Gear shifting technology has come a long way. The latest groupsets offer unrivalled shifting performance, with electronic shifting and autonomously calibrating derailleurs now available at the very top end of the Shimano spectrum.
But I still prefer thumbshifters, namely Shimano’s 7 speed Deore and Deore XT early 90s. In fact, I still use thumbshifters on most of my mountain bikes.
See, for example, my Haro Extreme, my Raleigh M Trax 300, or my Rourke. I’m also planning to use a set on my soon to be built Dynatech Voyager and Dynatech Mission.
Here’s why:
* low cost (typically 20-30 GBP per pair).
* reliable, virtually indestructible, they just work.
* allows the user to trim the front mech to avoid chain-rub on the mech’s plates.
* they have a hidden extra click, allowing use with an 8 speed cassette.
Suntour XCpro’s on my 94 Kona Kilauea.
Beautifully engineere/ooze quality/do the job in all conditions.
(namely if cables freeze up as the gears did on my 2012 GT Zaskar 10-speed system today 1 Dec 2016 on way to work a chance you still have a way to get the shifts working).
The current 10-system on my bike worst/most unreliable gear system I have ever owned and this is with shimano XTR shifter & XT rest of the system, slightest water or dirt creeping into cables systems loses any shift quality……….. Shimano is just rubbish quality now. The shimano 10-speed stuff on 2012 Zaskar being binned/sold SRAM going on.
My XC race bike next year (2017) SRAM 1×11 system……SRAM now far superior to Shimano.
8/9-speed Shimano the last good stuff made by them.