Customer Reviews

Shimano SL-M410 Alivio 8-Speed Shift Lever Set

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These shifters came on my Trek 4500 MTB. They worked great and never got out of adjustment for a year and a half. Then one day, the right shifter broke and I was unable to shift into higher gears without forcing the shifter into my handgrip. I opened them up to see if I could fix it by pure luck, but when a metal piece that had broken off fell out of the case as I opened it, I figured it was not fixable. I did some quick forum searching and gathered that many Shimano shifters are non rebuildable... so if you want a cheap, disposable shifter that works well, this one fits the bill. I gave it 4 stars cause it's pretty good for a lower end shifter. It didn't get 5 cause it broke in under 2 years.

My riding consists of weekend rides on fireroads with the family, some light commuting when the weather is bad and I don't want to ride my motorcycle in the rain, and a very rare 10 mile single track loop near the home. I am near the coast and my bike does have rust on many of the screws, so that could have attributed to the premature breakdown.

I used these shifters to replace old Shimano 8 speed shifters on a Gary Fisher Tassajara mountain bike. They installed with out a problem and shifted perfectly. I would recommend this product for an 8 speed shifter replacement.

I upgraded the SRAM MRX shifters on my MTB (dislike twist shifters) along with an adequate but low end Tourney TX31 rear derailleur to these 3x8 Alivio shifters and a Deore LX RD. Adjusted the RD and secured the shifter cables. Now I experience crisp and fast shifts. This set up with mid-range components should satisfy my offroad and road riding needs for years to come. I take care of my bikes so components should last another decade.

Frist let me say they came on time. Good packaging. I bought these to replace
the original ones on a new bike. They shift very good and improved the Bike
as far as I'm concerned. Directions make them an easy install.

The shifters on my Trek mountain bike quit working - I could only use 3 or 4 of the 24 it has. After fiddling around a lot thinking it was just a misadjustment, I finally decided the Shimano shifters that came on it were probably busted. I considered taking it to a bike shop, but decided to try these first. I used to be a bike mechanic, so I had no trouble taking the old click shifters off and putting these on, then making the adjustment. They work perfectly and I am off and riding again! Saved a bunch o moolah over the bike shop. The installation and adjustment instructions were clear and easy to do.

There don't seem to be a ton of 8-sp shifters around anymore since newer MTB have gravitated to 9 and 10 cogs... I run these now on a Raleigh M80 after I had the original shifters break. I put these on myself in less than an hour and have done some pretty hard trail riding with them... I have an STX front, and an LX rear derailuer.

They work pretty good but every once and a while on hard climb I will get a ghost-shift (usually up a gear)... could be the deraileurs or some frame flex... not sure?
They are easy to adjust over time using the mini-adjusters at the handlebars.

I went to a MTB demo day and rode lots of expensive equipment all the way up to a total Sram XX gear'd bike... and unless you go huge lengths and cost for incremental performance gains, I would say these shifters will do just fine.

Finally, I really like that the downshift is with the thumb (under), and the upshift is with the index finger (over).

My son's bike came with SRAM TRX Triggers which I read had plastic gearing inside that others found to be short-lived, lasting only a season or two. I came across these Shimano SL-M410's at a good price, and have a higher end 9-speed version on my own bike that I just love, the SL-R660, so purchased them and was going to swap out the SRAM shifters outright. However, the SRAMs work fine at the moment (although I find their black display hard to read while riding compared to the more visible silver of the Shimanos), so plan to hold off for a year or so, or until the SRAMs break or start skipping gears.

There's not much choice these days in 8-speed straight bar shifters. It seems the newer offerings are integrated with the brake levers, which I don't particularly like because the upper index-finger trigger only has enough opening for small fingers, and it is not possible to customize the orientation of the shifters relative to the brake levers / grips to fit an individual's hand size and particular riding position. And if a brake lever or shifter breaks, but not both, you have to replace the whole unit. These Shimanos are one of the few separate components available.

I don't think these inexpensive shifters will last 10+ years like my last ones, but they fit my 8 speed mtn bike, were a good price and easy to install. Delivery was fast too. I'm crossing my fingers they'll last 2 or 3 years. If so, I'll be very pleased. Word.