Stopped by a bike co-op in Portland and saw a 1990s Shimano STI shifter being used as a teaching aid

3 comments

3 Comments

My old mountain bike from '98 had those shifters. Honestly, it took me three whole rides to figure out how to click them without looking like I was having a seizure. Tbh, using one as a teaching tool is a great idea, because they were not exactly user friendly. I probably would have needed that class back in the day.

dylanjohnson1mo ago

Yeah, that "three whole rides" thing from @laura_green82 is so real. I read a whole article once about how those old shifters were basically a right of passage.

alicec8616d ago

My buddy borrowed his dad's old bike for a trail. He spent the first mile stuck in the hardest gear, legs spinning like crazy. At a stop sign he tried to downshift and just started slapping the whole frame. We had to pull over so I could show him the little thumb lever. He was so mad he almost walked home.