Most ergonomic throttle/gear/brake combo?

Timbo

10 W
Joined
Nov 3, 2007
Messages
98
Location
Chadstone, Victoria, Australia
I'm using a thumb thottle and have shimano rapid fire gears with the brake levers incorporated in the mount. I find it a little clumsy when trying to shift - particularly shifting to a lower gear on hills as I loose speed when I take my thumb off the throttle.

Initially I planned to use a twist throttle but the cable exit angle interfered with gear triggers etc

What are your prefered options? Does the shimano revo shifter improve things or make it worse? I'd almost prefer to be able to shift the rear derailler with my left hand.......
 
I like a full twist throttle on the right hand.

And a thumb throttle on the left hand bar end, for cruising, or if I need to use my right hand.

I HATED the thumb throttle on the right hand when I tried it.
 
i had to fiddle a heck of a lot - to get it to the point i was happy with. I use a half throttle on the right. I'd suggest using the rapidfire gears. with twist - kind of works well
i have to slide my finger in between the rounded cable exit to get to the button to go to easier gears. Its not optimal but as close as can be without running a single speed on the rear (i'm considering it!
 
I don't have that much trouble shifting my Deore shifters where you push the brake lever down to shift up gears, while holding full throttle.

But sometimes I do use the other throttle while I do it.



But holding a thumb throttle for a long time gives you a sore thumb.

One thing I do remember about the EV Dodsun was it was impossible to change gears as the thumb throttle was in the way.
 
Front Brake - Right
Rear Brake - Left
1/4 Hand Grip Throttle - Right
1/4 Hand Grip Shifter - Left
 
I have the same configuration Timbo. I just loosen teh shifter on the right a little then move it toward the center until the trigger clear the throttle. The lower gear on the bike is pretty useless so i don't shift much. I'll provide pictures when i get a chance to
 
Mark_A_W said:
I like a full twist throttle on the right hand.

And a thumb throttle on the left hand bar end, for cruising, or if I need to use my right hand.

I never thought of a second throttle........

BiGH said:
I use a half throttle on the right. I'd suggest using the rapidfire gears. with twist - kind of works well

Drunkskunk said:
I'm running Shimano Rapidfire with a half twist throttle. it works fine. It looked like the cables would interfere when I took it out of the box, but once It was on the bar, it was clear it would fit perfect.

This was what I planned to do, but the cable exit on the throttle fouled the rapid fire triggers. The thottle has indicator lights for battery charge that make it kind of bulky & the cable exits to the left straight into the gear triggers

safe said:
Front Brake - Right
Rear Brake - Left
1/4 Hand Grip Throttle - Right
1/4 Hand Grip Shifter - Left

I'd like to see a photo of this arrangement if you have one safe. I'm thinking along those lines at the moment - swapping the rapidfire on the right bar end with a revo on the left to control the rear derailler, but retaining the triggers for the front derailler on the left bar also. Throttle would be a 1/2 twist on the right bar. Did you have to reverse the twist shift to mount it on the left bar?

Pics of other setups welcome too
 
Timbo,
I have heard that people find that SRAM shifters are better for e-bike use.
I am personally using SRAM 9 speedm trigger shifters with a thumb throttle. Is actually quite easy to shift and hold down the throttle at the same time.
I know the problem you are having, as my trike only has a friction shifter and twist throttle!
Cheers!
 
Timbo said:
Drunkskunk said:
I'm running Shimano Rapidfire with a half twist throttle. it works fine. It looked like the cables would interfere when I took it out of the box, but once It was on the bar, it was clear it would fit perfect.

This was what I planned to do, but the cable exit on the throttle fouled the rapid fire triggers. The thottle has indicator lights for battery charge that make it kind of bulky & the cable exits to the left straight into the gear triggers

Thats the problem, the lighted version is bigger, and you can't turn it to a point were the lights show without the cable getting in the way. I've got the non lighted version.
 
Yes, the ones with LED's are more bulky. That's the type I have on my trike.
I found the only way to get a happy medium, is to move the gear shifters inboard a bit, to just clear the throttle housing. Reminds me, has anyone used a thumb throttle with a twist shifter? Could be a satisfactory way to go.
 
Rob said:
has anyone used a thumb throttle with a twist shifter?

I have twist shifters on my trike with a thumb throttle and it works good. However, my underseat bars point to the sky, and the thumb throttle is mounted backwards at the very end of the bar. The wiring cable loops back and runs through the bar.
 
Here's the picture of my layout. I moved the shifter inward a little just enough to clear the throttle. You'd have to articulate a little more to shift but it's not that much of a trade off
 
Thanks for the input guys. It looks like there are a bunch of alternatives & it's just a matter of trying things out until I find something that works for me. One of the problems I have with the current setup is that the shifters attach to the bottom of the brake levers & can't be moved independantly. I amy have to get new brake levers as well as shifters to get the result i'm hoping for.
 
On my mountain bike with Heinzmann thumb throttle, just place the throttle on the left side and use your fore finger to throttle, works great for years. The front derailers don't get used nearly as much anyway.
 
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