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.]

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.

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!

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!

If you’ve ever been to some sort of mountain bike festival (such as the VisitPA.com MTB Stage Race and Festival Weekend,) you have probably witnessed the Huffy Toss.

For the uninitiated, the Huffy Toss is an event where cyclists see who can toss an old Huffy the furthest. It’s harder than it looks, as most of these old Huffys weigh at least 50-60lb!

It’s fun for many reasons:

• It doesn’t count for race series points, so no need to stress out.
• It’s an upper-body challenge (taken on by lower-body athletes.)
• There is nothing better to do with a Huffy.

But still, maybe you are ultra-competitive and want to win one of these events. There must be some muscles to train, right? And definitely some skill involved?

Yes indeed! After watching many a Huffy toss, I’ve picked up some pointers. Here are all my tips to get you in shape for winning a Huffy Toss:

Tip 1: Lift Weights.

While weight lifting doesn’t necessarily correlate to cycling strength, I think it plays a pretty serious role in the Huffy toss. I mean, if you’re a 130lb cyclist, the Huffy is half your body weight! Just picking it up will take some level of strength!

I would recommend you perform squats and deadlifts during the off-season to build full body strength, allowing you to manhandle the Huffy. The less effort you spend picking up the Huffy, the more effort you can put into perfecting your tossing technique.

Tip 2: Research Various Techniques.

All throwing sports, such as the shotput, javelin, and even baseball, require good technique. While all the objects are different, if you can figure out the similarities between all the throwing styles, chances are those parts of the technique will apply to throwing a Huffy, too!

Tip 3: Hand Position.

Now it’s event day and you’re walking up to grab the Huffy. It’s critical to get a good hand position. If you don’t have a good hold on the bike, you won’t be able to make full use of your strength or technique.

This is actually one of the toughest parts, since the bike in unbalanced, probably has sharp edges, and the handlebars and pedals are probably spinning, ready to bop you in the head.

If you can, practice at home to see what’s comfortable for you. Most likely you will grab onto the seat, fork, handlebars, seat tube, down tube, and/or wheels.

Tip 4: Use Your Hips.

The power to toss the bike comes from your hips. (If you did your squats and deadlifts, you’ll be ready to put them to use.)

What you should do is get some good body motion going so the toss starts in your legs and travels through your torso to your arms. Don’t make it a complete upper body endeavor.

Tip 5: The Bounce.

With most throws, the Huffy will drop like a rock and sink into the ground like an anchor. But with a good throw, you can get the bike to hit first on the back wheel or perhaps the handlebars, resulting in a little “end over end” bounce.

Winning throws I have seen usually include some sort of bounce. (It’s a great example of skill overcoming strength, brains over brawn, etc.)

Tip 6: Follow Through.

Lastly, follow through on your throw. It’s just like in bowling, golf, hitting a baseball, the javelin throw, etc.

A good follow through is demonstrated by Ray Adams in the photo at the very top of the page.

Follow all these tips and you may toss a Huffy like VisitPA.com racer Wes Schempf. (Wes is pictured halfway down the page.) He is a beast on the race course and in the Huffy Toss!

Photo credit: Levi Bloom

Great website!! I just purchased a used set of Mavic Crossmax SL over the weekend on ebay. I would truly appreciate any recommendations you can provide on a UST tire. I am new to MTB riding and I am going in circles! I don’t want anything too heavy (seems there is a large difference in weights of UST tires – like the Kenda Small Block 8s are much heavier than the Maxxis Crossmark). And I want a general, all purpose tire. I ride on the street 1x per week, do some hardpack riding, and occasional soft pack. Want something that grips well, is fast on the street, and can handle some trails. I am not too worried about the soft sand. Any help you can provide is truly appreciated. I know I will develop my own opinion over time, but I would like to start out on the right foot (tire?!).

Thanks so much!!
-Allaround Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for the compliment, and good choice on wheels. I’ve had a couple different sets of Crossmax wheels and always liked them.

I’ll recommend two UST tires to check out – the Maxxis Monorail and Maxxis Crossmark. Other tires (Kenda, Continental, Schwalbe, etc.) may work just as well for you, but these are my personal favorites when it comes to hardpacked dirt.

The Monorail is a fast-rolling tire that is good on the road and on hardpack. It is a great tire for road and hardpack dirt trails. It works alright in softer stuff too, but with a little less stability. In other words, it will slide out at some point. That’s a good sacrifice for top XC racers to make if they need tires that roll fast, but they can pull it off because they know how to control their bike if the tires lose their grip.

The Crossmark is great because it rolls fast but is still good for all sorts of trail riding, other than extreme mud. It’s also about the same weight as the Monorail.

You can’t go wrong with Crossmarks front and rear, so that’s what I recommend most riders start with. In your situation, you’d probably be fine on either tire, but I’d still recommend the Crossmarks. With Maxxis Crossmarks, you might give up a little speed on the street, but they will more than make up for it by improving your confidence when off-road.

Now go have fun out there!

My mountain bike has a 2.5 tire on the front and a 1.95 on rear. Should I put a 2.5 on the rear?

I just bought the bike – its an older, short travel full suspension. I’ve not had this tire setup before and am looking for input. What is to be gained from this setup? Should I just match em up?

Thanks,
Mismatched Michael

Hi Michael,

A narrower rear tire like you have is a common setup for mountain biking. Since you bought the bike used, I’m betting it originally came with 1.95″ tires front and rear. That would have been typical for that style bike.

What most likely happened is that the previous owner wanted to run larger tires, and he probably put on the biggest tires that would fit the bike. The frame could probably only handle a 1.95″ or maybe a 2.1″ as the rear tire. However, most any front fork can accommodate a larger front tire, around 2.2″ to 2.5″ wide.

So the question isn’t really “why a smaller rear tire?,” but rather, “why a larger front tire?”

Here are the reasons you might run a narrow rear tire and wide front tire on your mountain bike:

• Increased Traction – The front tire is extremely important when it comes to traction, especially when turning. In most cases, a wider tire will provide better traction, so it makes sense to run a larger front tire. (While you still need traction from the rear tire, it’s usually not a big deal when the rear tire loses a little traction. However, if the front tire loses traction, you could be in big trouble!)
• Softer Ride – A wider tire holds a greater air volume, which means you can safely run slightly lower tire pressures. The lower pressure will make for a softer, more comfortable ride. With a hardtail or older short-travel full suspension bike, you probably want the softest ride possible! (Lower pressure will also help increase traction.)
• Weight – The wider the tire, the heavier the tire will be. Running two wide tires will significantly increase the rotating weight on the bike, requiring more effort to ride fast. Sticking with only a wide front tire is a good compromise.
• Frame Limitations – While there is generally quite a bit of room in the front suspension fork (a 2.3-2.5 tire can probably fit,) the frame can only accommodate a certain size tire. On the typical cross country mountain bike, you won’t get bigger than a 2.1 tire back there.

As you can see, tire size is about compromise. The narrow tires are light, but going with a wider tire will increase traction and comfort.

The narrow tire in the back and a wider one up front makes for a pretty good compromise between weight savings, comfort, and traction.

In general, I run 2.1″ tires front and rear on my hardtail or short-travel XC racing bike. However, if you’re out having fun on the trails, the 2.5″ front tire will probably be nice. So you can definitely stick with the tires you have.

There’s no real downside to running different tire sizes, so there’s not much reason for you to change anything. For example, there’s no need to carry different size spare tubes. A 26×1.95 tube (you could probably find one marked “fits 1.95-2.2 tires”) will fit just fine in a 26×2.5 tire.

And you could always convert to a tubeless setup using Stan’s rim strips and sealant! That would give you an even better ride, and there would be less worry about ever using a spare tube!

I have been racing against Aaron Snyder since my first ‘real’ mountain bike race back in 2003 when we were both juniors. Since then, I have progressed steadily, while Aaron progressed astronomically and is now racing World Cup events!

I got a chance to catch up with him earlier this year and put together a little bike check so you can see what Aaron is riding these days as a professional mountain bike racer.

Pro Bike Check: Aaron Snyder’s Scott Spark RC

Aaron Snyder, racing for Scott Bicycles, has a great full-suspension mountain bike at his disposal. Here are the details:

Frame: Scott Spark RC w/ integrated seatmast (L)

Fork: Fox 32RLC

Shock: Scott Nude w/ remote lockout

Wheels: DT Swiss 240 hubs laced to Stan’s Olympic ZTR rims

Tires (as pictured): Maxxis Monorail (rear) and Maxxis Crossmark (front)

Crank: Shimano XTR w/ only two rings, 34/44

BB: Chris King MTB

Front Derailleur: Shimano Dura-Ace braze on with K-Edge Chain Watcher

Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR

Shifters: Shimano XTR

Brakes: Shimano XTR, 160mm Front, 140mm Rear. Hope Floating rotors.

Chain: SRAM PC991 Hollowpin

Cassette: Shimano XT 11-34

Pedals: Crankbrothers Candy 4Ti

Handlebar: FSA Carbon Flat Bar

Stem: Ritchey 4-Axis, 110mm

Grips: Ergon GX2 Mag

Saddle: Selle Italia SLR

Detailed Pictures of Aaron’s Bike

Let’s look at some pictures of all these components…

The rear shock on the Scott Spark frame.

Here is the handlebar-mounted lockout for the rear shock.

The Scott Spark has an integrated seatmast.

Aaron perches upon this rock solid Selle Italia saddle.

Aaron also runs a PowerTap rear hub when he needs to collect power data.

Check out the sweet gold Chris King BB, mated to the XTR cranks.

Some well-worn Ergon grips.

The very cool K-Edge chain watcher.

I must say, that’s a great mod for any bike where you can install a braze-on style front derailleur.

Another look at the K-Edge.

Related links:

Aaron’s blog

Scott Bikes (Scott Spark RC page)

What is the ideal mountain bike size for me? I’m 6’3″

What size mountain bike for a female, 5’2″ 120 lbs? I’m looking to get into mountain biking, and I was wondering what size bike frame and what size wheels I need, because of my short height.

Those are just two examples of the questions I hear. It’s usually the same question, but with a different height and weight!

Let’s start by looking at what sizes are out there…

Mountain Bike Frame and Wheel Sizes

In general, mountain bikes are available with frame sizes of Small, Medium, Large, and X-Large. The frame measurement is the seat tube length. A Small frame will usually be a 15″, Medium 17″, Large 19″, and X-Large 21″.

But just as important is a seldom mentioned measurement – top tube (TT) length. The length of the top tube partially determines how far you have to reach to the handlebars while seated. This is actually more important to getting a correctly sized, comfortable bike than any other measurement.

To make things even more complicated, frames vary between manufacturers. Some companies measure differently, and most will have different geometry, leading to very different feelings from the same size bicycle!

For example, I love the feeling of Giant frames in their 18″ size. But on a 19″ Specialized, I almost feel cramped. Crazier still, I have a 21″ Trek frame that I got when I was in middle school (I was maybe 5’5″ tall then.) So your size also depends on which brand you choose!

Some manufacturers such as Trek and Gary Fisher and doing bicycles with geometry specifically for women, so that is an option for some smaller women. If you are around 5′ tall, you may prefer a women-specific design.

The most popular wheel size is 26″. Just about every mountain bike you look at will have 26″ wheels, so there isn’t much to worry about with wheel size.

Gaining in popularity is the 29″ wheel size. A few years ago you rarely saw a 29″ wheel bike, but today, there are actually quite a few 29″ bikes out there. While there is a hot debate about which size wheel is better for mountain biking, I’d say stick with 26″ wheels unless you already know the advantages and disadvantages of 29″ wheels (in which case you probably understand frame sizes as well.)

The only other thing to know is to avoid 24″ wheels in almost all cases. Those are typically found on small mountain bikes at department stores, and replacement parts (tires, tubes, etc.) are hard to find. Only look at bikes with 24″ wheels if you are particularly short and can’t get comfortable on a small 26″ wheel bike.

The Size For You

In general, if you’re short, you’ll get a size small. If you’re tall, you’ll get a larger size. But you also have to consider inseam length rather than just your height. And then your arm length comes into play as well.

All I can really tell you without fitting you on a bike is, “if you are 6’3″, start by looking at the XL size” and, “if you are 5’2″, take a look at bikes in the XS and S sizes.”

It’s impossible to determine your exact size over the internet! Bicycle geometry (not to mention the human body) is too complex and unique to analyze so easily.

Bottom line: There is no “this is the size for you” answer to this question. Anyone that gives you a specific size to get, without discussing specifics about the exact frame in question and seeing your body, is just guessing (and most likely wrong.)

How to Actually Get the Right Size Bike

If you’re serious about getting a proper-fitting mountain bike, you owe it to yourself to visit a bicycle shop. Not a department store, not a sporting goods store, and not an online retailer.

You want to actually see the bikes in person and take them for test rides. What’s cool is that you don’t need to walk into a shop and know exactly what size to get. That’s the point of bike shops – they help you pick the right size bike!

But before you go shopping, here are some tips on bike fit:

It should be comfortable. Comfort is subjective, so it’s up to you to pick out which bicycle seems most comfortable. You should be able to sit comfortably on the bike and reach the handlebars without being too stretched out. Likewise, you might not want to be too upright.

Get some standover clearance. Since mountain biking can be dangerous and there’s always a possibility of crashing, you want to have some clearance. Look for about 2-4″ of clearance between your crotch and the bicycle’s top tube.

Get the smallest bike that still fits. You want the smallest frame you can get that still provides the correct riding position. (To get the correct position, you need to test ride and fit the bike in a bike shop.)

The smaller frame is easier to handle and provides more standover clearance, plus it’s a little lighter and stiffer.

Be wary of certain deals. Some unscrupulous bike shop employees will attempt to sell you a bike that’s a size too big or small in order to clear out old inventory. Even if they offer you a good deal, I don’t suggest getting a bike that doesn’t fit perfectly!

Test ride. Finally, test ride the bikes. It’s about what you like, and a test ride is the best way to figure that out.

Then and only then should you decide on the right size bike!