SRAM on the downshift because only light pressure is required to downshift, making braking at the same time easy to manage. This is with a low-normal rear derailleur.
On the SRAM setup on my commuter you're pushing against the RD spring, and I find the effort quite disruptive to smooth braking. In fact, with SRAM I can't downshift under hard braking. On the few occasions I've tried it I've nearly gone over the bars. I've simply had to let the idea downshifting go when I'm hard on the brakes. If SRAM had a low-normal RD then of course it would be different.
Until then, though, my preference is strongly for the Shimano integrated shifter/low normal RD combo.
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Postby Whitz End » Fri Feb 08, 2008 1:59 pm
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Postby Hotdog » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:23 pm
It's all very different for the recumbent, as you correctly guessed. For a start, despite using a mix of MTB and road bike parts it's really a bike for on road use so I won't be operating these levers while being bumped around all that much. Also the ends of my handlebars aren't horizontal at right angles to the frame like a MTB, they're parallel to the frame and angled downward at about 45 degree to the vertical. This makes the ergonomics of the levers rather different, but they still work well.
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Postby Hotdog » Fri Feb 08, 2008 2:46 pm
I did get a rapid rise derailleur to go with them, as I can see the reasoning behind matching them up that way. With the rapid rise rear derailleur both levers shift in the same sense, i.e. lever down to shift to higher gear (bigger chainring/smaller cog) and lever up to shift to a lower gear (smaller chainring/bigger cog). Perhaps more importantly, with a rapid rise rear derailleur the spring tension is towards lower gears, which means that downshifting requires less force than upshifting, which makes downshifting while braking easier.Whitz End wrote:Humm...
Fair point. I have heard that they best work with a 'Rapid Rise' derailleur? That true?
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Postby Hawkeye » Sat Feb 09, 2008 11:08 am
Occasionally I've mis-shifted with the dual-control. It does take some adjustment time to train your brain to use them, but on balance I'd say I now mis-shift less often than with the triggers.Whitz End wrote:I was almost set on purchasing the Shimano LX versions but turned away after a burl around the car park on them. I felt that on long decents etc, it would be fairly easy while your riding the brake to mishift. That said, I havent actually used them off road so I wouldnt know...that was just how I felt. Have you had any issues like that off the beaten track?
The problem with the triggers and separate brakes I've found is that with 31.8mm bars there's not a lot of room to space everything exactly as you'd like to suit your hands. Consequently on the rough stuff it's real easy to accidentally brush the upshift trigger on the RD or hit it one or two more times more than I intended as the bars jump around, and viola I've just found the wrong gear.
Don't have this issue with dual-control. Mind you, I'm a bit lame as an off-road rider.
Postby Hawkeye » Sat Feb 09, 2008 11:11 am
+1. This is what I meant by low-normal DR. Low-normal = rapid rise. Or did I get my terminology confused?Hotdog wrote:I did get a rapid rise derailleur to go with them, as I can see the reasoning behind matching them up that way. With the rapid rise rear derailleur both levers shift in the same sense, i.e. lever down to shift to higher gear (bigger chainring/smaller cog) and lever up to shift to a lower gear (smaller chainring/bigger cog). Perhaps more importantly, with a rapid rise rear derailleur the spring tension is towards lower gears, which means that downshifting requires less force than upshifting, which makes downshifting while braking easier.
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Postby singletracking » Sat Feb 09, 2008 12:10 pm
It allows you to access all the controls with two fingers without needing to shift hand position or move your thumb from gripping the bars.
I've never accidentally shifted when braking.
The only downfall is that I have to wear a full-finger glove with some protection/padding on the top of my index finger. This is because I find that my fingers are not sufficiently padded enough to be able to apply upward pressure on the levers without them feeling painful and tender in a very short period of time.
But, I have a few sets of gloves that work and I would ride MTB in full-finger gloves anyway, so the issue has an easy solution.
I have thought about making a high-density foam/ neoprene 'ring' that would act as finger protection, but haven't actually made on yet to test out.
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Postby Kalgrm » Sat Feb 09, 2008 1:57 pm
You would also lose sight of the gear indicators, but that's no big deal.
Cheers,
Graeme
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Music was better when ugly people were allowed to make it ....
- Mulger bill
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Postby Mulger bill » Sun Feb 10, 2008 12:42 am
Maybe we should talk...europa wrote:I'm pretty sure the lucky sod's got disc brakes
Richard
I've got crappy Tektro V brakes on mine
Shaun
London Boy 29/12/2011
- europa
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Postby europa » Sun Feb 10, 2008 9:48 am
Can't fit discs to the bent because the frame doesn't have the mounting points ... unless those adaptors you see on flebay actually work.Mulger bill wrote:Maybe we should talk...europa wrote:I'm pretty sure the lucky sod's got disc brakes
Richard
I've got crappy Tektro V brakes on mine
Shaun
Richard
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Postby Mulger bill » Sun Feb 10, 2008 11:02 pm
Shaun
London Boy 29/12/2011
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Postby Kalgrm » Tue Feb 19, 2008 12:48 am
I found mine a little easier to use if they flared out somewhat, so that instead of being near vertical in the bottom shot, they point to the bottom corners of the photo. That improves the change up for me.
Cheers, and once again congrats.
Graeme
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Music was better when ugly people were allowed to make it ....
- Kalgrm
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Postby Kalgrm » Tue Feb 19, 2008 12:52 am
Edit: cancel that. Looked at the photos on Flickr and worked it out.
Cheers,
Graeme
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Music was better when ugly people were allowed to make it ....
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