Sunrace 'one at a time'

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Belopsky

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Dec 15, 2015, 3:05:27 PM12/15/15
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I was buying some parts locally, and saw that I could get Sunrace shifters for cheaper than on rivbike. One is good, friction and all. left-hand-side shifter mounted on the right pod for use on an albatross.

The other is an index.

Went and bought another shifter, but turns out thats a 3speed index, not friction.

What the heck? I cannot find the same ones sold on RivBike (they say M90 and Friction on them).

Any ideas other than "just buy from Riv"?

David Banzer

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Dec 15, 2015, 3:13:35 PM12/15/15
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My understanding is that Riv worked with Sunrace to get the rear shifter as friction. Don't think you can get that anywhere else.
The 'just buy from Riv' is obviously a good idea in this case with Riv-exclusive items.
David
Chicago

masmojo

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Dec 15, 2015, 4:04:33 PM12/15/15
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The Sun Race shifters are not really index (at least not when used on a Riv.) They are ratcheting. I have them on 3 bikes, got'em off ebay.
I like'em OK, the Silver Shifters work a little better IMHO, but it's questionable if they are enough better to justify double the cost!?

Belopsky

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Dec 15, 2015, 4:35:22 PM12/15/15
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I wonder what kind you got off eBay? Can you send me a photo?

The one that works well is what you said, ratcheting. It says M90 Friction on it. The other was definitely an index one for 9speed.

I went ahead and placed an order for the other I needed from Riv, along with a few other bits.

Christopher Murray

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Dec 15, 2015, 4:51:57 PM12/15/15
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At some point Grant said that the products that he/ Rivendell designed but where made by third parties were not Riv exclusives. That wasn't part of the deal- hence the availability of Grip King (Lambda) pedals, and Silver brakes (whatever Tektro calls'em), etc. I thought he said that would change in the future so maybe that's what is happening here- a Riv exclusive?

Cheers!
Chris

masmojo

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Dec 16, 2015, 4:45:35 PM12/16/15
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Sorry, having difficulty sending Image directly to you, not sure if this is because I am still kinda new around here or because I am not familiar with the sort of counterintuitive way that Google works!?
I am using the 8 speed rear, but not really sure how much difference it makes!?
Basically, when moving from a larger gear to a smaller one it will not "click" but when going upwards they make a clicking ratchet sound.

Garth

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Dec 16, 2015, 5:20:33 PM12/16/15
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    I read the description on the Riv website , and having used Sun Tour Power Ratchet thumb shifters since their inception , I have to wonder if these Sunrace are ratcheting or not ?  Of course ratchets make a "click" sound , so I assume in order to click these Sun Race shifter must have a ratchet of some sort , yes ? And if yes why not just say they are ratcheting instead of saying they "click" ?   

Dave Johnston

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Dec 16, 2015, 7:53:07 PM12/16/15
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Maybe just read what it says on the Rivpage:

" ... Trivia: These are actually made for shifting Sturmey archer internal gear hubs (SunRace bought Sturmey-Archer several years ago). We figured out that — easily and slickly and with no monkey business, but just a slight factory switcheroo, they work with derailer gears. At first we thought this required mounting the right one on the inside of the bar and lefty on the outside, but then Spencer here figured out that a SunRace right bar-end shifter lever on a left SunRace pod allowed perfect symmetry, as though it were ordained from on high. SunRace was delighted, too.

Use: They click but don’t index. Out of the package and not on a bike, they click about 18 times. In the span of shifting over a 9-sp cassette, they click about 13 times....."


On Tuesday, December 15, 2015 at 3:05:27 PM UTC-5, Belopsky wrote:

A CT Cyclist

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Dec 17, 2015, 12:55:10 AM12/17/15
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Has anyone here used these shifters? I'm thinking of trying the right shifter for a 1 x 7 .

Patrick Kelly

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Dec 17, 2015, 1:42:57 AM12/17/15
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I've got the one-at-a-time shifters on a marin "urban 29er"
(hamilton). I have them mounted "backwards" which really seems like
the right way to me, if you want to call them "thumb shifters". With
this "backwards" mounting, they actually are operable by your
thumb(s).

Basically, I love them. I'm shifting on a 3x8 drivetrain, FWIW.
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Belopsky

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Dec 17, 2015, 10:40:29 AM12/17/15
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Hmm, but then it 'indexes' does it not? It's not a truly friction one?

Belopsky

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Dec 17, 2015, 10:41:38 AM12/17/15
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a click isnt necessarily an index. There is a clear difference between the shifter I have marked "friction" and the one marked 9speed


On Wednesday, December 16, 2015 at 7:53:07 PM UTC-5, Dave Johnston wrote:

Kainalu

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Dec 17, 2015, 11:08:30 AM12/17/15
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These shifters shift great, they're as friction as anything else aside from the (depending on your feelings on audible shifting) annoying clicks not usually associated with friction shifting.
What's really great is you can rotate them on their mount to suit your feelings on lever swing zones. Not 360 degrees of freedom, but infinitely more than any others I've experienced.
Thumbs up, and shifting
-Kai
Brooklyn NY

Robert Bolesta

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Dec 28, 2015, 12:51:19 PM12/28/15
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I've got them set up like this too. I think Riv calls it the "inside" position. I've been riding them for about 6 months now on bosco bars with an 8spd cassette and triple crank and like em.

Only complaint is sometimes I wanna make a slight tweak to the rear derailleur position as I'm riding, and in order to do so I have to make a "full click" which sometimes turns out to be enough to unintentionally shift to the next cog. This would probably make them a no-go for a lot of folks, but I have learned when to expect this issue and adjusted my riding to avoid it. So not a big deal for me. Plus they are fun to use, so I'm all for them.

Joe Bernard

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Dec 28, 2015, 1:15:22 PM12/28/15
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I have the old SunRace cheapie thumbies Riv used to sell. They make a clicky noise like power-ratchets, but you can hold the shifter in between clicks. Do the one-at-a-time shifters operate this way, or do they have to land on a click?

A CT Cyclist

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Dec 28, 2015, 1:51:39 PM12/28/15
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I don't like the sound of that. What do you mean you adjust your riding style?

A CT Cyclist

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Dec 28, 2015, 2:04:05 PM12/28/15
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Ahh, so if you want to mount them on the inside of your handle bar, like Riv shows on the video you put the left on the right and the right on left? This is kind of confusing since Riv refers to them as right one at a time and left one at a time thumb shifters.


On Thursday, December 17, 2015 at 1:42:57 AM UTC-5, Patrick Kelly wrote:

Belopsky

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Dec 28, 2015, 2:21:41 PM12/28/15
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Yes. If you want to mount on the inside:
You buy the left and mount it on the right and you buy the right and mount it on the left.

FWIW: if you want the same type on left and right, just buy from Rivbike. From all I could tell, they had a custom setup made. The 'stock' Sunrace '3speed' friction one only : http://smartbikeparts.com/search_details.php?itm=SBP19104&gclid=COijlqKj_8kCFQgGaQodfRAC5w < is a right-side-only setup. You could mount this on the inside of the left. You cannot however buy two of these or swap the mounts or whatever

A CT Cyclist

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Dec 28, 2015, 2:40:12 PM12/28/15
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Only trying to clarify because I have a 1x7 setup.

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Belopsky

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Dec 28, 2015, 3:01:27 PM12/28/15
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Kainalu

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Dec 28, 2015, 4:46:28 PM12/28/15
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The clicks are very close together, so you do settle in one click at a time in one direction, but it's smooth friction in the other direction, same as the cheapies I expect. As for adjusted riding styles, I think adjusted shifting styles is more like it, and a mild adjustment at that.
-Kai
Brooklyn NY

Garth

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Dec 28, 2015, 5:19:21 PM12/28/15
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    The most confusing thread and description of a shifter ever !

  Use: They click but don’t index. Out of the package and not on a bike, they click about 18 times. In the span of shifting over a 9-sp cassette, they click about 13 times. This sounds trick or confusing, but it isn’t at all. Like a with a pure friction shifter, you move the lever til the shift is made. With these levers, the first three clicks coincide with the small three cogs. After that, it takes two clicks to get the subsequent cogs.
Now, I totally understand if this weirds you out, but don’t run away so fast—nobody on Planet Earth has shifted these levers even 1/20th as much as I have, and I’m telling you, it is a cinch. In the mid and upper range, one click isn’t
enough, but two clicks are.

 If they are truly friction shifting(meaning they can be moved hi-lo and lo-hi in one continuous motion) they are "pure friction" regardless of any clicks/noises they may make ! 

A CT Cyclist

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Dec 28, 2015, 8:20:45 PM12/28/15
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I understood their description but  they should specify that right side implies mounting on the outside of the handlebar. Cus when you say thumb shifter it implies shifting w/the thumb. 

Joe Bernard

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Dec 28, 2015, 9:27:06 PM12/28/15
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This thread is really making me appreciate my cheapie thumbies with the incredibly cheapie-looking red stickers. They mount on the bar like thumbshifters you shift with your thumb, and stop at whatever spot you push them to, regardless of noise/click. Easy peasy!

Jim Bronson

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Dec 28, 2015, 10:05:52 PM12/28/15
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It's making me appreciate bar ends and Noodles.  Nobody talks about which side and which orientation those should have. 
The one bike we have in the house with albatross-like bars (soma oxford) also has bar end shifters, not thumb mount.

I will stick to obsessing about gear ratios, you guys can talk about your thumbies all you like, but it's not for me.  Or at least, at 45 it's not for me yet ;)

On Dec 28, 2015 20:27, "Joe Bernard" <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:
This thread is really making me appreciate my cheapie thumbies with the incredibly cheapie-looking red stickers. They mount on the bar like thumbshifters you shift with your thumb, and stop at whatever spot you push them to, regardless of noise/click. Easy peasy!

Joe Bernard

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Dec 28, 2015, 10:43:33 PM12/28/15
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I gave up on bar-ends for Albas. At 53 I'm officially tired of jamming those things into my knees ;)

A CT Cyclist

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Dec 28, 2015, 10:52:09 PM12/28/15
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At 52 my bars are too high for that to happen. I'm using a Civia dupont hb that I had to overcome the low head tube and long top tube of my Bridgestone MB-2.

On Dec 28, 2015 10:43 PM, "Joe Bernard" <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:
I gave up on bar-ends for Albas. At 53 I'm officially tired of jamming those things into my knees ;)

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Steve Palincsar

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Dec 29, 2015, 8:10:15 AM12/29/15
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On 12/28/2015 10:43 PM, Joe Bernard wrote:
I gave up on bar-ends for Albas. At 53 I'm officially tired of jamming those things into my knees ;)


cm, you mean?

Robert

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Jan 3, 2016, 10:15:14 PM1/3/16
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Yes I agree with Kai. I made the original comment, but I meant a slight adjustment to my shifting style, i.e. just a little bit of a learning curve to avoid the unintentional shifting issue I was describing earlier in my comment. 

Robert

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Jan 3, 2016, 10:46:44 PM1/3/16
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I wanted to clarify my comment a little more, because it's a little confusing to talk about and I think this will help. I found this review on Amazon that kinda gets at the issue I'm trying to identify:

The main issue is the internal friction of the mechanism. I have noticed that the shifter hangs up in the spaces between the detents, so when the rider is done downshifting (up into lower gears/bigger cogs) the cable doesn't pull the lever back down to the "click", preventing the rear derailleur from centering under your cog of choice. Can work if you fiddle with the shifter after you make a shift. The "tension" bolt on top serves only to introduce play into the stiff mechanism. This negates the simplicity of the above-bar thumb shifter.

Now, the "fiddling" required is the learning curve for these shifters. It sounds bad, but it's really not that bad. This person gave the shifter a 1/5 star rating in their review. I would give it a 4/5. Conversely, the advantage to the "click" is you never get the slippage (to a higher gear) you can sometimes get with regular friction shifters when downshifting. My drivetrain has been pretty forgiving with these shifters, i.e; if the derailleur isn't getting perfectly centered, it's not affecting my ride. My bike is smooth and silent when I ride. 

masmojo

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Jan 4, 2016, 5:10:06 PM1/4/16
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If falls somewhere in between friction & index; if you are used to friction, these will be easy to like! If you are used to the no nonsense, right every time kind of thing you get with index shifting, it's going to be more of a harsh adjustment.
I took my Clementine to a bike shop for them to a scope out/ride and they seemed to love them, which surprised me a little; they especially liked the inside the bar placement & raved about how "iintuitive" the whole set-up was!

Joe Bernard

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Jan 4, 2016, 6:12:28 PM1/4/16
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I predict this is one of those products Riv will eventually abandon after one too many emails or forum posts questioning how the blazes they work. Remember the self-healing tubes that required a dedicated patch, and had to be mounted a certain way on the rim? I still have the patches somewhere...

islaysteve

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Jan 4, 2016, 6:35:42 PM1/4/16
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The more I read about these, the more I just shake my head...
"Hi, I'm Steve,and I'm an indexaholic!"

Joe Bernard

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Jan 4, 2016, 10:42:00 PM1/4/16
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To clarify for anyone at Riv reading this, I trust that the shifters work fine. My point was that some customers may never get past the explanation.

Belopsky

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Jan 5, 2016, 7:57:35 AM1/5/16
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these seem to work fine for me. More miles will tell.
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