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SOC17: Holy Shift Snacks! Archer Components offers universal wireless shifting for 1x MTB

archer components d1x wireless shifting kit for 1x mountain bike drivetrains
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archer components d1x wireless shifting kit for 1x mountain bike drivetrains

At Interbike last fall, we saw X-Shifter’s universal wireless shifting kit to fit any bike, any gearing combo front and rear. Now, another upstart is bringing a narrower focus to the same concept. The Archer Components D1x is designed specifically for 1x mountain bike drivetrains, letting you get the cables (mostly) off the bike and fine tune your shifting regardless of how many cogs are in the back. Check out the video below to see it in action…

archer components d1x wireless shifting kit for 1x mountain bike drivetrains

The receiver unit houses a servo motor that pulls or releases the cable. The front edge’s cap will allow for batteries to be swapped. These are obviously 3D printed prototypes, final versions will be normal production molded and finished.

archer components d1x wireless shifting kit for 1x mountain bike drivetrains

The shifter pods use a super small rocker switch with mounts to fit existing shifter clamps from various manufacturers. Above is an early version, but the finished product will look more like this:

archer components d1x wireless shifting kit for 1x mountain bike drivetrains

The battery and transmitter compartment will be much slimmer, using a coin cell battery to get about two months worth of shifting. The button angles and layout may yet be tweaked a bit further, too. Check the video for more details on pricing and availability.

ArcherComponents.com

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Klaster_1
Klaster_1
6 years ago

I wonder how it will turn out. Judging by KS comment, Paul seems rather skeptical about competitors.

Paul Gallagher
6 years ago
Reply to  Klaster_1

Its ironic that they are specifically targeting ONLY 1X mountain. In our research we found that was by far the smallest sector. Practically no interest at all. It really has no huge advantage over a 1x mechanical. When you combine with a dropper then there is some interest. Then of course they will have to deal with a small issue of patent infringement. The Velcro is a nice touch though….

http://www.xshifter.com We will be shipping the good stuff soon.

BJ C
BJ C
6 years ago
Reply to  Paul Gallagher

You can’t patent an idea. They have an entirely different approach so stop trying to disparage what is a a better device. Can’t stand the competition?

Matt M
Matt M
6 years ago
Reply to  BJ C

Haha. That is the specific purpose of a patent… to protect new ideas.

Rustilicus
Rustilicus
6 years ago
Reply to  Paul Gallagher

FIGHT!!!

Mike Beatty
6 years ago

Flying rocks hit stuff. Plan for it.

LoamRanger
LoamRanger
6 years ago
Reply to  Mike Beatty

I’d be curious to know how much cable they recommend running. I wonder if you could run a slightly longer span of cable and house the mechanical unit above the chainstay where it’s more protected.

wheeladdict
6 years ago

Interesting, but this will almost certainly be heavier than the mechanical shifter it replaces. Seems like it adds complexity, cost and weight with minimal gains.

Ryan S
Ryan S
6 years ago
Reply to  wheeladdict

Electronic eTap on SRAM and electronic DI2 on Shimano are both heavier than their mechanical counterparts. The point is you don’t have to change cables, readjust derailleurs, and get the best shifting (super fast changes and it’ll overshift slightly then trim back down).

Wiki
Wiki
6 years ago
Reply to  Ryan S

I think youll find di2 is lighter than its mechanical counterpart. Certainly in the 9000 series

brian
6 years ago
Reply to  Wiki

Possibly, but this wasn’t true for any of the earlier iterations of Di2 vs mechanical

edge
edge
6 years ago
Reply to  Wiki

this is truue only for the latest Dura Ace. I did thee calcs and Ultegra 6870 is still 25grams heavier (yes that’s not much)

Duzzi
Duzzi
6 years ago
Reply to  wheeladdict

But kind of close perhaps. A full length cable with housing is rather heavy, add the pod and you are almost at 175-225 grams depending on the pod. Main advantage for me would be if the action was lighter.

Ryan S
Ryan S
6 years ago

These retrofits are cool concept, but the issue I have is they still use cable…at the most vulnerable spot to mud/dirt ingress. So you’ll still have some stretch to adjust after a new cable install, and you’ll have to replace your cable marginally within same timeline as before.

Wiki
Wiki
6 years ago
Reply to  Ryan S

Yip e shifting without any of the benefits of e shifting

Runwhatyabrung
Runwhatyabrung
6 years ago
Reply to  Wiki

Other than no wires and cables running in and out of holes from one end of the bike to the other. And one short, easy to reach piece of cable and housing at the back. Certainly some tandem riders will give it a try. Some singlespeeds can mount problem solver type derailleur hangers but lack any cable guides. This could make for easy on/off geared set-up.

nathan
nathan
6 years ago
Reply to  Ryan S

You’re wrong on most points. The most basic being that cables don’t stretch.

Wiki
Wiki
6 years ago
Reply to  nathan

You appear to have never ridden a bike and had to adjust your gear cables as they wear in

Narwhal
Narwhal
6 years ago
Reply to  Wiki

Nope, steel cables don’t stretch…. the housing compresses….

MTBRDR929
MTBRDR929
6 years ago
Reply to  Wiki

housing compresses

Gabriel
Gabriel
6 years ago
Reply to  Wiki

If you bed the cable in and install it properly you will never have to do this…

Runwhatyabrung
Runwhatyabrung
6 years ago
Reply to  Gabriel

Right. SIS housing(linear reinforced) with proper ferrule(reinforced nose), firmly seated during install. Very little readjust needed.

edge
edge
6 years ago
Reply to  Gabriel

Yes!!!! this!!!! Or you can tighten the cable shift once or twice so everything settles and then adjust the derailleur just once.

edge
edge
6 years ago
Reply to  Wiki

stell cable don’t stretch (yied) at the force exerted by a human. What happens is that the housing compresses slightly. And I use that term lightly since most of the movement comes from the housing settling in the ferrule.

edge
edge
6 years ago
Reply to  edge

“steel” not “stell”

Paul
6 years ago
Reply to  nathan

Cables absolutely do stretch. It’s a wound piece, so the constant pressure does in fact cause pretty substantial stretch over months or years. And the housing compresses. Both of which compound the problem. Then there is temperature. From the coldest day to the hottest sunny day a full length rear cable will change length approximately 1.5mm. That’s enough length to shift one entire gear on the closely spaced modern cassettes. Do the math. And then of course there is cable movement from suspension and handlebar that also has a significant effect on the effective cable length. It’s a lot more than you might realize. That’s why cables are almost impossible to keep adjusted on tandems.

Having said that though, I still stand by my earlier comment that the 1X MTB market is very weak for this product. Most of the serious riders are more concerned about other things.

edge
edge
6 years ago
Reply to  Paul

my engineering degrees disagree…and after setting my derailleurs correctly I have never experienced this “stretch” you speak of.

RobertW
RobertW
6 years ago
Reply to  Paul

For 2m of 300 series SS I’m getting 0.1mm of thermal expansion over 30 degrees Celcius.

tickle
tickle
6 years ago

That short run of cable is not gonna stretch enough to affect performance, full runs of cable are obviously much longer so more stretch. I bet it works well but d*mn that price not worth it!

Marin
Marin
6 years ago
Reply to  tickle

Shift cables don’t stretch! Ferrules and inserts bed in. There’s no way you’re going to stretch shift cable.
You can contaminate it with mud and grime and it can rust but you’re not stretching it.

lop
lop
6 years ago
Reply to  tickle

That is so startlingly bad physics, right there.

Eric E. Strava
Eric E. Strava
6 years ago
Reply to  lop

That is so startlingly bad grammars.

Runwhatyabrung
Runwhatyabrung
6 years ago

Hate to think it, but what keeps walmarts from jumping all in here.

brattercakes
brattercakes
6 years ago

y tho

Runwhatyabrung
Runwhatyabrung
6 years ago
Reply to  brattercakes

Carbon fiber reinforced nylon rims,1x drivetrain,electronic shifting,thru axle disc brakes,
$219.98

Chase
Chase
6 years ago

I like this concept. If it pans out , I’m in.

ELEVEN_g
6 years ago

This is actually pretty neat and the design is nice and clean too. Electrics + rocks + mountain bike + the ‘average mountain biker’, well, not so neat. Props to them though, it does look good and I like that it seems one can mount that shift box on either the CS or ‘SS’, inboard or out. Take my money? Almost but still hard to beat the weight, cost and simplicity of a cable.

EXODUX
6 years ago

Work for a dropper post?

Dockboy
Dockboy
6 years ago
Reply to  EXODUX

Generally it should work if you tell it to pull the right amount of cable and also release it. Your frame may cause interference, but it may not.

Alex D
6 years ago

It’d be interesting at $200. At $400, I’d rather just spend another $100 for XT Di2.

Billy Jack
Billy Jack
6 years ago

PAM POOVEY FOR PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSE

Fantomphish
Fantomphish
6 years ago

I’d try it for sure, my only issue would be of tactile feel on the shifter like xt/xtr di2. If it works great, but I’m not going to knock it before I try it… I’ll save my b*tching for the new 20mm boost axle spacing..

Tom
Tom
6 years ago

I have a slightly wonky right thumb. If this is well executed, it’s a no-brainer for me, due to what I suspect will be an easy effort push on the shifter buttons compared to mechanical.

The rock comments crack me up. If the derailleur were being invented today, the internet would be on fire with comments about what a crazy idea it was to have something hanging down off the rear axle area.

Runwhatyabrung
Runwhatyabrung
6 years ago

Iceberg or insertion?

Rick
Rick
6 years ago

Does anyone else hate Ted Nugent as much as I do?

Rustilicus
Rustilicus
6 years ago
Reply to  Rick

yes.

edge
edge
6 years ago

good luck!! I like to see smaller companies innovating.

james valiensi
james valiensi
6 years ago

I like it! I never want to route cable housing thru my Yeti’s rear triangle again. After going to 1x 11 I realized how much I hate front derailleurs. I currently use XT shipper and derailleur, XD driver w/ an E*13 cassette – so I’m in to “Franken” bikes.
Cheers!

Paul Gallagher
6 years ago

Correct, you cannot patent an idea. But you most certainly can patent a specific device that performs a specific function. Archer has precisely copied a patent pending device. (XShifter) They have also copied a lot of our marketing material. Even quoting the same specs in their video. These guys were so brazen, they questioned me for confidential technical specs during my marketing campaign. Its exactly the same. They are looking at a legal challenge. Intellectual property laws are in place for a reason. If you just spent 2 years and 6 figures of your own cash developing a technology only for someone else to try and take it, you might not feel the same way.

Tomi
Tomi
6 years ago

Hmm. Wouldn’t the receiver unit attached with velcro move ever so slightly from lots of shifting + vibrations ? I could see the cable tension vary in this case.

Jim E
Jim E
6 years ago
Reply to  Tomi

The cable still runs through a short piece of housing so the distance between the actuator unit and the derailleur won’t matter. Same way that moving your current shifter around on the handlebar doesn’t affect the shifting.

Joshua Tootell
Joshua Tootell
6 years ago

I’m interested. I would pull off the grip shift XX1 off my HT XC race bike for this. Not saying I would yet, but I would be interested for sure.

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