Hi, new to this board, and just happened on this thread. Hope this late comment isn't too off-topic from the original post. I'm trying to decide which Shimano SL-M6100 shift lever to get. It apparently comes in FOUR varieties, two with OGD and two without. Because I'm getting the M6100 brake lever, I can use the I-SPEC EV mount for the shifter. So that leaves two variants: with and without OGD. It seems that if you forego the OGD option, you can get 14mm of adjustment range for the shift lever. So, in addition to all of the pros/cons listed above about OGD, it seems that in this particular case, going without gives you much more flexibility as far as position of the shift levers relative to the brake lever. Does anyone have experience with this particular shifter, in particular the one with OGD? Does it fall within a comfortable position relative to the brake lever for 1 finger braking? I'm inclined to go without OGD because position of the levers relative to my fingers is more important than having the little dial window.
Do you need an optical gear display in your shifter?
- Thread starter Stefan Mikes
- Start date
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
I have the six shifter and single finger xt levers and it works well. worked well with my magura levers too. I can get a pic if you need it.
Alaskan
Well-Known Member
Not the case. The Cannondale Topstone Neo carbon 2 is the exception. It has a 2x11 Shimano GRX group set with a 11-34 in the back and a 32/48 up front offering a huge gear range coupled to a Bosch gen 4 speed motor on a 36lb. ebke. I test rode one and it was sweet.
Alaskan
Well-Known Member
My derailleur bikes all have 1/11 or 1/12 drive trains without any gear indicator window. I thought I would miss that feature at first but reality was not at all. My legs tell me if I need to shift gears. The only time I would not mind having the window as double checking that I am in a low enough gear when waiting for a light to turn. At that point it is almost as easy to just glance down at the cassette.
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
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- Mazovia, PL
My friend rides a 2020 Giant Explore E+ 1 Pro, and that e-bike is equipped with the 2x drivetrain, too.
It's been 16 months since the original post. My views have greatly changed since. Not only 1x11, 1x12, and 3x8 e-bikes in my stable but I also demo rode some other e-bikes.
The Optical Gear Indicator for the 3x8 drivetrain is an OK feature as (for example) the difference between 3-4 and 2-6 gears is very small. Lack of the optical indicator there would often lead to wrong chain line, for instance riding in 2-8 gear instead of 3-5 or 3-6. (I discovered it when my handlebar-mounted smartphone started obscuring the indicator). Important: 3x8 gear indicators are precise and show exactly the gear you are in at the moment.
I agree with Richard Alaskan regarding the 1x drivetrains: these do not require optical gear indicators (with small exceptions, as he correctly noted). Additionally, the indicator takes precious space on the bars and makes coexistence of gear and brake levers harder. And one more thing: optical gear indicator for, say, 1x11 drivetrain is just laughable: It doesn't tell you in what gear you really are but it only indicates approximate gear active. (At least in the e-bikes I've tried such as Como 5.0).
Comfortably Numb
Well-Known Member
My Cube has OGD and I've yet to even look at it. (actually it's just a red pointer across a black grid with no numbers) I guess over 60 years of riding doesn't require something telling me what gear I'm in. I know to gear down as I come to a stop or approach a climb. I also rode motorcycles for 40+ years and the vast majority had no gear indicator. On a motorcycle the engine RPMs tipped you off. A bicycle a little bit tougher, but you just know, and it's just that much easier again when there is only the one chainring. CN
Stefan Mikes
Gravel e-biker
- Region
- Europe
- City
- Mazovia, PL
Not that much: It is your cadence that keeps you at some gear
Comfortably Numb
Well-Known Member
Yup, but the engine rpm is a wee bit better at it. CNNot that much: It is your cadence that keeps you at some gear
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
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- Northeast Pennsylvania
I'm not sure if this helps since I'm not familiar with the M6100. I have the Shimano SLX M7000 10 speed shifter with OGD. From the beginning, I had trouble positioning it so the brake & shifter levers were comfortable to use while still being able to see the display. To remedy the situation, I eventually switched to the Archer Components electronic shifter system:
D1x Trail Shifter w/ Micro-Adjust Remote
30-day Money Back Guarantee! The D1x Trail adds high-performance electronic shifting to any rear derailleur. Get smooth, precise shifting no matter what you ride. 1x, 2x, 3x? SRAM, Shimano, Box, TRP? The D1x plays nice with everybody! Our Micro-Adjust Remote lets you fine tune each gear from the...
It lacks an OGD but I found I wasn't using it much on the old Shimano system anyway. It was only useful to me to tell if I was in the highest or lowest cog. The electronic shifting system is so quick & effortless, I just push the up or down button until I'm in the highest or lowest gear. I don't miss the OGD at all.
BTW, welcome to the forum! You've come to the right place to ask your questions!
Funnily enough over my whole cycling life I've never paid much attention to gear levers. My boy has his numbered and will solemnly tell me he is in "4" or "5" and I have to say I've no clue as I'm going by feel! But with the Vado SL & Deore gears x1 for the very first time I've started watching that little red line and I find it useful now. It's the steep hills. As it goes up I'm playing a waiting game, the pedals are turning, my breathing is controlled, all systems doing o-k. And glancing at both that plus button ready to take me from Sport to Turbo and on the opposite side, that little red needle indicator to see if I've got a bigger cog or two in reserve. And the red line can be misleading, this can add an extra fission of excitement- have I two cogs left or just the 42T left to go up to? The road ramps up past 20% and now I'm deep in Sport mode and struggling, I hit that Shimano little lever and push it all the way back, hear the click followed by the solid "CLUNK" of the chain shifting and birds fall off trees, people wonder where the thunder is, and my cadence speeds up slightly to my momentary relief. But then I hit that crucial moment - by this point I've long since given in and stabbed the plus button for Turbo-To-The-Rescue and there's no extra help coming there no matter how many times I pathetically hit that plus button and I look at the little red line- is it at the end of the little window? Or maybe, just maybe, there is another cog still available? I push the little lever... damn. Resistance, a solid wall of nothing happening. There aint no more gears going to come and save me now. I look down "OK legs, we don't get on, you don't like my fat body up here and I think you complain too much but I need you now and I've got some bad news, I can't see the brow of this damn hill yet and you're on your own..."
When stopped is actually the only time I use my throttle. I never bother to downshift when approaching a stop sign.
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