Submitted by
Joel Rogers
a Cross Country Rider
from Lancaster
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2002
Strengths: Simple, light, good design, gotta love the grip protruding out past the shifter housing
Weaknesses: Cable change door is small and easily lost.
Bottom Line:
Very good shifter...too bad they went out of business. Mine are close to 6 yrs old, and despite missing of the cable port covers, they are still working like a charm...I'm only wishing that I would have bought an extra set when they were on closeout a few years back...
Similar Products Used: almost everything from bio-pace to suspension seatposts...
Bike Setup: Specialized M2, XT, Marzocchi Z2 Atom, Velomax Climax's
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Brian
a Weekend Warrior
from Chicago, IL, USA
Date Reviewed: July 26, 2001
Strengths: I have never had any problems with these shifters. They work the same as they did when I first got them.
Weaknesses: I use an 8 speed cassette, but they don't make 9 speed. I think Sram bought Sachs too, so they may not even be making them anymore...I could be wrong.
Bottom Line:
If you're using an 8 speed cassette, pick up a set...they work well, and are a little different than Shimano and Sram. You can fid them for $30 new if you look hard enough. That's not a bad price for a product with one of the highest mtbr shifter product ratings.
Bike Setup: Ritchey St, morati cranks, moots post and bar, precision billet front/rear derailleur, etc..
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Submitted by
steve benson
a Cross Country Rider
from los angeles,ca
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2001
Strengths: light, good grip. Great shifting with goretex cables, I have not had to adjust shifters/derailure for a couple of years of regular riding!
Weaknesses: gips are slick when wet if not wearing gloves. . Rear shifter just broke after 5 years of service. Internal plastic mechanism unrepairable. Issue of weight vs durability.
Bottom Line:
I am looking for another set! Unfortunatly I haven't been able to find just a rear shifter.
Bike Setup: Klein frame, judy dh, XT derailures, race face cranks, avid brakes
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Submitted by
jp averback
a Weekend Warrior
from montreal, qc,canada
Date Reviewed: January 5, 2001
Strengths: well, here goes 1) i got them for 15 $. that's ALOT les then what you pay for shimano! 2)the fact that it's gripshift alows for more room to move your hands. shuttup , it works ! 3) you can shift from last cog to first in 2seconds. useless , but comes in handy sooner or later 4) there are 9 , yes 9 , parts in total for this shifter shimano pods have easily over 30 or 40 5)it's not shimano 6)morornically easy to tune
Weaknesses: hahahahahahahah
Bottom Line:
these shifters are amazing stock , they suck. HERE IS THE TRICK U MUST KNOW !!!! 1) memorize the internals 2)pack the shifter with grease, not too much but enough , on the friction area of the shifter, this will make it quiter and faster 3) grease the cable slider 4) go out and ride dammit ! for more ideas , just email me dude ! feel free !
Strengths: Crisp, dependable, adjustable, comfortable, easy to clean and lube, yellow!!!
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
These shifters are the coolest thing on my bike. They work perfectly and are easy to work on. A drop of tri-flo every few hundred miles keeps the shifting beautifully. Would be worth twice the $25 I payed for them.
Bike Setup: trek zx frame sx/r forks, full lx components, xray shifters titec stem seatpost
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Michael
a Weekend Warrior
from Mountains of TN
Date Reviewed: November 30, 1999
Strengths: feel, preciseness, price
Weaknesses: grips that came with it aren't comfortable without gloves
Bottom Line:
Good shifters, nice feel, but the grips are uncomfortable without gloves. The grips on the shifters aren't bad, but I am thinking about replacing the grips that came with them. 4 turds since the grips are not all that comfortable.
Submitted by
Marc T.
a Cross-Country Rider
from Saratoga Springs, NY
Date Reviewed: November 9, 1999
Strengths: Perfect shifting, easy-to-read display
Weaknesses: None that come to mind
Bottom Line:
Best shifters I've ever used. I've been using them for two years, and have yet to have a single problem shifting. My rear derailleur moves so quickly that I have to look back to see if it actually shifted. It's quiet, light, and not ridiculously expensive. I don't think that it's hard to twist the shifters, but that's just my opinion. Maybe the people below don't lube their cables every few months...
Bike Setup: Fisher Supercaliber Manitou Fs-Ti Lots of goodies
Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Mikko Mellin
a Weekend Warrior
from Finland
Date Reviewed: July 22, 1999
Strengths: Light weight,affordable,good look!
Weaknesses: hmmm,none!!!
Bottom Line:
Good shifting,altought a bit hard to shift.With my XTR rear & LX front derailler these shifters are hugely better than my previously SRT400 crampys.Go buy a pair of these if accurate shifting means something to you!
I have had these on 2 different bikes over the past 2 years and they are working almost as good as the day I put them on. Keep in mind I have did little if any maintanance to them.I will soon buy another set for my current bike but only so I can put these on a spare I'm building up.These have never failed me . - Five chilli's
Submitted by
john parker
a cross-country rider
from australia
Date Reviewed: February 24, 1999
Bottom Line:
sachs extreme shifters are reliable shifters but require regular maintanence to keep them working as they should. the major problem i found was that they tend to become hard to shift. but it isnt actually all the shifters fault.If you change your cables regulary you will find them well worth the money.
Submitted by
Bryant Carter
a cross-country rider
from Hampden-Sydney, VA
Date Reviewed: January 29, 1999
Bottom Line:
The Extreme shifters worked well, but they ended up being too hard between clicks to shift. At first that turned me on to them because the shifts were definite, yet as the system grew on me I realized that the mechanism was just too stiff---even on the smoothest setting. I recommed Grip shifts 8.0 or 9.0 because they are smoother with less effort needed to shift. The Sachs just needed too much power compared to the other SRAM shifters.
Working as a mechanic and being totaly addicted to bike components, i have taken apart, fixed, and used almost every system out there. I truely do know what i am talking about.Pros of Sachs E> price is right they work very well when set up properly great action and feel very light weight cable change hatch (is not as easy to use as it should be cable can be tough to route through)cons. mabey not as fashionable as XTR or 9.0 Sl (who cares >>>> posers!!) cable isn't very easy to feed through the hatch. (minor)in closing: preference on twist or push is the biggest deciding factor, if you like twist these shifters will not let you down. the action and feel is better than sram. and the cost is excellent and I don't even care about that because i get the stuff for pretty much free. Givem a try they really work great.
Well, I don't like Rapid Fire shifters, so I buy Sachs Power Grip Extreme and... I LOVE THEM!!! They are really great! They works great with Shimano XT or Sachs Quarz rear der. I'll never trade them for some Shi(t)mano Rapid Fire...NEVER! If you want to have a great shifter for good price get Sachs. You have to try to feel it...
Submitted by
alarmed22
a weekend warrior
from Benicia, CA. (No. Bay Area)
Date Reviewed: September 24, 1998
Bottom Line:
Good feel. Not as easy to accidentally shift. I like the detents, they drop in accurately. I like the easy to see lens. Looks cool, that's about all.The problem is that I'm using TRX rear D so all the numbers are backwards! I hate that! Sachs needs to address that soon. A replacement kit would be nice.
