Shimano Shift Lever SL-RS45

Due to some negative reviews, the first thing to address is the cable housings. The shifters come with two, plastic lined housings that are around 26" long and one that is around 12" long.If you have a bicycle that has cable housing running from the shifters to the down tube (just behind the steering head) and a short length of cable housing running from the rear chainstay to the rear derailleur, you should be fine ( in my case, I actually had to cut a few inches off of the shifter housings to match my stock ones). If you have cable housing on any other part of your frame, depending on your frame size, you will probably need more housing, unless you are reusing your old ones.I had recently installed a set of Microshift on a 2003 GT Palomar that I was restoring that had a stock Shimano Acera rear derailleur and new Altus front derailleur.Another bicycle I was restoring, a Specialized Hot Rock 24 had a Revoshift and I was curious how they would compare to the Microshift. As the Hot Rock was a kids bike and far too small for me to test ride, I picked these up to mount on the GT and do a comparison.Out of the box, the Revoshift feels more refined than the Microshift with their construction, feel and shift indicator windows. Also, in addition to the cable housings, the Revoshift comes with two cable crimps. Microshift has a lower price point, but no housings or cable crimps.Installation was the same for both. Remove the hand grip (use a little rubbing alcohol between the grip and bars), slide the grip shift on and snug the hex head bolt to keep it from moving. Route your cables, attach to your derailleurs, adjust and tighten everything up. The only difference was I used the shims from my original grip shifters (that go between the shifter and hand grip) with the Microshift. While the Revoshift design has clearance built in so that shims aren't needed.As to performance, both shifters do a great job. They take the 3 speed chain ring and 7 speed freewheel one gear at a time, or the entire range with one twist.The Microshift has a "snappy/locked in" feel when shifted, while the Revoshift has smoother clicks between gears. For some reason, it also feels like the Revoshift needs a little more wrist rotation to do a full 7 speed gear change.Personally, I would put the Microshift on a bicycle that spends more time off road, as the shifting seems locked in with their sharp clicks. They also seem to be a simpler design, that may be easier to service and take more abuse when trail riding.Bottom line... if you have a Shimano drivetrain, I don't think you will go wrong with either shifter. I reviewed and gave both 5 stars, because I feel that they are a solid purchase if used in the correct application.In my case, I'm not in a hurry to put the Microshift back on because I'm not in good enough shape for any serious trail riding. The Revoshift has been perfect for the road and occasional easy trail riding that I've been doing. However, if I decide to do any serious trail riding, the Microshifts will go back on as they will give me a little more room on the handlebars and I won't feel as bad if one gets messed up on the trail and I have to replace it.On another note, if you find yourself sucked into the "Trigger vs. Grip Shift debate", I would recommend that you think about how you use your bike and what you are comfortable with. You can convert from one to the other, if the shifters you are looking at are compatible with your drive train.In my case, the GT spends most of it's time on country back roads with hills. Many times, I drop gears to climb a hill, go a short distance, then wind the front crank from the first to third chain ring and dump the freewheel from 1-7 with a twist of the grip shifters to go down a hill. Then repeat the process within less than 1/4 mile. I couldn't shift like that with triggers.Also, I've never owned a bike with triggers, so I'm comfortable with grip shifters.For me, the biggest downside of a grip shifter is trying to find quality grips for dual grip shifters on 620mm bars.Most that are available have one long grip and one short grip for a single grip shift. They also seem to be geared more to a smaller hand. However, I have learned that if you are careful with ODI Rogue's, you can shorten them up with a saw, utility knife and a small file. Two pics are of the stock grips, one pic is the modified ODI.If you do your own maintenance and do not have a bike stand, make sure you protect the handlebars before turning your bicycle upside down, otherwise you will scratch or damage any type of grip shifter you have, especially the Revoshift. Do the same for your seat. Unfortunately, it took a lot of years for me to figure this simple concept out.If you've never replaced shifters, search derailleur adjustment and watch the Park Tool video's. This made a huge difference for me, as I had been trying to adjust indexed shifting, by just tightening the cables (like I did all my life with friction shifting) and having no luck. Watching these video's educated me that you have cable tension, H/L settings on both derailleurs and barrel adjusters for the final tuning setting on the cassette or freewheel to adjust the index.Also clean and lubricate your derailleurs. I thought mine were clean but they noticeably loosened up after cleaning and using some WD40 Wet on the pivot points.This bicycle has what people call "low end" parts, Shimano Altus front derailleur and Acera rear, but now it shifts so smoothly you can't hear the gear changes, only the click of the shifter.Lastly, do some research to make sure that your derailleurs are compatible with the shifters you are looking at. Originally, my bike came with SRAM grip shifters and I was going to replace them with a different style of SRAM. Fortunately, before I made the purchase I learned that the shifters I was considering would not work with the drive train on the bike.Good luck and ride safe.

I bought these as part of refurbishing my 1996 Trek 830 Mt. Track XC and am pleased by the usual Shimano fit, quality and operation. I bought the 3x7 version. My bike was originally equipped with Shimano SRT-300 shifters and has an Acera-X front derailleur & Alivio rear. They shift smoothly and accurately. The description doesn't mention it, but the shifters come with cables and three sections of pre-lubricated housings (two housings are for rear cable & one for front.) If you look closely at each housing, you'll see one end of each is pre-packed with grease. Insert the cable through that end to distribute throughout the housing.

The left Shimano grift shifter on my wife’s bike had worn out and would no longer stay in gear. I bought these to replace them, and they were VERY easy to install. In about an hour I had everything installed and adjusted. Great product. If you have any interest in working on your own bicycle and saving service fees, I highly recommend giving it a try.

Replaced a broken shifter. Process was fairly straightforward. A good set of instructions would have been helpful. Had to rely on YouTube.

Easy replacement and works even better than the original!!!

I have a bike that is about 15 years old (maybe a few years older too but I don't want to admit my age) and the hand shifters were falling apart (the rubber was soft and gooey and would stick to your hand).These seemed like a great solution, because I didn't want to spend a lot of money on something that was just a casual thing for me. If you are looking at these I presume you are in a similar situation.First of all, let me say that they are not super quality items. They seem cheap and like they will break. However, they also seem like they will do the job just fine for a while. I also noted that they are almost identical to the shifters on the bike I just bought for my son from Walmart for $99. So that is sort of the quality we are looking at here.I am not experienced with bike and their components, but I am fairly smart and can reverse engineer it easily. Youtube is a big help if you want to get acquainted with what you are undertaking.I changed out the right (rear) shifter with almost no problem. If you set up so your chain is on the proper gear before you take off the old shifter then that will save you a few minutes and from smacking yourself on the forehead. But really, it isn't all that hard.The left (front) shifter I had more problems with. I have fought on that install for a long time and still don't have it right. I am about to simply set it on gear 2 and not ever use it. I have come to find that this is the hardest adjustment on any bicycle and that made me feel a bit better, but still, I'm pretty frustrated with it.It doesn't seem to shift well and the numbers are a bit loose in the gear window. I only mention this because I know another reviewer had some problems with the left shifter. That is the product. The rest of the troubles with it are me and my install.All in all, what can I say? I am happy with the items. They are cheap (as in quality) and they are cheap (as in price). I got what I paid for and I'm good with that.One other tip. Amazon is matching these shifters up with a pair of handle grips (Avenir Comfy Soft Grips) in the "frequently bought together" section. Don't get these grips. While they are actually soft and comfortable, they are ergonomically shaped for your hand to hold them. With that in mind, they don't meet up with these shifters on the handle in a convenient way. They are useless together.

They work like I expect a Shimano product to work, perfect.

I needed to replace a broken shifter on my wife’s bike. Ordered this set as they were an exact model replacement. The items supplied were 100% identical. I replaced both left and right shifters in less than 30 minutes. My wife is happy with the quality of these shifters and with the ease of shifting.