Target bike has grip shift so what throttle can I use?

I was hoping to put a front q100 on an inexpensive steel fork bike that I have in the garage but it has a grip shifter. Is there a throttle that can fit on that or is it best to replace the shifter with another kind?

dgk02 said:

I was hoping to put a front q100 on an inexpensive steel fork bike that I have in the garage but it has a grip shifter. Is there a throttle that can fit on that or is it best to replace the shifter with another kind?

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You make it sound like once a bike has a shifter on it, that is it, the bike is set that way for life. There are thumb throttles, but there are other options for shifters. Something that works pretty good are lever shifters, ones from old road bikes that have no index (no click when you shift). To each their own though, I prefer non-thumb throttles with a three speed switch attached to it. http://em3ev.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&path=41&product_id=91 Such as this one.

Install your grip shift on the left, then use a half twist on the right. :wink:

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/shimano-thumb-shifters

Lots of 'em there. I just got some SL-TX50's to replace my Gripshifts. Total piece of cake to do and under $20 for both. you can get the Tourney for under $5

I have also swapped the right-hand Gripshift on the left side. It works OK too, unless you need a front derailleur!

Thanks, yes I have the front derailleur so I need a shifter on both sides. But I do see lots of alternatives to the grip shift so I'll pick one up and see how it works.

I just did the same thing, but with my 6 speed Schwinn. I prefer half twist throttles over thumb throttles, so I replaced the grip shift with a Shimano SL-TX50. Works great and was a snap to install. $20 through Amazon for the 3x6 set, but I only needed the 6 speed shifter. They make a 3x7 speed set too, so make sure you get the right one.

thumb throttles and grip shifts work really well together... what's harder is those wacky thumb shifters! (solution: twist throttle works ok )




(edited for dyslexia)

I prefer thumb throttles. I assume a half grip throttle would work too.

Fitting a thumb throttle is easy enough to the left of the shifter. Stick it between the brake and the shifter and all should work fine.

But I prefer half twist throttles, personaly. So in a similar situation, I bought a Shimano rapidfire brake/shifter combo for around $25 and had no problem fitting the throttle. With the brake levels included, it cuts down on the amount of space needed to bolt everything to the bars, and gives more room for the bulk of the back side of the throttle. You will need to run a half inch of space between the throttle and the brake/shifter mount for the shifter paddles to clear, so 1 fewer mount helps keep the brake handles near the grips. I think there part number was EF-51 for the ones with the brake levels.

I use twist and thumb shifters on the left hand. This leaves the right hand for throttle.

Drunkskunk said:

Fitting a thumb throttle is easy enough to the left of the shifter. Stick it between the brake and the shifter and all should work fine.

But I prefer half twist throttles, personaly. So in a similar situation, I bought a Shimano rapidfire brake/shifter combo for around $25 and had no problem fitting the throttle. With the brake levels included, it cuts down on the amount of space needed to bolt everything to the bars, and gives more room for the bulk of the back side of the throttle. You will need to run a half inch of space between the throttle and the brake/shifter mount for the shifter paddles to clear, so 1 fewer mount helps keep the brake handles near the grips. I think there part number was EF-51 for the ones with the brake levels.

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But don't you need to use the brake that has the cutoff? I think that's a pretty useful feature.

dgk02 said:

Drunkskunk said:

Fitting a thumb throttle is easy enough to the left of the shifter. Stick it between the brake and the shifter and all should work fine.

But I prefer half twist throttles, personaly. So in a similar situation, I bought a Shimano rapidfire brake/shifter combo for around $25 and had no problem fitting the throttle. With the brake levels included, it cuts down on the amount of space needed to bolt everything to the bars, and gives more room for the bulk of the back side of the throttle. You will need to run a half inch of space between the throttle and the brake/shifter mount for the shifter paddles to clear, so 1 fewer mount helps keep the brake handles near the grips. I think there part number was EF-51 for the ones with the brake levels.

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But don't you need to use the brake that has the cutoff? I think that's a pretty useful feature.

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Personally, I don't miss it or bother with brake switches. Partly due to hydro brakes but if I had to have 'em it would be a rework job with epoxy and limit switches.

dgk02 said:

I was hoping to put a front q100 on an inexpensive steel fork bike that I have in the garage but it has a grip shifter. Is there a throttle that can fit on that or is it best to replace the shifter with another kind?

Click to expand...

When I have faced this issue, I got an old mountain bike bar end extension and cut the curved portion away so it was just a little straight peg. I slid this onto the handlebar inboard of the brake lever and twist throttle. Then I mounted the grip shifter on it. (Most, but not all, bar ends are the same diameter as a mountain bike handlebar.) Make sure you use a secure expanding or clamping handlebar plug or cap, so you don't accidentally pull the shifter cuff off the shifter.

Sheldon Brown used to do a similar trick when mounting Rohloff twist shifters on drop bar bikes, but he mounted the bar end on a 1" stem quill. It's a good placement, but most recently made bikes don't use 1" forks or quill stems, either.

If you have enough room on your threadless steer tube, you can put on a second stem instead of headset spacers, and clamp a cut-down bar in it for your shifter (plus lights or whatever other bar-mounted accessories you like).

Another approach I have used with a NuVinci equipped bike that only had one twist shifter was to swap the shifter to the left side (where it worked reverse of normal) and use the right side for the throttle. That wasn't ideal, but it was easy.

dgk02 said:

Drunkskunk said:

Fitting a thumb throttle is easy enough to the left of the shifter. Stick it between the brake and the shifter and all should work fine.

But I prefer half twist throttles, personaly. So in a similar situation, I bought a Shimano rapidfire brake/shifter combo for around $25 and had no problem fitting the throttle. With the brake levels included, it cuts down on the amount of space needed to bolt everything to the bars, and gives more room for the bulk of the back side of the throttle. You will need to run a half inch of space between the throttle and the brake/shifter mount for the shifter paddles to clear, so 1 fewer mount helps keep the brake handles near the grips. I think there part number was EF-51 for the ones with the brake levels.

Click to expand...

But don't you need to use the brake that has the cutoff? I think that's a pretty useful feature.

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Cars don't have a brake cutoff. Motorcycles don't have a brake cutoff. ATVs don't have a brake cutoff. It's a near useless feature. The chance of a throttle failure happening in a way that would cause the motor to run out of control is about the same as it happening on a car, motorcycle, atv, ext. BUT if that should happen, you pull the brake a little harder and it will stop. At which point the controller will sense a stall and shut down until the throttle is reset.

The only use for that switch is if you happen to have regen braking. whether regen is worth it on a bicycle is debatable, but if your kit is equipped with it, use an inline switch.

Drunkskunk said:

Cars don't have a brake cutoff. Motorcycles don't have a brake cutoff. ATVs don't have a brake cutoff. It's a near useless feature. The chance of a throttle failure happening in a way that would cause the motor to run out of control is about the same as it happening on a car, motorcycle, atv, ext.

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No, I think it's pretty clear that stinking gas vehicles rarely fail WOT, but e-bikes do it a lot. Some of them do it whenever they get good and wet.

E-brake levers are only one approach, but they are easy to use appropriately in the heat of the moment. A wrist lanyard switch or a Big Red Button would work almost as well, but the brake levers are always close at hand.

Re the brake cutoffs, Man they really were mandatory with brushed controllers, that fail in WOT mode. Not as much with brushless. DO have a very quick and easy way to get the battery disconnected, since other emergencies can happen that brake cutoffs won't fix. Fuses are always a good idea.

Best solution short of going to trigger shift brake levers, which lose the brake cutoff unless modified, is replacing at least one of the twist shifters with an old school shifter. I did this with my cargo bike. That bike pretty much never gets out of the highest gear, having a honking huge motor on it.

Another option I did on one bike, was just removing the front derailur, which again, I rarely used. It was of course quite possible to manually put the chain on the other gears if desired, like if I ran out of battery. Then the 7 speed shifter was simply put on the left side, upside down. Worked just fine.

IMO, though just using thumb throttles with twist shifters does work, IT SUCKS. I just don't want anything awkward about my throttle. My personal favorite is half twist throttle with trigger shift brakes.

I have an On/Off switch on my handlebar which works perfectly if the motor were to run out of control...

I have hydraulic brakes which prevents me from using a brake cut-off. The cutoffs would be very handy for cruise-control (which the CA v3 supports) or using PAS. I'd use them if I could.

My two cents...