If so how do you find them? Also what do you use for a 10 speed?
I use pauls thumbing mounts and shimano TT shifters in 9/10 speed find both great faster shifter than m970 xtr and very very positive. I think they are either something you love using or hate very quickly
As per cannondaleking; Pauls Thumbies with 9sp Dura Ace bar end shifters on two bikes over the years.
But they are very much Marmite... then again I prefer a Vernier caliper to a digital micrometer. Maybe I'm just showing my age.
I've used Paul's mounts with bar end shifters before and while the shifting is fine I find the ergonomics a bit off. The lever is not quite the right shape and they sit too high above the bars. I have a set of ancient Deore thumbies on one of my bikes and the shape is much better.
I'm pondering on a build using the microshift thumb shifters. They seem to be more in line with "proper" shifters, as opposed to bar end shifters on mounts.
As above, I've got Deore DX thumbies on my old Kona running 1x8 XT in friction mode. I have proper shifters on my other bikes and have no issues switching between the 2.
I've a 2015 Trek Superfly with full 2015 XT plus an early '90s XT Thumbie for fork lockout.
I've been running original Shimano XT thumbies with an 11 speed cassette for well over 6 months
It works a treat, even running a 10 spd SLX rear mech and 10spd chain
Basically the shifter is set on friction mode, you then need to nip off the little Friction/SIS lever to allow for the extra "throw" that the mech needs to cover the range
Certainly the cheapest way to upgrade to 11spd and so easy to flick across the whole block, all you have to do is find an old XT thumbie 🙂
I've used Pauls/DA in friction mode a fair bit. I like them a lot, but found them pretty hopeless for anything where I was trying to change gear in a rush on rough ground.
I ended up using them on the cargo bike, but they didn't last long on the MTB.
I use one on the left, always have done, and keep using it because it works. One of [url= http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/shimano-dura-ace-9-speed-thumbshifter-set-prod17430/ ]these[/url] now, after earlier DX/XT models. Ergonomics are OK, bit vulnerable to crash damage. I doubt I'd buy them rather than Rapidfire now, especially for a 2x setup.
As per cannondaleking; Pauls Thumbies with 9sp Dura Ace bar end shifters on two bikes over the years.
Ditto: my commuting setup, which replaced 7 speed Deore thumbies. They work great, and seem to be less sensitive to gritty cables than STI - an important consideration on the bike that gets least maintenance.