SRAM X0 Grip Shift Sneak Peak! UPDATED!

Written by Tyler Benedict Feb 19, 2012 9:58 p.m. ET

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We’ve been told the full specs and announcement on this long anticipated component is about to come forth, but Tree Fort Bikes seems to have gotten an early look and the blessing to post it.

The complete spec sheet still isn’t public, but a few key tech bits have been sprung. For starters, the internals will have bearings to keep twists super smooth. Aiding the smoothness will be an external, separate locking collar that holds it onto the handlebar without putting pressure on the body of the shifter. Both are pretty big upgrades over the original Gripshift twisters and half pipes.

Another change is something evident when we played with it at Interbike: There’s no trim adjustment on the front shifter. From what TFB is saying, it’s designed this way to provide quick, crisp shifts and encourage you to set things up properly to begin with. Granted, it should make shifting more precise, but we can’t help but pine for the trim. With most new bikes coming with 2×10 drivetrains, though, and particularly the race/XC oriented bikes that these shifters are likely to target, it’s probably not that big of a loss.

UPDATE: official photos added to the mix, and availability is pegged at April for both XX and X0 Grip Shift models.

Couple more pics after the break, and check TFB’s site for a bigger gallery…

The locking collar attaches on the inside edge of the unit.

Word is the XX version will have a carbon fiber body. Stay tuned, we should have a lot more info within a couple weeks at the latest.

Thanks to Dougie for the tip!

Tyler Benedict

11,186 articles

Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com. He has been writing about the latest bikes, components, and cycling technology for almost two decades. Prior to that, Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies, mostly as an excuse to travel to killer riding locations throughout North America.

Based in North Carolina, Tyler loves family adventure travel and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part to make his bikes faster and lighter.

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Gerard

12 years ago

“MSRP for the shifters is going to be $225 for the X0 version which includes the locking grips and $295 for the carbon fiber XX version”…. excuse me? You have got to be kidding me, right? I was so looking forward to these but seriously, I hate being treated like a chump! I’ll stick with my paddles, which cost LESS and work flawlessly.

Mark W.

12 years ago

so when are we going to take down the pictures, this has been the general trend lately from all the companies who have had stuff leaked.

sever

12 years ago

@Gerard: When’s the last time you, or anyone else paid MSRP for anything? The only people I’m aware of that do that are the Apple dweebs the set up camp outside of Apple stores. I’d wait to see real world pricing before I whine about how expensive pro-level equipment is.

Singletrackroadie

12 years ago

Yeah! Can’t wait. Question – does the handlebar grip get included in the price or will it be available seperately? It looks to have been designed together…..

Singletrackroadie

12 years ago

…just read the blog and grips is included in the price.

Gerard

12 years ago

@server… ‘Pro level’? Give me a break. While it my have new plastic and a tweak here and there, this is technology a decade+ old, one SRAM took on itself to replace, against the wishes of many riders, because it saw its triggers as the future. I ran 9.0 SL and most the other variations, including the ‘Halfpipes’ back in the earl 00’s, and friends were on them before that.

None

12 years ago

Really…spending R&D money to develope the very product that nearly took down the company? Well, at least 1% of mtb retrogrouches will be happy. What’s next? Redesigned friction thumbshifters!!?? How about a better “U” brake?

scissorhands

12 years ago

Wow and to think 9 speed XO twisters were sub 90 bucks. How much can you possibly change to charge 225 to 295. That is just too funny.

WV Cycling

12 years ago

@Scissorhands: http://www.bicycleretailer.com/news/newsDetail/6215.html

11/29/2011 5:00 PM MST – SRAM has put its plans to go public on the Nasdaq stock exchange on hold until at least next summer.

Maybe they are trying to fund something…?

Singletrackroadie

12 years ago

Before everybody goes and blasts SRAM, remember that you don’t have to buy it. It is just another choice like 29’er bikes is another choice. Hardtail vs Full Suspension, Singlespeed vs 1×10. The list just goes on. You can use Shimano or just use SRAM’s current Trigger Shifters. I like gripshift and has been waiting for them to come out. I used Trigger Shifters and they work fine, just not my first choice. I will gladly spend that money. As mentioned – it is my choice to spend that money.

Jason

12 years ago

Just because YOU don’t like grip shift does not mean it is a bad product. I’ve ridden both grip and trigger and personally never liked trigger shifting. I still proudly run my XO 9 speed grip shift, and will as long as they keep turning out shifts.

dgaddis

12 years ago

I’m another fan of gripshift, glad to see it returning. I MUCH prefer it to triggers.

Prices are nearly identical to the triggers FWIW.

satisFACTORYrider

12 years ago

twist and shout. used gripshift back in the day and they were fine. personal preference i suppose. pricing is for weight-weenies which is normal, isn’t it? they don’t care what the price or performance is. somebody bark about thumbies up there?! rather shimano 24/7 pls & thanks.

Matt M.

12 years ago

@scissorhands:

I totally agree. I was looking forward to 10 speed grip shift as I still run the full X0 9 speed system (XTR front), but the costs are absurd. I’m willing to bet they are also going to screw us and drop the 9 speed X0 gripshift from the market and force the higher priced upgrade when mine wear out…

9 speed X0 rear, X0 front, X0 cassette, X0 gripshift = $450 (average prices from google shopping)

10 speed XX rear, XX front, XX cassette, XX gripshift = $930 (average prices from google shopping)

And before anyone tries to claim XX is not the same as the old X0, the rename is just marketing to make the lower level tiers seem more appealing. This comparison is 9 speed top of the line vs 10 speed top of the line. In addition, yes, the technology has changed, but it’s not like it took extensive R&D to use road bike gear spacing that has been around for years…

I was really excited about upgrading my 2×9 X0 setup to XX when grip shift came out and had all but gotten over the higher priced cassette, but I think the cost of the new grippies just changed my mind.

dgaddis

12 years ago

Matt – (and everyone else) you can’t compare current 9sp and 10spd pricing. Might as well compare to 8spd, or 7spd. Apples and oranges. All of the 9spd stuff is heavily discounted nowadays. Compare 10spd gripshift to 10spd trigger shifter. Gripshifters are CHEAPER than the triggers. From JensonUSA:
10spd XX Shifters: $310 (+$15 compared to new XX gripshift)
10spd X0 Shifters: $255 (2011 year) (+$30 compared to new X0 gripshift)

dgaddis

12 years ago

Oh, I have a question. Will these be 2x only, or will a 3x also be availabe? Will the same front shifter work for either one?

Mark W.

12 years ago

@dgaddis
they will be both 2x and 3x, but they will no longer have the trim feature that they used to have and just have set clicks instead.

Matt M.

12 years ago

@dgaddis – I get your point, but the reason I’m comparing is that 9-speed is still being manufactured (it’s not just discontinued inventory) and the prices for it new is relatively unchanged from when it was introduced. This means that there is obviously profit to be made at those current prices.

Compare that to the new lineup and the charge for 1 extra gear is ridiculous considering it isn’t new technology. I know that XX triggers cost even more, but if you look at the 9-speed stuff, triggers were double the cost of gripshift or more! Now they’ve decided to make them just as expensive just because they can.

Dave

12 years ago

I’m with @Gerard and @Scissorhands. I’ve been a fan of Gripshift in the past, but I don’t understand how they can justify charging that much for these. The triggers *should* cost more than the twisters, they have more clicky and spinny doodads to make them work. These new shifters have one more click than the previous versions, but now they cost more than twice as much?

notapro

12 years ago

who gives a sh*t how much it costs? if you can’t, won’t, don’t wanna or have cash… window shopping and bitching at the same time? most people who bitch about price have zero intention of buying anyway.

cxracer

12 years ago

I can’t help but laugh at every body crying about prices….. my question is who of you actually work for Sram and truly knows what the costs are for the raw materials, production, etc. Things are only going to get more expensive with time….. its the way of the world… if you don’t like it get in your DeLorean and travel back in time to when gas was sub 1.00$ a gallon and MTV actually played music…

kcr

12 years ago

SRAM is claiming these to be one of their most ‘technologically advanced’ shifters ever. So, perhaps there is some new mechanisms inside that ups the cost? I’m not seeing anything else that could drive cost up so high. There is no reason that a 2×10 version of the old x.0 shifter should increase three times in price without some new technology. The old stuff only had like 4 parts… Also I read some discussion of making the throw between shift “even shorter”. Maybe some planetary gears or something inside of there?

axf

12 years ago

I don’t know how many people have been waiting for 10s twisters but there are a bunch of people following threads all over the internet like MTBR.com that are devoted to gripshift. Advantages for me are dumping all the gears at once, one motion goes from 32 to 11 or back again. The other great advantage is trimming the front derailleur. I can’t believe they would eliminate this. As for the price. I’m no ‘Pro’ as sever talked about. I have been running XO’s 9s for awhile (under $100). Please give us a $100 gripshift. It is entertaining how people that don’t use gripshifts simply trash the people who do.

sever

12 years ago

@Gerard…still didn’t answer the question. And yeah, pro-level. Or is Kuhlavy’s XC worlds win not pro enough?

notapro

12 years ago

cxracer is right..you may get back in your delorean and you may not need roads where you’re going but guess what? you’re gonna need ca$h.

Mutton

12 years ago

Want the trim feature? Just use a 9 speed left-hand XO shifter. It will work just fine on two or three rings. Simply adjust the front derailleur set screws. We did this for years when we used two rings and a bash guard for our freeride bikes.

anon

12 years ago

i dont see the price issue
a full mountain group is cheaper than the same level full road group by about 200-300 dollars.
you can get a lot more mountain bike than road bike for the money these days.

Pat

12 years ago

I’ve been running many different versions of Gripshifters for the past 15 years or more. I like them because they’re light and simple, cheap, reliable and durable, allow me to shift through multiple gears in one motion, don’t intrude into the grip area, and have smooth, light action, especially when paired with Gore cables. And they’re easier to use than triggers when wearing heavy winter gloves.

@ none: “the product that nearly took down the company”? How about the product that the company owes its existence to?

I’m hardly a retrogrouch. By most objective measures, GripShift is a better system.

Loki

12 years ago

Sometimes its not the materials or mechanism that makes the price higher but the cost of R and D (total redesign vs. X0 9spd being tweaked from a decades design) Add to that it’s for what one can only believe will be a relatively small market i.e. less units to spread the cost over. Add to the fact that most companies expect to recover their R and D costs from early adopters. Disappointing but not unexpected or unusual.

Viking Steve

12 years ago

For everyone complaining about pricing, when SRAM launched the XO collection back in the day, the original cost to purchase was over $200. Yeah that was to much money, but every company has to get an initial return on R&D. Therefore the high price. Yeah you can get the 9-speed XO ones for $75-$100 now and that is probably more in line wiht what they are worth.

As well it is all about choice. Some like it and some don’t. I dispise triggers. The first time I tried twisties I fell in love. Fewer levers hanging off your bars to get caught on stuff and break. And for me I damaged my thumbs enough over the years that at the end of a 3 hour ride I can not apply enough force with my thumbs to push the levers anyway. So I had to twist my wrist, seemed logical to give twisties a try. If you don’t like the price wait a year. If these do well then you will see a X-9 version at some point. If they don’t do well then you will find them all over the place for 30-50% off. Basicallly everything that Loki said!

lefty

12 years ago

Thank you SRAM for coming to production with the latest grip shifter.”I really need this product as I only have 1 arm to ride with” and this product allows me to do just that!, so I do not care how much it costs in fact I will be purchasing 2:) Once again Thank you for giving me the means to ride”even if it is with 1 arm:)