Stick Shift from scratch?
- Thread starter MikeOneal
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Depends on what hub you're running. 3-speed,5-speed or more?
Have you got a gripshift on you bars or the Sturmey Archer lever-shifter?
Making a suicide shifter from a gripshift, isn't too complicated. But the more professional you want it to look, the more complicated it gets.
Here on "how to" are a few threads about the same question. Might be useful to check them out.
Have you got a gripshift on you bars or the Sturmey Archer lever-shifter?
Making a suicide shifter from a gripshift, isn't too complicated. But the more professional you want it to look, the more complicated it gets.
Here on "how to" are a few threads about the same question. Might be useful to check them out.
Unless you have a bunch of experience fabbing from scratch you will probably not be real satisfied with the first one, so......consider your Mk I version as expendable in the learning curve anyway!
Make a sketch or two and and figure how much cable extension you have to work with, then make a simple bracket with a pivot point, enough 'body' for the cable travel and a simple lever. You can then easily mod or replace each piece as you refine the design. Making positive stops at the right gear points is likely to be your biggest challenge, but a spring-loaded ball check on the lever with little drilled dots on the bracket should be the cats meow.
Once you have a good working prototype you can start making really nice individual pieces.
Make a sketch or two and and figure how much cable extension you have to work with, then make a simple bracket with a pivot point, enough 'body' for the cable travel and a simple lever. You can then easily mod or replace each piece as you refine the design. Making positive stops at the right gear points is likely to be your biggest challenge, but a spring-loaded ball check on the lever with little drilled dots on the bracket should be the cats meow.
Once you have a good working prototype you can start making really nice individual pieces.
Just to give you an idea,this is what I did.
It's a regular 3-speed gripshift from Shimano.
I replaced the rubber gripthing (yellow) with a tight-fitting plastic ring.
In the slots of the twister (red),I've put a few pieces of self-adhesiv rubber draught excluder,for extra grip on the inside of the plastic ring. I also drilled a hole in the ring,which I threaded (to hold the shifterstick).
And last,but not least, I took a piece of solid rod (22 mm), in which I drilled and threaded a hole in both ends. That's the part on which the complete gripshift (blue) is mounted (just like on your normal handlebar).
To prevent the plastic ring from sliding off, I screwed in a bolt with a big washer. Not too tight, or the shifter won't turn.
Then the complete shifter was bolted on the frame.
It's been working properly for two years now(some 1500 miles) and I see no reason for replacement yet.
It can be mounted on a frame-tube, by using a good fitting clamp.
As to the used materials, instead of plastic, you can also you aluminium (both rod and ring).
It's a regular 3-speed gripshift from Shimano.
I replaced the rubber gripthing (yellow) with a tight-fitting plastic ring.
In the slots of the twister (red),I've put a few pieces of self-adhesiv rubber draught excluder,for extra grip on the inside of the plastic ring. I also drilled a hole in the ring,which I threaded (to hold the shifterstick).
And last,but not least, I took a piece of solid rod (22 mm), in which I drilled and threaded a hole in both ends. That's the part on which the complete gripshift (blue) is mounted (just like on your normal handlebar).
To prevent the plastic ring from sliding off, I screwed in a bolt with a big washer. Not too tight, or the shifter won't turn.
Then the complete shifter was bolted on the frame.
It's been working properly for two years now(some 1500 miles) and I see no reason for replacement yet.
It can be mounted on a frame-tube, by using a good fitting clamp.
As to the used materials, instead of plastic, you can also you aluminium (both rod and ring).
