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For almost a decade, we’ve covered Tout Terrain’s creative Shift:R adapters that gave adventure riders better dropbar control over their Pinion gearbox. But this new Shift:R Allroad generation takes it to the next level with Shimano GRX compatibility. That means better ergonomics, some of the most sought-after brakes, and let’s be honest, a much better-looking alt-drivetrain setup.

Shift:R brought Pinion shifting to drop bars, Shift:R Allroad refines it

(All photos/.Tout Terrain)

Officially launched to the public in 2019, we’d already seen – and nerded out on – Tout Terrain’s mechanical Cinq Shift:R setup back at NAHBS two years earlier. The concept of the self-contained Pinion gearbox always made a lot of sense for the type of round-the-world touring and all-terrain adventure bikes that Tout Terrain specializes in building. But from the start, Pinion only offered a GripShift-style twist shifter that only worked on a flat bar. Sure, you could mount one on the flat top of your dropbar, but that was clearly a performance and ergonomics compromise.

So, Tout Terrain & their Cinq component brand worked with Tektro/TRP to build a custom set of shift/brake levers that could control a gearbox. You mounted a Cinq adapter to your Pinion. You could shift with the custom levers that looked (and worked) much like old Shimano brifters before cable routing under the bar tape. And TRP Hylex hydraulic brakes did the stopping.

It all worked. But it wasn’t pretty. And it certainly didn’t feel very modern.

Moving to the electronic Smart.Shift gearbox let them go with more refined TRP Hywire controls, but then you had to worry about keeping your shifter batteries charged. Not very expedition-friendly, right?

That all changes with Shift:R Allroad…

Tout Terrain Cinq Shift:R Allroad dropbar Pinion shifter

The new Tout Terrain (probably Cinq when they hit the aftermarket) Shift:R Allroad shifter now matches a Pinion gearbox with regular Shimano GRX levers, so you get trusted braking and ergonomic fit. OK, it’s not a stock set of Shimano levers. Tout Terrain customizes the RX610 GRX 2×12 levers to remove the internal shift ratchets, swapping in a replacement mechanism to control the gearbox. That’s because Pinion shift indexing is at the gearbox itself. And Tout Terrain has built their own shift box that bolts directly to the gearbox.

So, now you can shift with your modified mechanical 2x GRX levers.

A single swing of the right Shimano combined shift & brake lever will upshift the Pinion. Then, the left-hand lever can shift it back. (Or you can swap direction by swapping the cables around). And the smaller secondary Shimano release shift button behind the brake lever no longer does anything.

How to get the new drop bar gearbox control setup?

Tout Terrain Blueridge Xplore GT custom

For the moment, the new Shift:R Allroad is standard spec on all new Tout Terrain Pinion C-Line gearbox-equipped bikes with drop bars (denoted as GT). That presumably replaces the electronic Smart.Shift for the entry-level with a solution that doesn’t rely on batteries to shift. Those bikes include the expedition touring Blueridge Xplore GT, the gravel all-rounder Scrambler Xplore GT, the backcountry adventure Outback Xplore GT, and the city commuter Tribeca Xpress GT. Complete bike pricing starts around 4000-4250€, with customizable builds from ~4500€.

Cinq Shift:R Allroad aftermarket availability?

Tout Terrain says they are first focused on making the new Shift:R Allroad setup available for their own complete bikes. But just like in the past, they plan to offer it soon as an aftermarket upgrade, either for people with an existing dropbar Pinion C-line setup, or anyone building a new bike from scratch.

In either case, the Shift:R Allroad kit will include the modified Shimano GRX levers & brake calipers, the Shift:R box, and the cables to install it on the bike. You’ll just need to swap out the stock C-line control box with the Shift:R box, and connect it to your modified GRX controls.

Simple, low-maintenance, all-weather Pinion shift performance, also combined with trusted mechanical Shimano ergonomics and braking.

Read more about it on the Tout Terrain blog.

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