Hand strength and shifting

I recently upgraded from a 20 year old Terry Symmetry with shifters on the down tube to a Specialized Ruby with SRAM apex components. I am OK with reaching the brakes and shifters but my fingers are just not strong enough to push the left shifter. I have to stop and do it manually or reach across with my right hand. Although this is a women's specific design bicycle you need to be a gorilla to operate the shifter. I think I have average strength hands for a woman my size which is 5'2 and 115 lbs. Looking for any suggestions from women who have dealt with this issue.

How are you positioning your hands when you shift - are they on the hoods, or in the drops?

Does the left shifter require more effort than the right one?

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Originally Posted by ny biker

Does the left shifter require more effort than the right one?

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I wouldn't be surprised if the left one (front) takes more effort - especially if the bike is a compact or a triple with a fairly large difference in the sizes of the chain rings. That can make it a bit of a haul to move the chain up, though having to use both hands? is a bit over the top. I'll bet shifting down isn't a problem?

I'm wondering if an adjustment to the shifter might be possible, to make it easier to shift. Or maybe the derailleur needs an adjustment.

I had a similar issue that was caused by overtightening my shifter cable. It made shifting out of my big chainring nearly impossible, very similar to what you describe. Once I removed the excess tension the problem went away.

I am shifting from the hood

It is the left one only, the right works fine.

I have had 2 shops check it out. They keep telling me I have to exercises to strengthen my hands. Of course all the techs are male.

The derailleur actually works I just can't push the shifter with one hand.

I also have the Specialized Ruby with the SRAM Apex group. After I read your last post, I went over to the bike and played with the shifting to test how much strength was needed. The left shifter does take more force to shift than the right, but you should be able to do it IF the bike has been set up correctly. When I brought my bike home from the bike shop, I couldn't shift the front shifter to save my life ...and I have large strong hands! I adjusted the cable tension and properly set the derailleur stop screws. After making these adjustments, I can shift the front derailleur with just my ring finger.

My guess is that the shifter cable tension and, possibly, the derailleur stop screw for the large ring need to be adjusted. Just because 2 shops said it is okay does not necessarily make it so. If you don't know how to adjust these things, take it back to the store where you bought it, and ask to see the manager. If the manager doesn't or can't get it fixed, call Specialized customer support.

I wonder if it's the position of the lever on the bars that's making it hard for you to get leverage.

Hand strength isn't a bad (or difficult) thing to work on. But a good fit will help you in so many other ways, too.

Can you try another bike with the same components to see if it's as hard to shift? That might clarify if their is an adjustment issue or not.

The shop that simply says to strengthen your hands, is this the same shop you bought the Ruby at, not that it should matter at all I'm just curious?

I hate the "that's the way it is" mentality from some of the bike shop dudes.

If you bought the bike there AND they treat you this way, I'd have a talk with the manager or owner and if that dosnt get some reaction, go elsewhere. You don't want to deal with or trust your Ruby to a shop like that anyhow

I have the exact same issue right now, only my shifters are the new Ultegra 6700. I was told something similar by my LBS - the whole "oh just do some hand strengthening exercises and it'll be fine"...yeah, right. At 5'6" & 153lbs, I'm not a small, frail woman. So for me to find it nearly impossible to move my left shift lever means there is definitely something wrong. Even the techs in the shop think it's hard to move the shift lever. I can't even recall how many times I've had the bike back in the shop for adjustments. Not to mention having had both shifters replaced under warranty...still no improvement. I've also had the chain and cassette replaced and the bike was not even a year old. The only thing I haven't tried replacing yet, are the chainrings...and that might be next (if I don't just break down and buy a new bike by then).

Anyways...I can totally relate to what the OP is experiencing. When your bike is not shifting properly, it really does take the joy out of riding (at least for me it does).

(I think I've only used my left shifter once, when I was hung over and didn't want to go up the hills to work. Maybe I should set my bike up as a 1x9...)

Went back to bike shop again and this time the cable and housing was replaced. This resulted in a big improvement. I was very pleased with the service this time. I still think it is a hard movement for my hand to make so I am going to work with some exercise putty to improve the strength of my left hand.

Glad the shop got it fixed for you. My experience has been that the left shifter itself got less stiff over time. At this point, mine is fairly easy to shift.

Happy riding and shifting!

I'm small but not "frail" woman with small hands! My fingers aren't long enough to push the lever far enough to engage the big ring. I slide my hand to the side of the hood so my fingers have enough reach to shift to my big ring. My fingers go pretty far underneath the hood before the chain engages.

I, too, had problems with my brake levers and it was just a matter of loosening the brake cables. Makes the reach a lot easier too.

I contacted Specialized customer service and they emailed me:

" Sorry to hear about your shifter situation. I am not aware of any of our women’s bikes (or really any of our bikes) having excessively ‘heavy’ shifters. This is the first that I have heard of a shifter being too hard to push, unless the shifter was broken. The fact that you have tried two separate shifters and had the same experience with both can only lead me to believe that the problem is with your hand strength. Sorry… but your hand strength is the only common denominator left on this one… If there is anything I can do to be of assistance, please let me know…."

So when are women's specific design bicycles going to have a shifter and brake that belongs on a woman's bike?

The bike store fixed the shifter but it is still takes quite a bit of force to operate.

When Shimano et al design something. But you have got to remember you are using cables to move something and the front chainring movement is very large.

If all else fails regarding strengthening your hands, electronic shifting would be the way to go.

I agree with Kiwi. And like I said in my post above, I'm in the same boat as you dravens, except I'm using Shimano Ultegra shifters. I am seriously looking into the new Ultegra Di2 electronic shifting. It's due out in mid-September. Although I did test ride a bike with SRAM Force on it, and I thought it was a huge improvement over the Shimano shifting...so that is the other option I'm looking at. Either way, it's an expensive switch for sure. But I agree, that I think somebody should come out with a women's specific shifting mechanism that doesn't require a super long "throw". I also firmly believe that, at least in my particular case, the shifting is heavy due to the way the cables are routed underneath the bar tape on all of these newer bikes. My older Trek has the old style 105 shifters, where the cable exits at the inner side of the shifter, and I can shift my big ring with 1 finger...the difference is THAT huge.

Shifting is not a question of hand strength! :eek:

A shifter that requires any sizeable amount of effort when correctly set up, tensioned and sized for the user is a badly designed shifter. Shifting is not completely effortless, but it should be nowhere near a question of having enough hand strength. That's just absurd. I'm rarely this absolute about things, but this I truely believe.

I have struggled with many shifters, but I've fixed just about all of them by taking them apart, lubing them, tweaking position and/or rerouting cables. I have big strong hands, but shortish fingers, and easy shifting has a lot to do with correct positioning and proper reach. It's a limited range you're working with, and the shifter should be designed for easy use within that range.

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Originally Posted by lph

Shifting is not a question of hand strength! :eek:

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Well, yes and no ... None of us has actually tested the OP's hand strength. Most people, even sedentary people, have plenty hand strength to operate shifters that are working properly. But on a board like this one we know for sure that there are lots of people on either end of the bell curve on whatever variable you want to name.

Hand size is definitely an issue, and obviously women statistically have smaller (and differently shaped) hands than men, and one definitely does wish for smaller levers. On the other hand, by making them smaller, you decrease the leverage, and then you either have to generate more force at your hand, or add additional complications of gears and pulleys that would increase the risk of failure.



My feet are very very weak. It's not something to be ashamed of, and it's also not something to demand equipment to coddle them (in fact, it was all those stupid orthotics that MADE my feet so weak). It's something to work on. No shame. No sexism. Just work.

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Originally Posted by nscrbug

I agree with Kiwi. And like I said in my post above, I'm in the same boat as you dravens, except I'm using Shimano Ultegra shifters. I am seriously looking into the new Ultegra Di2 electronic shifting. It's due out in mid-September. Although I did test ride a bike with SRAM Force on it, and I thought it was a huge improvement over the Shimano shifting...so that is the other option I'm looking at. Either way, it's an expensive switch for sure. But I agree, that I think somebody should come out with a women's specific shifting mechanism that doesn't require a super long "throw". I also firmly believe that, at least in my particular case, the shifting is heavy due to the way the cables are routed underneath the bar tape on all of these newer bikes. My older Trek has the old style 105 shifters, where the cable exits at the inner side of the shifter, and I can shift my big ring with 1 finger...the difference is THAT huge.

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The SRAM shifters don't have as long a "throw" as my Shimano triple does, and the response is immediate -as soon as you move shift lever, the derailleur starts moving, there is no slop or "take up".

As far as the cable routing goes, I think you've probably hit on the big problem with shifting on newer bikes. The amount of resistance caused by the extreme bends resulting from routing the cable along the bar under the tape has to be pretty high. When I replace my handlebar tape, I intend to experiment with the routing just to see if I can make it even easier to shift.

Jean

When I tested the Specialized tricross, the left Shimano shifter was definitely more of a pain to move. Besides biking, I'm also a pianist with a fairly strong death grip so I'm fairly certain it was not a matter of hand strength.

To the OP: glad the bike shop fixed it. Shifting shouldn't be a hassle and hand strength is only one contributing factor. Specialized and bike shop personnel should tinker with the components first instead of simply telling you to strengthen your hand.

Tons of women have issues shifting the front derailleur. Like others have said, it usually does come down to a combination of hand strength and cable housing routing.

Also, most manufacturers build their bikes with Jagwire housing or a house brand that is likely made by Jagwire. This also makes an enormous difference. Jagwire sucks. A lot. Shell out a little coin to have Shimano housing installed and you'll notice a significant improvement. There's a lot less friction in Shimano housing.

I also highly recommend Di2 to anyone. It's super awesome being able to just push a button and make the derailleur shift. Plus, once it's set up, you don't really have to adjust it unless you change wheels.

I have a Ruby Compact with 105. It was always a little harder to shift the left (front chain rings) than the right, but not impossible. Then I put a MTB cassette and XT derailleur on the bike to have more low gears. I brought the bike to a new mechanic who works out of his home and was recommended by the club elder (83 year old man who still leads rides). Not only did he perfectly tune the new non-standard setup, but he did something to the front shifter as well. The first maiden voyage I shifted the front with a lot of pressure as I had previously done and the chain popped off, and I thought I would have to bring it back. Put on the chain and tried shifting with a light touch and no pressure - and I mean none. It was perfect and effortless and haven't dropped the chain since. So, I think your bike was not adjusted properly (and neither was mine before). I have not used SRAM, but I would imagine it is the mechanic that needs help and not you needing hand strengthening exercises.