With today’s mountain bikes, you have about a 50/50 chance of getting a twist shift or a trigger shift mechanism. And another 50/50 chance if it will be Shimano or SRAM.

In this article, I will explain how to shift SRAM Trigger shifters.

(Note: If you are looking to learn about the concept of shifting gears, read my Beginner’s Guide to Shifting Gears first.)

SRAM Trigger Shifters – The Basics

SRAM Trigger shifters are slightly different than Shimano RapidFire triggers.

With SRAM, you still have two little levers for each hand, but each one is operated by a push from your thumb. This way your index finger can be used for grabbing the bar or brake lever. Your thumb can stay wrapped around the bar for control and still operate both triggers.

I personally prefer this trigger design over the Shimano.

The general shifting method is as follows:

Push the little top lever for a shift to smaller cog or chainring. Push the bigger bottom lever to shift to a bigger cog or chainring.

To learn the details of the shifts, continue reading…

SRAM Trigger Shifters – Right Shifter, Rear Derailleur

The right shifter (the one operated by your right hand) will operate the rear derailleur, moving the chain across the 8-10 cogs on the rear cassette.

To shift to a harder gear:

Pushing the upper, smaller trigger will drop the chain down to a smaller cog, putting you in a bigger gear.

To shift to an easier gear:

Pushing the lower, bigger trigger will push the chain up to a bigger cog, putting you in a smaller gear (this will make it easier to pedal.)

SRAM Trigger Shifters – Left Shifter, Front Derailleur

The left shifter (the one operated by your left hand) operates the front derailleur. It will move the chain between the two or three front chainrings.

To shift to a harder gear:

Pushing the lower, bigger trigger will push the chain up to a bigger chainring, putting you in a bigger gear.

This shift requires a bit more force than the others, but not a whole lot.

To shift to an easier gear:

Pushing the upper, smaller trigger will drop the chain down to a smaller chainring. This will make it easier to pedal.

Trigger shifters may sound more complicated than SRAM’s Grip Shift, but once you practice with them a little bit, you’ll have it memorized in no time!

Mountain bikes are typically equipped with either a grip shift or trigger shifters. The trigger shifters look more intimidating, but they are fun and easy to use once you get the hang of them.

Most likely, if your bike came with trigger shifters, they will be Shimano RapidFire Trigger shifters.

(For advice on shifting concepts in general, read my Beginner’s Guide to Shifting Gears.)

This article will explain how to use these Shimano RapidFire triggers…

Shimano RapidFire Shifting Basic Concepts

These shifters are very common on mountain bikes. In this case, you’ll have two small “triggers” beside each handlebar grip. There are two triggers on each shifter because the triggers only move in one direction.

The top trigger is in front of the handlebar, and it is operated by your index finger. The lower trigger (which is a little bigger) sits behind the handlebar and is operated by your thumb. The top trigger is pulled back towards you to shift; the bottom trigger is pushed forward to shift.

Pushing with your thumb will execute a shift to a larger cog or chainring. A quick pull with your index finger will shift to a smaller chainring or cog.

The complicated thing is, this could shift to an easier or a harder gear. It’s different on both shifters, so I’ll explain both sides…

Shimano RapidFire Shifting – Right Shifter, Rear Derailleur

The right shifter (the one operated by your right hand) operates the rear derailleur, moving the chain between the eight or nine cogs on the cassette.

To shift to a harder gear:

Pulling the smaller trigger in with your index finger will drop the chain down to a smaller cog.

To shift to an easier gear:

Pushing the bigger trigger with your thumb will push the chain up to a bigger cog.

Shimano RapidFire Shifting – Left Shifter, Front Derailleur

The left shifter (the one operated by your left hand) operates the front derailleur. It will move the chain between the three front chainrings.

To shift to a harder gear:

Pushing the bigger trigger with your thumb will push the chain up to a bigger chainring.

To shift to an easier gear:

Pulling the front trigger back with your index finger will drop the chain down to a smaller chainring.

Trigger shifters may sound complicated compared to the Grip Shift, but they aren’t a problem once you practice with them a little bit. Go practice shifting and you’ll have it memorized in no time!

[Notice: SRAM Trigger Shifters operate differently than Shimano RapidFire.]

Today’s question is about why you might be blowing up when hitting a tough hill climb, even if it didn’t happen last season…

okay man, quick question. i have been MTBing for around 4 years now. recently came home from school, felt really good off the bat and got into some 14-20 mph rides. yesterday and the day before, i feel a tad weak and i feel like the lactic acid just hits me up right when i hit the climb, this has never happened before.

what do you think it is? i really appreciate all the info you have on this site and if you could answer this question id appreciate that even more. thanks Levi, your the man!

Sincerely,
Blowingup Bob

Hi Bob,

Perhaps you’ve been away at school and not riding quite enough during the Spring semester. Then you come home and jump into things like previous summers, riding like you didn’t take any time off over the past months. You have a good enough base after four years of training that you can do it for a little while without feeling like you’re overtraining, but it’s starting to hit you now.

Being in good shape, you can go out and ride at a decent pace and feel fine, even when worn down. That is, until you really turn it on, like when you have to power up a hill. I think hitting the hill is just pushing you over the edge. (Believe me, I did the same thing after my freshman year of college!)

A little rest (a few days of easy riding) and you should be all set.

But then you have to remember to ease back into everything! You don’t want to jump straight into all-out efforts or you’ll be feeling it on your next ride.

It’s important for cyclists to do certain training drills to keep their skills sharpened. One drill I recommend you do is practice crashing!

Crash simulations are important drills for cyclists, especially mountain bikers. If you crash nearly every single race, like me, these drills help a lot!

The point is to practice the proper way to crash, in a controlled environment. Then it becomes ingrained in your mind, and when you crash for real (eventually you will,) you naturally crash properly and sustain as little injury as possible.

Here are two different ways to practice:

1) The Survival Roll

The “survival roll” is where you tuck and roll over one shoulder. (It could also be called a “shoulder roll.”) You may have done these during gym class as a kid. We had a “tumbling” day and did these. It’s also part of a typical high school football practice.

This drill will teach you how to roll through a high speed crash when you are thrown off the bike.

The basic maneuver

First, imagine you are being thrown forward through the air (because that’s when you use this move.) The basic movement is the shoulder roll, in which you turn slightly to one side and tuck your head so that the impact is taken as lightly as possible by one shoulder and dissipated across your back during the roll.

Depending on your speed, you may roll once then sit upright, roll a few times and stop, or roll once and end up back on your feet running.

The practice drills

First things first, location. I suggest practicing these drills in a soft grassy field.

For the first drill, start out crouched down on your hands and knees. Spring forward and perform a shoulder roll.

Next, stand up on your feet, but stay bent over. Lunge forward and perform a shoulder roll.

Next, stand up straight, take a step forward, and do a shoulder roll.

Once you are comfortable with the shoulder roll from an upright position, add some speed. Progress to where you are running and then dive forward, performing a complete shoulder roll.

If you want, you can even practice riding an old bike, slam on the front brakes, dive forward, and do a shoulder roll.

Tips

1. Start slow and progress as you get more comfortable. This is about practicing to not get hurt, so there’s no need to rush into it and end up getting hurt from the practice drills!

Take it one step at a time.

2. Do rolls onto both your left and right shoulders so you feel natural going either way. In a real crash situation, you could end up going either way.

3. Wear your cycling helmet and some pads at first while practicing. Not just for protection, but to make the drills resemble real riding conditions! If you wish, wear just your spandex and helmet.

2. The Slow Speed Fall

Sometimes when navigating technical sections at slow speeds, you will fall. But at low speeds, instead of rolling, you just kind of hit the ground and thud – so the survival roll won’t work here.

What you can do is increase the amount of time your body makes contact with the ground, decreasing the force of the impact on a single area.

The basic maneuver

Imagine you stuck your front wheel against a rock, lost all momentum, and you’re going down on your side. The goal is to lessen the impact.

First, unclip your foot as you fall. The side of your foot or calf muscle should hit the ground first, followed by your knee, thigh, hip, and shoulder. Do NOT stick your arm out! That is more likely to lead to a broken collar bone than to save your fall.

The practice drills

There is one drill here, but two places to practice it.

Start out on a soft grassy hillside. Roll along slowly then hit the brakes to come to a quick stop. At this point, fall over to the side. (Fall uphill, which will be less painful.)

Once you are comfortable with that, practice in a soft grassy field. You’ll fall a little further on the flat ground, so make sure you have the technique down first.

Tips

1. Imagine your body as a piece of rubber, rather than a piece of wood. See, you can snap a stick in half by slamming it on the ground. You could bend a piece of rubber or slap it around, and it could get bruised (if it had veins like we do,) but it won’t snap. (I’ll take a bruise over a broken bone any day!)

So when you fall, stay loose and relaxed. Be like Jell-O.

2. If you have good reflexes for getting your foot unclipped quickly, you might end up dabbing instead of falling over completely. That’s a better outcome, but watch out – you could get your foot stuck in a hole and twist your knee.

Now go practice crashing and ride safely!

Today’s question is about which cogs should be used with which chainring when shifting a bicycle…

Hey Coach! I am new to biking, and have just purchased a Gary Fisher mountain bike that I plan to take off road. You tutorial on shifting has been the most concise and most helpful I have found. Thank you for that. I was wondering if there were ideal combination for shifting between chainrails. Should I shift up to the largest when I am in 6-8? Should I shift down to the smaller when I am in 5-1. Your expertise is appreciated.

-Shifty Samantha

Hi Shifty,

Glad to hear my tutorial was helpful!

The general rule of thumb would be to use cogs 1-4 with a smaller ring, and 5-8 with a bigger ring. (The cogs are the gears on the rear wheel, with cog 1 being the largest and 8 being the smallest.) So yes, the strategy you suggest should work fine.

There is no ideal gear shifting plan you have to follow. There’s no magic formula. You can bend the rules a bit. What I mean is that the middle cogs usually work fine with any of the front chainrings, so you might even be able to use cogs 1-6 with the little ring.

Just try to keep the chain in as straight of a line as possible. If it grinds on the side of the front derailleur cage, that’s not a good gear to use!

In other words, as long as you are not cross-chaining, you’re probably alright.

As you ride more, you’ll get a feel for the gears, and you can naturally develop your own rhythm / gear selection strategy. Then it will become second-nature and you’ll wonder why you ever had questions about it!