Hi Holly!
If you haven't seen it already, I have more detailed thoughts about my own "on-top" T-bar shifter setup for my Nomad in my gallery descriptions and photos here:
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4523.0This setup is working out very well for me on short and long rides. Is it perfect? No, of course not, but it is very workable -- moreso than anything else I've tried and very convenient to reach. See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVh3qb4F0sQ On balance, I do prefer it to derailleur bar-end shifters for placement. The biggest "problem" is it sometimes draws unfavorable comments because it looks odd. It is aesthetically less pleasing than some solutions, but that is trumped by function for me. It also works well because I paid very close attention to cable routing throughout the steerer's range of travel.
As for drops...yes, the extended length of brake hoods has meant a return of more compact handlebars with shorter reach and drop and (yay!) parallel or near-parallel tops-and-drops. I never got along too well with anatomic or deep drops. I find I use the drops on compact 'bars frequently simply because it is not such a long/low reach to them. If I need to go "deeper", I just bend my elbows a bit more.
1. on Co-Motion's shifter, and Dan (I hope you are out there!), I've seen your video when you visited the factory. It actually looked as though it was not comfortable shifting for you. Is that correct? Did you find it to be too wide, as fleur reported? Now that you have your own Rohloff shifter, how does it compare with your test in the shop? I worry that this shifter will turn out to be a prototype.
The Co-Motion shifter is now in production, but as Danny Vrijmoet told me, "We're really not in the parts business" as a mass supplier. Rather, this was made for their bikes first, and is available for purchase by anyone. On the plus side, the Co-Motion has a lot going for it:
• Really fine workmanship.
• Smooth action.
• Beautiful integration
when used with 31.8mm clamp-section handlebars, allowing it to be slid on 'round the bends.
• Requires minimal room on the handlebars, leaving a lot of the tops free for various hand positions.
• What
appears to be better weather sealing than the Gilles Berthoud unit.
It also had some marked drawbacks
for my use and preference, which may not be typical:
• It is black-anodized, uncoated aluminum. Aluminum conducts heat very well, which in my eyes means it is likely to be cold in cold weather and blistering hot in the desert climes where I tour. For this reason alone, I don't think it would be usable for me.
• It has a pretty hefty diameter, and -- while the motion was very fluid -- it was not noticeably lower in effort. Being uncoated, the aluminum was slippery (I think it would be hard to actuate in the rain), and the dished grip portion was not too easy to grip. I have narrow hands with long, bony, but very strong fingers. While it was okay indoors, under less than ideal conditions I think it might be difficult for me to grasp and actuate. This is a prediction, since I have not used it under rainy, wet, cold, or hot conditions myself. Co-Motion's production shifter has very nicely and clearly laser-etched shift numbers, something the model in the video lacked.
• Nice as they may be, the Co-Motion and Berthoud shifters are aftermarket parts. As with all such things, they don't have direct Rohloff factory support in terms of replacement parts availability through Rohloff. Any "boutique" part can disappear if circumstances change, but in this case, Co-Motion made the shifter for bikes they also produce in-house, so there is an incentive to continue to support it. Similarly, though Gilles Berthoud is a small touring specialist and manufacturer, this is a bread-and-butter item for them, congruent with their market focus. Origin wasn't nearly as important to me as other factors, but there are far more OEM Rohloff shifters and parts in the hands of users and in the sales and distribution stream than there are competitors' products.
• The biggest drawback of the Co-Motion shifter
for me arose because
I could not access it from the end -- the key reason why my present setup works so well for my needs as shown in the video (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVh3qb4F0sQ ). I've mentioned this before, but as I worked with Andy Blance to spec the Nomad, I put a lot of time and effort at my end into doing my own human-factors and ergonomic analyses before I made my basic setup request. Andy did mention the Gilles Berthoud was not as well sealed for extended touring use in severe conditions.
Things fell together for me when I spent a good 45 minutes studying how I open doorknobs. I found I very rarely "roll" a doorknob with my arm and hand parallel to the door. Rather, I approach it from the end and grasp the knob that way, twisting it open with my thumb and several fingers -- just as I shift the Rohloff in the video I linked to above. This is much easier on my hand, wrist, and elbow, and allows me greater leverage to turn the shifter or even spin ("speed dial") it. It allows me to use the original Rohloff shifter, ensuring future availability of parts. Even better: The grip is rubberized and insulated against heat and cold and maintains a good grip when wet, addressing each of those needs.
All of this meant T-bar mounting was ideal for me. I started with it below the handlebars, then in that location switched it from the 55mm T-bar to a 105mm T-bar, co-located it with the HB bag mount, then mounted it alone. Each of these was workable for me, but the real revelation was triggered by Andre Jute, who -- on seeing an emailed photo -- said "You've got it all wrong, Dan!" I investigated to see if it was indeed possible to mount the shifter on a T-bar
above the handlebars.
Though I prefer my T-bar setup (which can be rotated around the steerer to adjust the angle of approach) mounting the shifter on a bar-end HubBub adapter also allows for an end-on approach with many of the same advantages.
Again, my situation and preferences helped in getting what I needed:
• I would have preferred a Nomad with a short top-tube as I had on (560S) Sherpa, but the closest available was a medium (590M). To get my preferred position and reach meant going for a short (60mm inverted riser) stem and compact handlebars that matched the drop and reach of my other bikes' handlebars (Maes-bend with the same dimensions as my other randonneur 'bars) while allowing "normal" brake lever placement. Andy did a great job of getting me in the ballpark with a 90mm stem, anatomic 'bars, and very high-mounted brake levers, and this got me close enough to know what was needed to get where I finally wanted to be. Whenever I buy a new bike, I always budget a bit "extra" to fine-tune the positional adjustment with new handlebars and stem if needed, so this was no surprise. I now have a perfect fit in every respect and easy shifting with drop 'bars using the original Rohloff shifter.
• Two other factors pushed me toward this above-'bar mount:
1) My 60mm stem was too short to mount my GPS in the center; the 105mm T-bar provided the perfect perch while placing the shifter just ahead of the handlebars as well as above them, leaving me plenty of room to twist the shifter without obstruction.
2) I wished to leave my steerer uncut for maximum future flexibility in setup, and so the extra length was just sitting there anyway; putting the T-bar shifter up-top gave that extra steerer length an immediate purpose. As it happened, putting the shifter's T-bar up-top also took some gadgets off the handlebars. It allows room for my SkyMounti Inclinometer and a perfect place to mount the Rowi camera clamp that holds the GoPro POV vidcam above the handlebar bag or allows me to swivel toward me to make my own "interviews". While 44cm handlebars are "wide" for drops, there is nowhere near as much room as on wider straight or comfort 'bars, so removing the shifter and gadgets leaves the entire drop handlebar free for gripping.
• I'm pretty careful with money, and Thorn's Accessory T-bars are a very economical way to experiment with shifter placement at a fraction the cost of an aftermarket shifter. I kept the Co-Motion and GB both in mind as eventual possibilities, but my present setup works so well for me, I don't plan to change. I have grown used to the setup and if I someday switched to a non-drop handlebar, I would probably leave the shifter on its high-mounted T-bar. Its location makes headset and other service a breeze.
• I allow myself the time and use needed to modify the bike after getting to know it. Usually by the 6-month mark (about now in my ownership), things are where they will stay. Up till then, I figure things
are going to change and I avoided padding or taping the new handlebars till I knew things were final. Good thing, too. The 42cm compact 'bars proved just too narrow, and I had to buy a 44cm to replace them. I'll recover about half the cost by selling them on eBay, so USD$20 wasn't too much to find and finalize my "forever" setup.
I hope this helps, Holly. If you have any questions, you're welcome to PM me. Since I have no direct experience with the GB shifter, I'll defer comment on it in favor of other members' own experience.
Best,
Dan.
