[Closed] Broken thumbs....... Grip shift?

I like grip shifts. You can get sram ones that work with shimano rear mechs - IIRC the ones with names (rocket) work with shimano and the ones with numbers work with sram

I always quite liked Grip shif, however I'm sure you still need a fair bit of Thumb input to be able to exert enough grip to use them effectively...

Would shimano's dual control levers be an option or even using a rapid rise mech to try and take some of the load off of your thumbs when shifting?

I'm pretty impressed you can ride at all so soon after breaking both Thumbs, fair play to ya...

I've got a bike with gripshift and I'm pretty sure I would have trouble with them if I had broken thumbs.

Another bike has shimano dual controls and they would probably be fine as you don't use your thumb at all.

Di2 electric shifting is on its way. I heard Craig at Swinnerton's in Stoke has got an early release to play with. Snakebite said he was going to take it out for a test.

I hadn't thought about the dual controls. The only problem is that I'd the day I crashed I'd just fitted spanking new brakes and the dual system would require brakes too.
The thumbs are fine up to the last joint/knuckle where the honeycomb bones has boken up so I can grip without too much discomfort but cant apply pressue with my thumb pad.

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Thumbs don't hurt on the road bike too much, just the big bangs in the road or the vibration after 20mph.
Must remember to get a new helmet as the Giro Zen shattered on impact and protected me well.

You do see some good deals on dual contol lever sets (9 speed LX pop up alot) on flea bay quite often, might be the way to go if you want to be able to use the bike for an event: it would mean a lever change and bleed (assuming you have compatable calipers) I think given the state of your thumbs it might be an idea to hand it over to the LBS for that...

My other suggestion of rapid rise was because you need less grunt through your thumb as it's shifting down the cassette, bloody annoying though if you forget you've got backwards shifting....

RV,

CRC have the LX 9-speed dual control levers at £18 a pair.

Shifting using just the lever is light if your cables are clean.

I would remove the extra thunb pusher to remove any temptation.

PaulD

Maybe better to stay off the mtb until the thumbs are fixed.

I think you would be able to use them (gripshift) perfectly OK.

They are not sure the right hand thumb will ever be ok again as the end is so badly broken. I'll hold on for another week or two before making a decision but i just got to ride the hard dusty trails soon after doing the hard work all winter.
I may find that the roughness off road might be too much too soon but I have to start thinking about my options as the event is only 7 weeks away and I'm on holidays for two weeks before.

If you want to give them a try, a mate of mine who works in the bike trade left me a pair of SRAM XO shifters when he moved back to Australia as he was planning on getting a load of new free swag when he got back home.

I've never used them and they're yours for hte price of postage if you want them.

Can't you get a stick shift type lever, like there was on the Raleigh Chopper?

Can you turn them upside down ie through 180' and use your index finger to pull them toward you?

Instead of biking try hitching instead,shouldnt have much trouble attracting attention with those bad boys

TBH I use XO Gripshifters and there's no way I could use them with broken thumbs.

Thanks Woodywoodbine for the offer but Chelmer Cycles have lent me a set(came on a Flash 1 that someone bought but didn't want gripshift) to try out. I did try some dual levers but the amount of leverage required put pressure on the thumbs. I tried the gripshift on a pair of bars in the shop and was able to shift pain free, so will have to try it out in the real world this weekend.
Now just the mental issue of crashing again the same way to deal with, keep telling myself it was a freak incident.
Thanks for the input.

Having previously worked on a hand injury unit I personally wouldn't risk it until your bones have healed. You can't do anything to speed bone healing but you can delay it or worse, prevent it altogether. It sounds like your injury means that you're already at risk of it never healing properly. It might mean a frustrating month or more for you but not as frustrating as a life time with rubbish thumb(s). Surgery to fix that thumb may end up with a permantely wired joint.
I say all of this with a fractured pelvis so I know it's much easier said than done but you've got to think about the long term.

Sok, I know what you're saying and I know it's possibly going to end up in surgery, if i had gone private for a consultation it probably would already have been cut. After ACL & PCL reconstruction I didn't spend a whole year recovering as suggested and had to have another op to correct the damage I'd done. I'd worked so hard through the winter and lost shed loads of weight for this summer season that sitting here waiting for weeks and weeks is driving me mad as it is you, I'm sure.
I'll probably leave it another couple of weeks but need to try it out or else i'm taking the road bike to the Alps for the week rather than the mtb.

grip shifts rocks!

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Broke my left thumb in the same place as you at about this time last year. I stayed off the MTB for a few weeks and then tried to ride in late May. While I could ride ok-ish, it still hurt to ride at anything more than about 60%. Couldn't use the my shifter either but it was more the lack of bike control that was the problem.

I was also entered in the PdS. By the time June came around the thumb was back up to full strength and the Alps was no problem. I wouldn't sweat it, let it heal.

My thumb is borked after being pinned (can't locked the joint properly) so I always have to take my hand off the bars to change up chainrings with my palm. I'm going to move to a 1x10 set up though, and loose the left shifter altogether.

BTW - they pinned mine the day after I did it. Can't understand why you've been left to wait as the hospital told me they pretty much always get the break set as soon as possible as working thumbs are pretty important in life!

My thumbs must be getting better as the wife don't have to do my flies up in the morning anymore and i can button my own shirt. I might just be evolving though.
I can only road ride if I have a domestique to change tubes for me.
Maybe I'll lay offthe mtb till I can repair my own punctures but am concerned about the mental block of riding off road at the moment, maybe time will hal my thumbs and head.
Two days after the accident I had a plastics appointment and they asked me back the next day to do an op. Waited around for 3 hours after seeing a consultant and they asked for a second opinion and agreed not to do the op at that time as they didn't think they could make it any better. On my last out-patients appoinment they re-xrayed the thumbs and one is healing well but the other is a nasty little fracture and they said to leave it and hope the knuckle fuses it's self.