SRAM

SRAM was founded on a single product in 1987 and introduced the Grip Shift (or twist shift) shifter to the road bike market in 1988. In 1991 that technology was adapted for mountain bikes, and SRAM quickly grew.

SRAM’s story begins In early 1987 with founder Stan Day training for and racing in triathlons. Stan was convinced there was a better way to shift and found that reaching for the downtube to shift gears was awkward and inefficient. “Why couldn’t you put the shifter on the handlebar?” he asked. “You rotate a grip, and the gear changes.”

While on a ski trip in Colorado, Stan made his handlebar twist shifting presentation to a friend, and brilliant engineer, Sam Patterson. Sam went back to his garage in San Diego, tinkered around for a few months, and came up with a prototype for a twist shifter by late spring. Grip Shift was born.