So, over-excited Dad build has resulted in XT shifter and Zee mech being a bit heavy/stiff to press and shift for my 6yo (told you it was an over-excited Dad build!).

With cable loose, shifter is very light so not a cable/housing friction.

Mech is M640 with clutch disengaged. Shifter is XT 780.

Can you make the parallelogram spring tension feel less for easier shifting?

Answers on a postcard and ‘should’ve specced it more appropriately’ comments expected! I know!

Stay well
Chris

Which side of the brake lever clamp have you put the shifter clamp? Grip side?

Ispec so on the brake band…

You thinking a longer lever?

Longer lever means longer throw, whether that might be a problem… 🤔
Grip shifts normally work well for kids.

Hmm…

Maybe something like this would work? Anyone used it?

https://www.sureshift.bike/

Saint shifter and you’re golden.
This combo worked superbly for both my little guys

Thanks @kayak23 – I like the idea of getting him on lever now rather than starting with twist grip and changing later…that may be my mistake for now though?

Thanks @bearback – Saint shifter longer levers or lighter action?

https://archercomponents.com/

Regular price $399.00
Pay in full or in 4 interest-free installments of $97.25

Saint shifter… band on and positioning entirely up to you then… mounted between grip and brake lever for little hands. Works a treat. Big paddles, light action bearings. King of shifters.

Not tried it myself, but heard good things about the Sureshift.

Ok cool! Archer kit looks nice but not this time round!

Anyone got a 10sp Saint shifter for sale?

You probably don’t want to go backwards but 9speed were always much lighter action

Grip shifts normally work well for kids.

they suffer the exact same problem, but worse. My 5 year old can shift the thumby on my wife’s 8 speed alivio town bike, but has no chance of getting his grip shift down a gear.

Rapid rise 9 speed is probably the lightest option outside of electric shifting. Otherwise you could always try and stretch the mech spring a bit so its pulling with less tension?

The saint 10 speed’s the best shifter ever made… Being from the greatest generation when Shimano just went “what if we just 100% transparently ripped off 9 speed sram, but with shimano build quality”.

Having said all that the XT wasn’t super heavy either.

You know the real answer is:

Lol DI2!

I recently got a Saint shifter for a commuter
It’s lovely and light
Running Zee mech
Best shifting setup that I have

+1 on 9 speed.
I just put a 9 speed XT shifter and mech on my nephew’s bike and I was SHOCKED, CONFOUNDED AND TERRIFIED at how light the action was

Check the upper limit screw (without a cable attached), I recently had a mate with issues getting into 1st gear (it would just shift up but had a LOT of resistance on the lever) on a bike I’d sold him. I’d never had any problems with gears so said I’d have a look at it. Turned out he’d been fiddling with the limit screws with the bike in 1st gear and cable attached, it wasn’t far out but meant the mech was basically being forced into 1st. He was amazed how much ‘lighter’ the shifting was afterwards

Thanks all.

@pothead so what’s the correct protocol for limit screw set up? I’ve got for the ‘does it over shift?’ If so tighten it a bit and repeat. I’m guessing I’m missing an awful lot of subtleties in setup here!

I usually set it by hand without a cable, push it across until the limit screw stops it going further, check by eye from the rear of the bike that it’s in line with 1st gear, if it’s not aligned adjust the limit screw to suit then attach the cable. Not sure if any of that makes sense, or if its the ‘correct protocol’ but it works for me

I know you’ve eliminated the cables…
… but I’d change the cables (inner and outer)

Turn off the clutch.

Is it a full outer cable run from shifter to mech? Did you stuff outer with plenty grease before tightening everything up?

I’ve found greasing the outer before feeding the inner through results in a lighter feel.

If already done, then I’m stuck as I don’t think Shimano did an adjustable spring tension since they dropped DX and changed XT so it wasn’t golden (so about ’93-ish!)…

There’s a spring in the shifter that opposes the mech springs to make the shift lighter (and consistent in feel across the cassette) which might mask cable roughness. I’d fit new SP41 and good quality inner like the Optislick ones that come with XT 12 spd shifters. Not cheap cables, but very good and don’t suffer from the coating fluffing up like the more expensive Polymer cables.

Thanks all. Interesting about the thoughts regarding inner and outer. I suppose under tension there could be more drag inside than when I try it in the hand?

Full length outer but May strip it out tomorrow and replace with a greased up version!

New lubed cables maybe made a tiny difference so decided to go down the SureShift route. Small modification made to the down lever but nice fit and definitely makes shifting easier.

I’d recommend.