As per title, I saw these guys mentioned in the GX AXS thread. Watched a few videos and it looks pretty impressive, if a little bulky. Compatibility and future proofing is very promising and reusing existing cable mechs is a neat trick.

On the off chance anyone on here has tried one and have any feedback?

Seth did a video about it.

Following with interest…

Just read a load of reviews. Sounds interesting.

I’ve not got the archer system but I do have the cell cycling version on my road / gravel bike. They are very similar. Been using it for about two years. My only gripe Is that the battery to the main actuator slowly drains if left plugged in on the bike. So every couple of weeks I have to recharge, or remove the batter after every ride, but I often forget.

I suppose the other thing is finding somewhere suitable to put it on the bike – mines in the 76projects piggy bag on the downtube.

Things I love are the adjustment and customisation. You can tell it how many individual gears and exactly where they are on the cassette. Or set it up for a dropper.

I’ve also SRAM AXS on the MTB, which is simpler to set up and has a cleaner/nicer action and feel.

Is that cell shifter 12 speed only? Website is vague.

Edit – you’ve added to your post, interesting that it can do a dropper too.

On a full suss I can see the benefit to not having it on the chain (or seat) stay, but having it on the down tube – and the resulting cable run) seems to get some of the disadvantages of cable actuated.

No it’s literally any amount of gears, you set it up with an app. You could use it for a 2speed or a 12speed cassette.

The app allows you to control how many gears you have and exactly how much cable to pull through each gear change.

I really hated the exposed nature of running if on the chainstay that’s why I’ve hidden it in the bag.

Ran one when i bust my thumb.
Really good bit of kit. Mine had an issue out the box but Archer couldn’t have been any more proactive or more helpful in resolving and got a new shifter sent out super fast.

Once I had the good shifter, setup was a breeze and didn’t need any further adjustment.
My thumbs fixed so I sold it onto a lady with dodgy thumbs and she’s super happy too.

I would like to see a little more ergo work go into the buttons but solved my thumb shifting problem 100%

Thanks for the suggestion monkeyboyjc, I’d not come across the cell system either.

How was your experience with it. I quite like the look of the shift pod, but can’t tell what it’s like in practice. Do the pod buttons ‘click’? Also how loud is the servo in real world? Cheers!

The cell system is great for road bikes, the shifter works really well. It’s just a small circuit board inside with two buttons, there’s a positive Click when pressed. The servo is as load as my AXS system, but not as quick – it takes a little time for change gears but no slower than a mechanical setup (axs feels almost instant from button pressing).

I think cell have a new MTB trigger shifter, which I’ve not tried. Setup is similar to axs, but the shifter and servos are pre linked in the box – if they become unlinked it’s simple enough to pair them up again.

I’m just got some in stock, the new paddle remote is really decent! Will get some real pictures up soon.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask!

https://bonniecycles.co.uk/archer-D1x-trail-paddle