What did we have in our inbox today?... Well some days it can be hard to tell if people are happy with you or 'taking the piss'. Thankfully its the former and Coh&Co. have taken a kind moment to point out a couple of features of our shifters:
1. They look like something your grandfather might have had! (ouch! :).
2. They are fast!
Read on:
Gevenalle shifters, initially introduced as Retroshift, evoke a sense of nostalgia with the term “retro.” However, despite the nostalgic connotations, the Gevenalle shifting system is anything but outdated. While paddle shifters and STI-style shifters may offer comfort and aesthetics, they struggle to match the Gevenalle system in terms of shifting speed, indexing performance, compatibility, lightweight design, and durability.
In a practical comparison, shifting across the entire gear range on two 11-speed cassettes—one equipped with a GRX 600 groupset and the other with a Gevenalle shifter and BURD rear derailleur—I found that the Gevenalle system allowed me to sweep the chain across the cassette 3 to 4 times faster than the GRX paddle-shifter setup. The Gevenalle shifter enables a seamless sweep across the entire cassette, while paddle shifters require multiple independent actions to achieve the same result. Additionally, I noticed a tendency to hunt for gears more with paddle shifters, often overshifting and then correcting. With regular use of the Gevenalle system, this issue diminishes, and precision in gear selection improves.