It's important to be able to change gears at any time while mountain biking. Learn about shifters and which ones are right for you in this free video clip.
Determine the use of product
Mountain bike shifters come in two formats
Consult your local bicycle shop
Pancho Herrera is passionate about cycling. Pancho races for the SLO Nexus Club on road and mountain bikes. Pancho also has 25 years cycling experience as a competitor and pro shop mechanic.
PANCHO HERRERA: This is Pancho Herrera and I'm going to explain a little bit about choosing a good shifter for your bicycle. A lot of different models and price points on the market place, you will find entry level shifters all the way up to a very exotic shifting sets at high-priced tags. Your job is to determine what's best for you. If you're a recreational rider or weekend warrior, perhaps a basic entry level shifter is adequate. Do bear in mind that the more money you throw at it, the better component you're likely to get. More durability, lighter weight, better shifting performance. Here's an example of a fairly basic unit, certainly adequate for running to the coffee shop on the weekends or your recreational rides with the family around the block. When you start upping your mileage, getting more serious about it, riding more aggressively, it would pay to invest in something a little higher end like this shifter component. This is a nicely produced piece. A lot of durability in there, a lot of precision and of course light weight goes a long with that. Mountain bike shifters typically come in two formats. Either a twist grip shift system like this one in which the shifting is actuated like a throttle on the motorcycle or a trigger shifter like this one in which you got a thumb button and a pointer finger trigger. But most of the manufacturers are making both types and it's kind of up to you to decide what's best for you. You'll see both types on a variety of bicycles. Try them both out at your local bike shops. See what works best for you.
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