Those black-on-black twist shifter numbers

[snoogly]

Sometimes it's nice to know which gear you are in, but those darned black-on-black numbers on the Rohloff shifter are invisible to me when wearing sunglasses, and may as well not even be there in low light.

Sorry, rant over ...

Has anyone found a successful way to paint/apply something to the top of the numbers to make them more visible?

[julk]

I put a blob of white paint on the 4, 7, 8 and 11 numbers.

I find I can always see at least one blob and it is easy to work out which gear I am in.

[Blacksail]

I used to very carefully paint the top surface of the numbers, but they would wear off very quickly, now I just use tippex dots just to the left of the raised numbers and they have survived 5,000km worth of shifting as they are out of harms way.

I have gone for 2 dots on gear 11, one dot for 7 and a final dot for gear 1. I have found that I don't use these at all when I'm riding, as I am so used to the gears now, that I can guess which gear I'm in anyway.

Where I do find them useful is for picking a gear to start off in.

[geocycle]

I rely on the hum of 6+7 to give an idea where I am in the range and then ride the others by feel.  The only time I look closely at the numbers is when steep climbing so 1,2 3 and 4 get scrutiny - you could say it is the 'have I got another gear in the bag before my lungs collapse?' syndrome!!  I suppose a dot on 11 could be useful, I might try that.

[snoogly]

Thanks all. I think I'll go dotty.

[Andre Jute]

Has anyone found a successful way to paint/apply something to the top of the numbers to make them more visible?

I too used Tippex to mark gears 3, 7 and 11. Successful? That's a different story. The marking is untidy and wears off quickly. But after reapplying a time or two, you'll be so used to the gears that the marking won't matter. I know for instance that gear 7 is the one that makes the sighing sound, and gear 11, the first gear I'll want, is all the way forward to 14 and and the third stop back while I'm still shooting down the hill from my house; after that any gear does because you can change on the move and very quickly. If after a while it still matters to you, take the rotary control off and have a jeweler engrave lines at appropriate places and fill them with more durable white paint than Tippex.

However, Herr Rohloff should consider adding a permanent white mark, perhaps at gear 8 because the current system is dangerous. Example: I ride up the steep hill home in gear 1. The bike is left in that gear. The next day I shoot down the hill and slow for pedestrians on the narrow footbridge. On its far side I come out into fastmoving traffic. If I forget to find gear 11 before then, I'm stuck in fastmoving traffic in a less-than-walking-pace gear. That instantly turns me into a two-metre wide near-stationary target. Embarrassing at the very least, dangerous on occasion.

Hobbes

[MilitantGraham]

All it would take is for Rohloff to make the twistgrip with the numbers recessed in to the surface instead of raised above it.

[paulhipwood]

I use Tippex on 11 and 7.
Its been there for three years and about 10,000 miles

regards
paul

[Andre Jute]

All it would take is for Rohloff to make the twistgrip with the numbers recessed in to the surface instead of raised above it.

He tried but Braille Cross Country Cycling Club objected...

[gearoidmuar]

You don't need any numbers. Your shifter makes the same angle 6 gears apart. It will be at the same angle for 14 or 8 or 2, 13 or 7 or 1, 12 or 6, 11 or 5, 10 or 4, 9 or 3.
You can learn to read these very quickly. I never look at the numbers as mine's on a projection (at 90 degrees to proper orientation) and so the numbers are wrong anyway.