Gevenalle GX Shifters: At The Finish

Guitar Ted

9 years ago

<Back to News Home |

Turns out those Gevenalle GX shifters do have a friction option!

With a few months in the bag on the Gevenalle GX shifters, (See my last posting on them HERE), I can now state my opinion on whether or not these are a good pathway to lower your gearing range with a Shimano DynaSys 10 rear derailleur and wide range 10 speed cassette. However; I have to clear up a misunderstanding and tell you about something else that Gevenalle has done along the way since that last update.

The statement I made in my last update about these not having a friction option was not true. They do, and I simply overlooked it. So, there is that redundancy that could bail you out of an otherwise ride ending situation. The other thing has to do with the less than precise shifting I was experiencing.

Gevenalle was very pro-active in reaching out and giving me a few pointers on ways I could tune the shifter by adjusting the cover with the 4mm Allen fitting which controls the amount of effort it takes to make a shift. This was helpful, but it didn’t erase my issues 100% So, instead of having to wait to go back and forth with Gevenalle, they simply went ahead and sent out another lever right off, without waiting to hear if the fixes they suggested worked or not. This is the sort of “quick on your feet” type of customer service that can be the hallmark of smaller sized companies like Gevenalle, and I am happy to report that they succeeded in solving the issue with this action.

With the new lever and the tips from the Goats at Gevenalle, I was able to experience crisp, accurate shifting at all times. I have several rides in all sorts of conditions since the lever swap and I cannot say that the GX shifter has been anything other than spot on. The wider gearing range that I have on tap now with the Shimano DynaSys rear derailleur and 11-36T cassette has kept me in the large chain ring longer, so front shifts have been almost non-existent since the review began. I can now strongly consider a 1X set up. By the way, Gevenalle offers the GX shifter in a set with a rear only shifter.

At The Finish: In the beginning the shifter was a perfect match to the SLX Shadow Plus Clutch type derailleur that I installed to run for this review. The shifter clicked off the gear changes well all the way up to the big 36T ring. However; an “over-shift” condition, not uncommon to Microshift levers, arose . Gevenalle was quick to respond and sent out a different lever which solved the issue 100%. Perhaps it was a one time thing, but even if it was not, Gevenalle has to be commended for being proactive and striving to make things right. Either way, the end result for my review was very positive and the shifter does what it is advertised to do very well. If you are looking to do a 1X set up with a wide range cassette, you could either wait for the company with a four letter name starting in “S” or just put together one now with a DynaSys mountain bike rear derailluer and a 10 speed cassette that likely will cost far less.

NOTE: Gevenalle sent these levers to RidingGravel.com at no charge and we are not being bribed nor paid for this review. I will strive to give my honest thoughts and opinions throughout.