Seeing them on one of the Ti456 builds reminded me of my growing interest – what do the users think of them, right choice or big mistake ?

Spot on.

I know people choose them because they are lighter, but I chose them because in my experience they just work.

No danger of crash damage, and the biggest plus is the ability to change from top to bottom gear on the front and back with a twist of each hand rather than all that thumb tapping.

People complain about accidently shifting, but this has never been a problem for me. I think the correct hand/grip/brake setup and position is key here.

What do you use as grips to go with them, and any problems with cabling ?

I love them. Changed to them because of short bars, use Bonty foam grips with them and have no problems with routing cos you can rotate them around the bars!

I wouldn't go back now for racing as the benefits are great – being able to drop every gear in one go, and also being able to trim the front mech is nice too!

Ditto for 'they just work' / 'no crash damage'. Less for your knees to bounce off if you're on the front of the saddle and pedalling. Cables easy to fit; cable routeing not significantly different to other shifters.

ODI make a shorter lock-on grip or two to work with them.

Hmmm, sounds like the only downside may be the temptation to get an XO mech to match 😉

Like this 1!!!

and the shifters again

😆

Lah, lah lah, lah – I'm not looking, my eyes are closed, just scrolling on by 😡

Those are the old shifters with the carbon effect, the newer grey ones are even nicer!

I love them for all the aforementioned reasons. Looking forward to the XX Grip Shifters next year.

I use one foam grip cut in half!

90mm lock ons BTW.

CRC have 2007 X0 rear mechs going cheap (if there are any left).

I'm temped to try out some Sram (love their road stuff) and X0 gripshifts are pretty reasonably priced. Only grippers I've ever used were on Halfords specials back in the early nineties, so that's all I've got to judge them by. Do they feel really heavy and sluggish and fall apart like Shimano ones?

I read 2010 x9 is the same as last years x0 somewhere…..at x9 prices would be worth looking at vs a 2007 x0 if its true.

got some 2009 ones on my blur xc race bike. love em to bits. wont change back to thumb shifters. but on my trail bike (BFe) i'll stick with my thumb shifters

We have sram rocket twisties on the tandem and Mrs TJs commuter – I like them again for the reasons above.

I've had my set since the week they came out, and they are still going strong now. The ribs on the grips have worn a bit in the intervening years but they are still easy to turn. Mine have never had much attention either, unlike the old 'x rays' I had in the late 90s which needed stripping every few weeks.

I used to run gripshift specific lock on grips, but haven't been able to find them for ages, so now I just cut down std lock ons to fit.

I like them but stopped using them as the rate at which I was going through gloves was getting annoying. Can also give you blisters if you're riding them every day on say a biking holiday

Ah yes, I always get blisters on my LH thumb at the start of the season, it's agony for a couple of rides, then they scab over and turn into callouses, and are fine for the rest of the year!

They can be really gay in the mud actually, sometimes I've found if you get really muddy bars you can't grip them sufficiently to change gear.

Cables last for ages too, another advantage!

I have never had problems with blisters but there great for wearing thicker gloves in cold weather,the cables are easier to replace, and theres mechanically less to go wrong,ace!

They should work without being stiff,(blisters)if they are, theres a cable routing problem,stiff/worn mech,or the cables just need replacing.

First off they tear a hole in your gloves, then they give you a blister through the hole they have created! Falling over and getting a muddy hand doesn't make it easy to shift either!

Despite all of that they are still good I think. Very light, simple and crash proof. Bars look nice and tidy too.

I have never had problems with blisters but there great for wearing thicker gloves in cold weather,the cables are easier to replace, and theres mechanically less to go wrong,ace!

They should work without being stiff,(blisters)if they are, theres a cable routing problem,stiff/worn mech,or the cables just need replacing.

Either that or if you ride your bike a lot! Not a major issue but it does happen

No blisters here either, never had a problem with muddy hands not being able to grip either.

I had forgot about being able to trim the front mech, must be so annoying not being able to do it with triggers!

They don't really chew up gloves – I've used them since X0 was released way back – and the original pair are still in regular use. For racing they're brilliant – they allow you to shift loads of gears and once, plus they're nice and light.

They also seem much less susceptible to gungy cables than rapidfire – the way the cable gets "shot" out of the shifter really helps on downshifts – you don't just rely on mech tension.

If you can't grip them in mud (Mayhem…) then shift using the part of the shifter barrel that wraps up next to where the gear indicators are.

I won't use anything else.

GB

I've got 'em,won't be going back to trigger-shift.No blisters,no holes in gloves (and they're eight years old) and no problems in the mud.
I've got a X9 rear-mech,but that Xo has tempted me.Damn!

All gripshifters work well, the xo is as good as you can get, and the rockets or attacks (which are for shimano) are just as good and you can use a mech that wont break if it sees a twig, my only complaint is you cannot get a replacement window on the gear indicator and they do break quite easily. Ive tried the trigger shifters from both brands and they break under my fat fingers.

Having recently changed from X9 Triggers (two failing is more than enough..) I would say that X0 gripshift is far superior, with a nice reseasuring clunk through each gear change.

Go for it!

Well I must have some freakishly sharp grips on mine then as I've had a few pairs of gloves wear in exactly the same spot due to the shifting motion. I also have a Rohloff with a twist shifter and I've not had the glove wearing issue to the same extent there. I would say that the bike I had them on was ridden day in day out, and not a 'race' bike so I did a lot of shifting.

Its a small aside though as it doesn't sound like everyone has found that. I still like them and am considering putting them on my next build as I still have them and they do work very well.

I like using gripshifts for most of the reasons stated and have just ordered another set from Merlin, which seems a cracking deal. Does anyone know if they come with the short grips?

Mine didn't come with grips when I got them. I found that ODI rogues cut in half (so you only have one lock on part left) worked pretty well to match up with the height of the shifters rather than there being a big 'step' between shifter and grip.

Thanks Willsimmons, I've seen some that come with the shorties and some that don't. At that price I'm not expecting any! I've used foam grips with twist shifters previously which has avoided the step you mention and lets you easily cut them to the right length but I may chop up one of my Rogues, good suggestion.

The tart that I am I'll probably end up buying these, eventually for my ASR – it's all got to match!

I've got some Lizard Skins lock-on grips,which are fine.Before that I cut down some Ritchey foam grips,which are great,but looked a bit tatty where I'd done the cutting.

are the X0 gripshift indexed?

people say that you can use the shifter to trim the front mech, or is this only the front. i would assume the rear is indexed?

Yes, the rear is indexed

Are there any other choices apart from x0 and attack/rocket shifters? I remember i used to really like them on my old bikes years ago… I dont like sram mechs particulary ( well, i dont want to have to replace all my shimano ones ) so would want shimano compatible shifters…

what grips do people who have twister shift use?

Are they just cut down normal grips or can you buy special ones?

The pic of mine above (athough you cant see them) are 90mm lock on`s

I use these grips cut in half: http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bontrager/race-x-lite-grips-ec008124?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle

Harder than most foam grips too, and weigh nothing! 😉

I use one of these cut in half, I can never find the 'spare' when I come to change grips though!

Clicky

I wasn't sure about the X0 twisties until I rode with them about 2½ years ago and now I couldn't imagine ride with anyting else, very very good. In fact I have even thought of fitting a modded one to my DH bike 😯

The only issue at I see is that they index VERY loud, even louder than my hope rear freewheel 😆

Not really an issue as such but when racing it tends to make other riders hear your attack coming, although I have a trick to keep the noise down by fully lifting off the throttle when changing.