Bike gear shifters allow the rider control over the gear ratio that he or she is using. They usually work through the movement of a cable which connects to the gears. The location of a gear shifter on a bike depends on the type – they are most commonly found on the handlebars or on the triathlon bars.

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Types of Bike Gear Shifters

There are two main mechanisms used for changing gears. Originally, friction shifting systems were used which required the rider to use a lever to move the chain. This meant that the rider had to manually place the chain in the centre of the sprocket. Unsurprisingly, many riders found it difficult to change gears accurately and quickly.

Index shifting is generally a more effective way of changing gears. Instead of manually changing gears like in friction gear shifters, index shifting uses a series of discrete steps with each one having a corresponding gear. This allows for much faster and easier gear shifting as the rider isn’t required to adjust the gears in order to find the correct position.

There are a number of different types of index gear shifters. For example, twist grip shifts and trigger shifts are the most common. There are also some which are mounted on the down tube of the bike.

Twist Grip Shifts

Twist grip gear shifters are mounted onto the handlebars. In order to change the gears upwards the rider rotates the grip one way while to change down requires rotation in the opposite direction. These types of bike gear shifters are most commonly found on mountain bikes.

The downside to using twist grip gear shifters on mountain bikes is that the cables can easily become stuck when used in muddy conditions. This rarely happens over the course of a single ride though and hence proper maintenance can avoid the problem.

Rapid Trigger Gear Shifters

Trigger gear shifters have a set of separate levers – one for changing up and one for changing down. These are also commonly found on mountain bikes.

Down Tube Gear Shifters and Brake/Shift Levers

In some cases an indexed bike gear shifter may be mounted onto the down tube. This has the obvious disadvantage of unbalancing the rider during a gear change. Brake/shift gear levers fixed this problem by mounting the shifters on the brakes which allowed for a quick gear change without the need for removing either hand.

Brake shift levers have the advantage of allowing for quick and precise gear changes. Although they weigh more the benefits – greater frequency shifts and an ability to stay in a straighter line during a shift – outweigh the drawbacks.

How to Buy Bike Gear Shifters

When thinking about buying a bike gear shifter there are several things you need to keep in mind. First of all, budget will often be a major issue. You nearly always get what you pay for when buying bike components. For example, brake/shift levers have many advantages but are usually the most expensive. You also need to think about where is best to find bike gear shifters for sale. Online sites such as eBay are a good place to start.

The type of bike riding you perform will also play a major role. Brake/shift levers are most commonly used on road bikes.

Gear Shifters Manufacturers

Some of the most popular manufacturers of bike gear shifters include SRAM and Shimano. Campagnolo is also a well known brand.

A problem with index gear shift systems is that many manufacturers’ components aren’t compatible with others. This is due to the fact that each step in the index is often different. For example, Shimano gear shifters may not be compatible with SRAM gear shifters or Campagnolo.