When we broke the news about X-Shifter at Interbike a couple years ago, it quickly developed a following for anyone looking to add wireless electronic shifting to their existing bicycle. There’s different reasons, like ease of packing for travel and triathlon bikes, or less cable routing on tandems, but they found another user group speaking up.
Disabled cyclists may rely on fewer appendages to control their bikes, so anything that simplifies shifting and control can be a game changer. And if they don’t have to take their hands (or claw or hook) off the bar or hand cycle pedal/grip to shift, that’s a big step up.
Using their iOS app (and eventually Android) and the technology already embedded in your smartphone, they’re developing voice control to ship with early units. From there, they’re saying wearables are another way to incorporate alternate shifting methods into the system.
As for the delivery date, founder Paul Gallagher says the first units should ship out in a week (we read that as very early January), with additional batches rolling out in waves over the next couple months until all Kickstarter backers have received their units. After that, post-campaign pre-orders, then regular sale units. The 1x MTB groups are first to deliver.
