Shimano RAPIDFIRE Plus Shifting Lever Left Only (3x8/7-speed) SL-M315-L

The media could not be loaded. Works great! I replaced some 20 year old Shram Axis grip shifts with these and so far they work well and are sturdy and well worth the value.

My bicycle originally came with grip shifters which I replaced them with shimano thumb shifters (the silver one in the picture), but the thumb shifters stick out on top of the handlebar, which not only looks strange but is also easy to bump into, especially when transporting the bike in the back of my car. This shimano goes under the brake lever so it does not protrude. I was initially concerned about its compatibility with my non-Shimano brake levers, but it fits fine. The shifter works well—I have both sides—and it’s easier to shift compared to a thumb shifter or grip shifter. You use your thumb to shift with the front lever and your index finger for the rear lever, which operates between the handlebar and brake lever. As with most Shimano products, it came in a blue/silver box with the shifter cable pre-installed and a cable end cap included, but no cable housing.

Slightly different design compared to the original 20 year old style but works perfectly!

I have 3 chainrings in the front and 7 cogs in the back. Along with this shifter I also bought the matching shifter for the other side and two Shimano derailleurs - the Altus FD-MD310 and RD-MD310 because I wanted a matching groupset. Installation was easy and it was mostly shifting out of the box. I have to adjust indexing but I can tell it is running smoothly. If you are using these for an ebike I would think twice because I'm having a lot of problems getting everything to clear the brake levers and throttle body and such. For a regular bicycle I'd say they're decent for what they are, just don't expect them to last forever because these types of shifters will break eventually.

Buyer beware. Do not buy the "unisex adult" Shimano shifter from other sellers. It's THE SAME EXACT SHIFTER as this one. It's not BIGGER or STRONGER. The difference is the price! This shifter and the matching 7-8 speed Shimano ml-315 are great. Notice that they are like 15-20 bucks. The "unisex adult" has it listed as being larger and heavier than the other ml-315s. It's NOT. I got ripped off. I COULD have returned it but I had a race to attend to. Also, be careful of shifters being labeled as "Atlas". Shimano DOES make an Atlas, Atlus, shifter however their shifter says Shimano on the shifter itself. The ones that say Atlus are NOT Shimano's. They cost about 4 dollars less so people buy them. ALSO, be careful of buying from ebay. They have TONS of fake shimano accessories. Ok, now for the shifter. It works PERFECTLY. It's all you need to work with ANY Shimano 8 speed. Just be sure to put the adjustment screw located on the shifter itself about half way so you can make adjustments afterwards. Drop the bike to its highest gear (8) and drop the front derailleur to the smallest chain wheel. If your derailleur was tuned before the shifter swap it will work pretty much without any adjustments. Oh, be careful where you put the shifter. If the brake lever it to low, it will be difficult to drop down gears and chain rings because the down shift lever will hit the handlebar grip. I did a conversion from grip shifts to rapid fires and I couldn't be happier.

Used it for my Trek bike and it fits and works great.

Easy to install, works without issues.

My old classic Trek's left shifter finally gave up the ghost after years of use. These old shifters are not easy to find, so I was more than a little pleased to find one at a reasonable price on Amazon. This shifter works as well as the original, and it was an easy install for the mechanically experienced. I'm very satisfied with this purchase.