Thread resurrection time ....
My ageing wrists / thumbs are suffering from wear & tear and I decided to fit the latest version of the Archer D1x Trail electronic shifter to my Orbit tandem. Many people will see this device as a solution looking for a problem, but if you suffer from hand pain or have restricted movement in your hands / thumbs, it’s well worth a look.
I’ve always liked using Shimano Rapidfire Plus shifters on flat bar bikes, but either arthritis or some other condition in my thumbs has made these very painful to use. I tried converting some DuraAce bar end shifters to old style ‘thumbies’ and that worked ok for a while. Similarly, I started to use a SRAM Gripshift which was also fine for a period, but I got to the point where even these were too uncomfortable for me to use easily and I had to cut short several rides before things became too painful.
I converted my tandem to an e-bike with a rear hub-motor some time ago. That was / is an excellent upgrade, but the width of freehub body fitted to the hub-motor means that I am limited to 9 speed cassettes (10 speed at a push). The newer SRAM / Shimano electronic systems only work with 11 speed or greater cassettes, otherwise I probably would have bitten the bullet and gone for one of these expensive systems. They certainly aren’t cheap, but if it keeps you riding …. Enter the ‘cheap’ Archer version of electronic shifting.
The Archer system can work with any speed cassette and any type of derailleur. The latest Gen2 iteration of their system has been improved quite a bit compared to their earlier efforts. Most notably, the speed of gear shifting is much faster and the electronic gear change trigger (what Archer call a remote) is now quite a neat paddle type rocker switch, similar to SRAM AXS. Archer also plan to release a power cable to link into the main battery of e-bikes, so running out of power for gear-shifting is unlikely.
For those who wish to get more detailed information on this device, there are several reviews of the system on the internet and on YouTube. Archer themselves provide many videos describing their product. I won’t repeat comments that others have made as there are many reviews to read / watch which will highlight the features of the product.
My experience so far is almost entirely positive. The version I fitted has a paddle type switch to change gear, but several other types are available. The paddle switch can also be mounted above the handlebars in such a way (‘back-to-front’) that it would be possible to operate it by your finger pressure rather than thumb, but I’ve found that the much lighter pressure is a big improvement over mechanical shifters for my weakened thumb.
One of the Archer’s unique attributes is that it allows individual calibration of each gear on the cassette. Adjustment can be made with as little as 0.25mm increments. I can confirm that this does indeed provide very accurate adjustment of every single gear on the cassette. Normal mechanical shifting does of course allow for ‘trimming’, but only across the whole cassette. It is not unusual to encounter one or two slightly awkward gears when setting up a cable system regardless of how much you persevere. The Archer system allows for pretty much perfect alignment of every single gear. The difference over a well-adjusted and maintained mechanical system is small, but it is there and is noticeable.
I tend to ride at a cadence of between 80rpm to 90rpm and I find I constantly change gear to remain close to that figure. For me, the Archer system is a real boon is on undulating terrain where the road conditions require frequent gear shifting. The lack of effort to make shifts is really beneficial for preserving your thumb!
Changing up the cassette from small to larger cogs I think the Archer is as fast as a normal mechanical shifter, it is certainly easier as the required thumb pressure remains constant. Going down the cassette, it is not as ‘snappy’ as a good mechanical setup. If you are the type of rider who wants to go from first gear to ninth in a single twistgrip movement, mechanical is faster (but not by that much).
There is no visual indicator to tell you which gear is selected. This was not a deal-breaker for me, but it would be a nice-to-have. On a tandem, you can’t just glance down to look at the cassette as it’s a long way behind you. In practice, I’ve not really had any issues with this.
In my opinion, if you have mobility issues and/or painful joints, the Archer system is worthy of consideration. If you are a techy geek, you’ll like it too!
