Thoughts on Gevenalle 2x11 shifters?

[bantin]

Building up a crust bombora (this is my first bike I'm building myself). Was about to go for a 2x11 shimano road group, but have seen people running the 2x11 gevenalle shifters.

I like that (a) they're cheaper than ultegra/grx800 (b) they use TRP hylex brakes which I've heard good things about. Does anyone have experience with these?

[nooneline]

People seem to like them well enough for noncompetitive uses, but I struggle to imagine an uglier or less useful shifter position.

[rice rocket]

I have no thoughts on the shifters, but the Hylex brakes are mega. Like miles better feel than my Red 22 brakes were with the same pads.

[rothwem]

Originally Posted by nooneline

People seem to like them well enough for noncompetitive uses, but I struggle to imagine an uglier or less useful shifter position.

This. Holy crap they're ugly and look incredibly non-ergonomic. Just no.

Originally Posted by rice rocket

I have no thoughts on the shifters, but the Hylex brakes are mega. Like miles better feel than my Red 22 brakes were with the same pads.

I wonder how the calipers would do combined with a set of Shimano STI's? Not that Shimano disc brakes are particularly bad.

[rice rocket]

Originally Posted by rothwem

I wonder how the calipers would do combined with a set of Shimano STI's? Not that Shimano disc brakes are particularly bad.

You'd have to measure the piston diameters to calculate the hydraulic ratio, but I'm betting the master cylinder design plays a bigger part in the overall feel than the caliper.

[mstateglfr]

I had some 2x11 Gevenalle shifters on my old gravel bike for a few years. Actually moved them over to my current gravel bike when I was building up the frame because I didnt want to let them go.
They are rim brake though- so I passed on hydraulic braking for a year on my current bike because I like the Gevenalle shifters so much.


The position of the shifters was great for me- I have large hands and could shift both front and rear from the hoods and the drops. The Microshift bar end shifters are reliable and accurate, as they should be at that price.

I bought them back when they were actually more expensive than 105 or Ultegra STIs- bought em because they were something different and I wanted to try em out. Definitely a desire for something quirky rather than a desire for better performance or whatever.
The exposed shift cables was not awesome- antiquated look, but more annoyingly a bar bag was tough to mount/use.

They held their value though- I sold them 4 years after buying for about 90% of what I paid and they sold on ebay in less than 1 day.

[robt57]

Sure, not pretty like an STi/ERGO/SRAM integrated.

I have two, one with Pauls MiniMotos on the Tomii. Which zero plans to remove/replace. And a Hydo set I have not used yet.

In use for gravel and woods CX where you need to keep on the hoods for that next soft spot, root, turn inducing crack there is zero repositioning your hand to grab gears. This is why they will stay on. I originally got them for personal empirical knowledge. Now way these could be so popular for no reason I thought. City use or for a loaded anything they seem to make sense too IMO.

I do have Hylex brakes with no shifters with Di2 SW600 Pods. Agree that they VG hydro brakes.

[fourflys]

Russ on the "Path Less Pedaled" Youtube channel is a fan of them.. pretty sure he made a couple of videos on them..

[BRad704]

I'll dogpile on the fandom for Hylex brakes on their own. Best and Smoothest hydro disc brakes I've ever used. Perfect for SSCX.

[bantin]

Thanks for all the thoughts! I'm new on this forum but this is all helpful. I'm not too worried about the ergonomics actually. They look awkward but then again drop bars are a pretty weird idea already.

More concerned about the cable interfering with a front bag since I definitely want to bikepack with this bike. Anyone have experience? Seems like it would work okay if the bag was mounted to a low front rack, but wouldn't work if I want to attach the bag to the handlebars. The bag I have is the roadrunner middle earth jammer, on the off chance someone else has tried this exact bike/bag combo.

[pinkshogun]

Im running Gevenalle 7 speed with a front bag on my 1990 Trek

[72gmc]

I like a front bag so I don't use the shifters, but my Gevenalle BURD and front derailleur work just fine. It's also a company that responds to emails in a helpful way and generally seems to employ nice people.

[JWB475]

I have Gevenalle shifters on one of my bikes (1×11). I always have issues with the derailleur overshifting briefly when shifting into to a larger cog on the cassette (it always falls back into the right cog). I play around with the shifter tension, and it improves for a bit. But eventually it returns.

[tellyho]

I have always wanted to try the Gevenalle, but i have small hands and cannot see shifting working for those from the hoods. Also, no shifting from the drops, which I spend a lot of.time in on my gravel bikes.

[mstateglfr]

I will add that a Crust bike is about the perfect type for these shifters. Quirky non-mainstream brands unite!