Falcon Friction Thumb Shifters

Decent for the price

Once you get these installed, they work well. However, the supplied cable housing is too short if you’re putting them on a bike with rise or sweep to the handlebarse. Also, the clamp bolt is really short, almost too short, making installation a bit of a hassle.

These have fully replaced the Shimano index shifters on my bike, and I’ve went ahead and bought a second pair to have as backups, great option if you’re friction-curious but wanna spend as little as possible trying things out. The shifters do have a clicking mechanism (not technically a ratchet per se, but functionally works the same way as a ratchet would) which makes shifting feel very tactile and precise, my only complaint would be the shifters are a little bulky, but they cost 1/4 as much as the pretty friction shifters so it’s not really worth considering.

Flip the bolt to install

Meh. I always say, “It isn’t easy being cheap” and these prove it. First shifter install: spent 10 minutes looking on the floor for a nut that wasn’t there. Next 5 minutes spent studying the product picture and seeing there was indeed no nut. Then spent 20 minutes hunting for a nut that kinda fit. I had to bend the clamp in unnatural ways to get it to “work” while scratching my handlebar. Then spent 10 minutes wondering if it was worth the effort to return them. Spent final 15 minutes reading all the questions and comments and discovered the bolt needed to be flipped. Second shifter install: 1 minute flat, super easy with no scratches. I suggest adding a comment to flip the bolt in the description on the product page were it is easily visible.