05-07-2010, 04:53 PM
Hi All,
This is my first post here so please bear with me when I ask dumb questions as I am a neophyte to bicycling, having had only coaster/cruiser and early 10-speed experience as a child and teen. That was many, many moons ago. Right now, I have decided to use a bicycle to stay in shape and for my local errands, as on my income, I do not wish to maintain myself in the sub-poverty level by attempting to buy, feed, insure and maintain a hydrocarbon-guzzling piece of machinery.
I recently purchased a Magna Great divide, 26", that has a 7-gear rear cassette and a F.I.S. Index system derailleur. It works OK, except that I really do not enjoy having the shifters in the handle grips. I would really like to upgrade to an on-handlebar set of shifters for both the front and read derailleurs. I know that I may sound like I am trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear here, but living on a fixed income does sort of limit what one can purchase.
I am just wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions about how I can go about replacing the OEM shifter mechanisms in the hand grips with something that will not break the exchequer and give me a better stability when shifting or riding off road - by simply placing the shifters to a location that does not interfere with control of the handlebars. (I have had several incidents, on the local trails, where I have suddenly changed gears when going over bumps as the stupid shifters rotated while being tightly gripped as I attempted to maintain control of my direction of travel!)
Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.
Joanie
This is my first post here so please bear with me when I ask dumb questions as I am a neophyte to bicycling, having had only coaster/cruiser and early 10-speed experience as a child and teen. That was many, many moons ago. Right now, I have decided to use a bicycle to stay in shape and for my local errands, as on my income, I do not wish to maintain myself in the sub-poverty level by attempting to buy, feed, insure and maintain a hydrocarbon-guzzling piece of machinery.
I recently purchased a Magna Great divide, 26", that has a 7-gear rear cassette and a F.I.S. Index system derailleur. It works OK, except that I really do not enjoy having the shifters in the handle grips. I would really like to upgrade to an on-handlebar set of shifters for both the front and read derailleurs. I know that I may sound like I am trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear here, but living on a fixed income does sort of limit what one can purchase.
I am just wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions about how I can go about replacing the OEM shifter mechanisms in the hand grips with something that will not break the exchequer and give me a better stability when shifting or riding off road - by simply placing the shifters to a location that does not interfere with control of the handlebars. (I have had several incidents, on the local trails, where I have suddenly changed gears when going over bumps as the stupid shifters rotated while being tightly gripped as I attempted to maintain control of my direction of travel!)
Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.
Joanie
Use it or lose it? A very definite fact of life - especially after age 55...Sigh...