Road vs Race Shift for the Track: The Differences and Which to Use

To the uninitiated, I would expect the title of this article to have people wondering what on earth the following words are going to be talking about.

I am, of course, talking about the different shift patterns that can be used (and applied to most bikes) out on the track.

The first is the more conventional ‘road shift’ pattern.

It is called this because it is the shift pattern that is most used on the road due to the fact that, quite simply, that’s how the bikes come out of the factory.

On the track however, a lot of riders tend to opt for what is known as ‘race shift’ or ‘reverse shift’ because it is said to bring benefits on the track over the standard road shift pattern.

Before we look at those benefits though, let’s quickly go over what exactly the difference is.

What’s the Difference?

The difference is pretty simple. As I guess you will all know, the gear lever on a road bike clicks down one for first gear and up five for second to sixth gear. Because this pattern is standard on road bikes, this is known as ‘road shift’.

What a lot of track riders and racers tend to do though is reverse the shift pattern by changing how the gear lever connects to the end of the shift spindle. This is often done by simply flipping the sleeve which sits on the end of the shift spindle round 180 degrees, so the same motion (clicking down one for first gear for example) now turns the shift spindle in the opposite direction, effectively reversing the pattern.

Because this is often done by racers it is known as ‘race shift’.

Some bikes may need specialist rearsets to achieve this reversing, while others may need a simple garage mod done to allow room for the sleeve to be flipped.

Benefits of Race Shift

The biggest benefit of running race shift on your bike comes in the corners. More specifically on corner exits where you are hanging off the bike and need to select a higher gear while the bike is still leaned over.

On right hand bends on a bike that is using road shift, the rider would need to manipulate their foot under the lever to click up another gear. This can be difficult to do when you’re hanging right off on the inside.

Instead, using a race shift pattern the rider would just need to find the gear lever with the underside of their boot and click it down. I’m sure you would agree this would be easier.

It can also make a difference in left hand bends too. It would be easier to find the top of the lever while the bike is on its left, because trying to hook under the lever could mean you find your toes touching down if you’re leaned over far enough.

There are many, many riders (probably the vast majority) that would profess that on the track, race shift is the way to go.

Consider the Dangers

I suppose the most obvious danger will come to riders early in their race shift adoption. As much as you tell yourself that the shift pattern is now the other way, the simple fact is that changing gear is something that is done with little thought, so if you slip back into your old ‘auto pilot’ mode, you could find things getting a little messy, or worse, massively messy!

Riding more than one bike might complicate things too. Not every bike can be reversed, and some riders may want to keep their road bikes as standard, increasing the chances of you slipping into the wrong mode out on track.

Lastly, it will make downshifts a little more difficult. Stamping down on the lever during downshifts (particularly when you have to go down a few) takes less finesse than flicking up, and many riders have said that they mess up more downshifts since switching, particularly early on in the adoption process.

Is Race Shift Better?

It’s a very similar scenario to the two different styles of downshifting (blipping and slipping), don’t think of one as better, just that they are different.

The benefits on the corner exits make a lot of sense, so you might decide to switch for that benefit alone and sacrifice the ease of downshifting you get when using normal road shift.

But are you going to see any performance gains? No, not really. It is a preference and nothing more, and it’s simply up to you to decide whether it’s worth the time and effort to switch.

Many would agree that it is, but there is a minority that feel it isn’t.

Going Against the Crowd

To try and gauge whether or not different techniques like this have any advantage over the other, you have to look at riders in top level championships.

Max Biaggi was one rider that chose not to adopt a reversed race shift pattern, and I think as a four time 250cc world champion, three time 500cc/MotoGP runner up, two time World Superbike champion, and with 181 podiums and 63 race wins to his name, it’s fair to say his choice of shift pattern didn’t hold him back.

Kevin Schwantz was another that never adopted the race shift pattern, declaring that there was just one corner on the whole calendar that he felt would benefit from reversing the pattern.

Personally I have chosen to stick with the road shift pattern on my track bike. Across the tracks I’ve ridden I would say it’s just Clearways at Brands Hatch where I would see the benefits, but with a little more movement I can still get my foot hooked under to perform the upshift.

I myself am not prepared to sacrifice the ease at which I can downshift in normal road pattern for the few gains I’d get.

Also in heavy braking zones in particular, where a number of changes are needed, I find it easier to quickly stamp down on the lever. But again, this is just personal preference.

By all means have a go at race shift if you want to give it a try, you may find it a lot easier for you personally (a lot of riders do) but don’t think you have to opt for race shift just because the majority say ‘it’s just better’. One will have advantages over the other, but it will also bring disadvantages along with it.

It’s your job to establish whether the advantages (and the risks involved) are worth the effort of switching, but if it’s something you’ve thought about doing, why not give it a try? There’s a good reason why the vast majority of racers opt for a race shift pattern. Try it and see if you agree.

Photo by Smudge 9000