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Gear indicators no longer in fashion?

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Gear indicators no longer in fashion?

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flag zipperblue
Posted: Dec 24, 2020 at 18:06 Quote
I just returned to MTBing after many years, and ordered a new bike.

When picking-up, was surprised to discover the Deore shifter has no indicator. It didn't even cross my mind, since in the past, everything from cheapo Acera to top XTR would have them.

Was told by bike shop it's a change this year, last year's model still had the indicator. Any reason why? I know we can roughly feel what gear we're on, but it's still helpful to have a quick glance and know how many gears are left each way?

Can these new rear shifters have a separate add-on indicator, or does the whole shifter have to be changed? Thanks
flag aggro
Posted: Dec 24, 2020 at 20:20 Quote
Gear indicators have been on the outs for much longer than a year.

By the same logic, you could just quickly glance down to determine how many gears you have left. Honestly I haven’t missed not having inductors and don’t even think about it.

If you are purchasing your shifters after market, shimano SLX and XT usually include the gear indicators as an add on in the box.
flag Reaperactual
Posted: Dec 25, 2020 at 1:03 Quote
When I got shifters without indicators a few years ago I thought it was a bit strange.

After a ride or two never even thought about it again, you'll get used to it in no time. As mentioned you can retrofit with supplied gear indicators on some shifters but see how you get on without them first.
flag zipperblue
Posted: Dec 25, 2020 at 3:16 Quote
Thank you, I'll try to get used to it. But looking at the Shimano site, it seems that optical display is actually a feature for my M4100 shifter.

Does this require me to order a completely new shifter, or can it be ordered as a separate add-on/cover? Thanks!

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/deore-m4100/SL-M4100-R.html
flag Reaperactual
Posted: Dec 25, 2020 at 5:18 Quote
Good question and don't know the answer tbh. With older shifters it was possible but not seen a gear indicator for sale separately for an M4100 shifter after a quick internet search.They just seem to sell different versions.

Looking at the design it looks like a part that could easily be re-fitted to the non indicator version and it's pretty much guaranteed that the internal workings will be exactly the same for all M4100 shifters.

A whole new shifter is only £20ish to buy anyway so not too costly if you really want the gear indicator feature.
flag aggro
Posted: Dec 26, 2020 at 20:30 Quote
I just checked shimano’s small parts catalog and there are some models which you can buy them separately. Not all of them you can. However, shimano isn’t known to be great at stocking all of their small parts so you might have better luck heading to your local shop to see if they have a spare kicking around. I mean if you lived close I have 2 or 3 of them that are sitting in the bottom of a box.
flag SDM44
Posted: Dec 28, 2020 at 12:27 Quote
My Deore M6000 10-spd shifter does have a display window for the gear indicator, but no numbers. Recently picked it up in the past month.

IMO, it doesn't really matter as I find myself glancing down at my cassette more often than looking at the shifter, but I have found it nice every once in awhile to look at the shifter when I can't really look down when I'm traveling at higher speeds. Then looking at the window will give me some idea of where I'm at in my gearing.

It's actually been helpful on some steeper climbs when I'm paying attention to the lines, and I can just glance over at the shifter and see that the indicator needle isn't pinned all the way to the right, so I could always shift into a taller gear if needed. But besides that, I'm just more used to looking down at my cassette.
flag brianrages
Posted: Dec 30, 2020 at 16:05 Quote
IMO, gear indicators don't have much value in 1x systems. 2x and 3x may have some (slight) value.
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