Love my CLICK "Trigger" Shifters

[bvar22]

A dirty, scum eating, shoe licking, sewer living bike thief recently forced me to shop for a new bike.

I was looking for a replacement with about the same features and price range ($350-$450). A sturdy "dual purpose" road warrior that can jump curbs, comfortable and agile on streets and trails, and occasionally hit a dirt trail just to see where it goes.

I had decided that it may be nice to have a "sprung" front end and seat post. I was looking at some Treks, and the salesman suggested that I look at this other bike. (I am always suspicious of a salesman that wants me to look at something else that only costs a little more.)

He showed me this and suggested I take it for a spin:

Gary Fisher Zebrano

While I have been an enthusiast (/addict) for 4 years, I spend most of my time riding alone, never talk about bike equipment and brands conversationally, and am old enough to not really care about the latest fad, or obsess about carbon fiber frames that will save less weight than a good haircut. I don't dream about "Riding in the Tour".

The first thing I noticed was what appeared to be an overly complex shifting mechanism mounted on the handlebars. I had never seen a shifter like this, and was suspicious that it would be more trouble than it was worth. My other bike has used twist grip shifters that worked just fine.


The salesman said that they are called "Trigger Shifters" and that most people loved them. I was pretty closed minded, but decided to try the bike anyway.

I LOVED it. The bike handles well, the springs are an improvement, but the SHIFTING is SUPERB!!. It takes a little while to get used to it, but this is a great improvement over the twist grips.

I've been riding this bike almost daily for two months now, and I STILL marvel at how neat these shifter are. You just reach up with your trigger finger (or down with the thumb) and quickly pull the trigger. THATS IT! The trigger pull is light and positive. The shifter makes an audible and pleasant "CLICK" and a smooth shift happens. There is no need to readjust your hand grip, and there is never a shifting mistake (jump 2 or more gears at once). Even under loads (like steep hills) shifting is easy and positive. There is even a little window in case you need to know what gear you are in.


Before buying the bike, I checked with the guys in the shop. They said these shifters are about as durable as any other, and cost about the same to fix when broken. I haven't Tested to Failure yet, but so far, they seem durable.

Just thought I would share this with y'all. If you get a chance, give them a try.

I LOVE this shifter!

[Fovea]

1. aka rapid fire

Yeah, I have them on my Vision R40 USS.

Great shifters, and pretty durable.

[BiggJawn]

2. Your salesman likes you.

Good suggestion, the Gary Fisher. Really nice bike, and I know you'll get good service out of the "Rapid-Fire" shifters.

I have Shimano 105 SIS shifters on one bike, and Deore on my "Norco Agent". They're good, but I have a set of old-school Suntour "Power Ratchets" on my Velo Rouge, with a HG cassette, and it shifts like it was an indexing system. Poke the lever and it's THERE.

[Longhorn]

3. I could sure use shifters like that!

I almost crashed yesterday because I decided to mash up a little hill but I tend to grip my handle shifters and apparently shifted into a higher gear. My bike practically came to a stop and I was clipped in (which is unusual for me but I was determined to practice and get over my fear of clipping in.) At the last second, my left foot unclipped and I didn't fall. So much for THAT experiment!

It looks like a great bike! I'll bet you got that one instead of one like mine -- a Trek 7200.

[robertarctor]

4. Your salesman definitely likes you.

Steering you away from a Trek (a company owned by some friend of the Chimperor; look at the make of bikes ol' Jethro Mussolini is always falling off of, which were gifts from his buddy the bike-company owner) and toward a Gary Fisher, a superior conveyance.

On topic, I have Shimano Deore shifers on my Marin, and they rock.

[bvar22]

5. I've been back to thank him.

I pay a price for not keeping up when it comes time to replace or upgrade equipment. I just don't know what is out there. An honest salesman who listens to what someone says they want, is able to honestly assess that persons capabilities, and then nudge that person to the best fit of equipment, price, and individual capability is rare.


I feel fortunate to have met this salesman.

[Longhorn]

6. Could you provide a link or a source to the information

that the Idiot Boy is friends with the Trek president? I understand that he rides a Trek and found an article in which the company spokesman said they're happy to have the "endorsement" but is there something more solid than that?

Thanks!

[robertarctor]

7. Sure. Here you go:

I felt bad when I was bad-mouthing Trek, and then I saw in your post that you ride a Trek (good bikes, BTW).

Found this when googling "George W. Bush" and "John Burke"' Burke is president of Trek Bicycling Corp.

http://www.bikebiz.co.uk/daily-news/article.php?id=4842

Quote: Not that anybody cares, and not that this site has any US voting rights, but BikeBiz.com would vote for Kerry. He buys his bikes; Bush gets his free from Trek...

Also, Burke makes an appearence here:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/07/20030718-6.html

From an Elizabeth Bumiller NYT piece archived on Trek's site (scroll down):

http://www.trekbikes.com/diaries/zap_archive.jsp?articleId=7324&category=zapsdiary

Quote: "Bush's choice of Trek is hardly surprising, given that the company is one of the world's biggest manufacturers of quality bikes and that its president, John Burke, is a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness. Trek's sponsored athlete is Lance Armstrong, the five-time Tour de France winner from Texas, who presented his friend the president with a Trek bike at the White House in 2001."

And from this site:

http://bluecollarmtb.com/2005/05/16/treks-gifts-to-bush-are-officially-disclosed/

Quote: The fact that President Bush accepted a $2700 Trek MTB is known in the bike trade but it’s now part of an official financial disclosure document, released Friday. Trek’s John Burke also supplied Dubya with gloves and a helmet. The president accepted $26 000-worth of gifts last year.

There is no limit on the size of gifts a president can receive from a US citizen, but federal law requires him to declare them if they are valued at $285 or more.

Bush is no pauper, the financial disclosure document reveals that he invested millions of dollars in Treasury notes and certificates of deposit last year.

However, Trek - and mountain biking - are getting good value for the $2700. Bush is now a regular cyclist and is often pictured on his Trek Fuel.

Last year he told a reporter from the Associated Press: “Nothing compares to getting your heart rate up to 170-something, riding hard for an hour-twenty, getting off and not hurting, as opposed to 24 minutes of running, at the end of which I hurt. When you ride a bike and you get your heart rate up and you’re out, after 30 or 40 minutes your mind tends to expand; it tends to relax.”

[Longhorn]

8. Don't feel bad.

I try to buy blue whenever I can but we all know our choices are sometimes limited.

I'm not sure I'm convinced that Trek is a supporter of Bush. The fact that Burke gave Bush a bike isn't actually proof, since Trek got a lot of free publicity. And Bush's association with Lance Armstrong is also not as clear-cut as it seems, as indicated in this article: http://www.lancearmstrongfanclub.com/uktimesonline.html

"Once we settle down to talk at a long wooden table, we are swapping stories about George W. Bush, his fellow Texan. We agree that our politics are different to Bush's, but that the President is smarter, funnier and more likeable than the caricature. Even Sheryl, whose politics Armstrong describes as "way out Left", says that it's hard to meet Bush and not like him. I had assumed, because he and Bush were Texans and I'd seen pictures of them laughing and joking in the Oval Office, that Armstrong was a Republican. But he says his politics are "middle to Left". He is "against mixing up State and Church, not keen on guns, pro women's right to choose". And very anti war in Iraq."

Of course, Burke and Bush may be bosum buddies, for all I know!

Thanks for taking the time to research the association. I won't be in the market for another bike for awhile but I'll look into it more closely when I am! :hi:

[Kolesar]

9. My Trek 930 FS has a great paint job

I bought the bike in 1995 and have found it to be high quality and a great design. I bought a Bianchi road bike in 2001 and its paint has cracks in it and tends to scrape off easily (especially in the first year when the paint was new and not fully hardened. I think the Trek was powder-coat-painted and baked in an oven.

The next time I buy a bike, I am going to store it in a hot place like my sunny porch or the back of the station wagon for the first summer, so the paint bakes on harder.

Happy pedaling!