Archer DBR shifter

Ever since becoming aware of Archer's electronic shifting and reading Guitar Ted's review of the flat bar unit, I've been excited about their development of a version for drop bars. Mainly I'm excited because I'm just plain sick of setting up manual shifting. I usually get it right, but then the cable stretches or whatever, and it goes off, and suddenly I can't get into the low gears nicely any more. The Archer promises to avoid all that, plus smooth shifting all around.
So now their drop bar version, the DBR, is out for presale. Link here: 
https://archercomponents.com/products/d1x-trail-with-gravel-dbr?variant=37736926216372

Not super clear which button is which. I expect the ergonomics of shifting will take a little getting used to.

 

I was hoping that they'd have an implementation that would go on any old shifter, so I could save my extant shifters and brakes. No go--in their youtube announcement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfBM3LudwWc
they explain that they're working slowly on that but it made more sense to integrate the shifter with the TRP Hylex RS system.

I'm rarely a early adopter, but I decided to bite on this one. I ordered it up, plus a set of Hylex brakes and levers. Will have to wave goodbye to my Juin Tech GT-F brakes, which I've really come to like, but the Hylex is supposed to be solid, and I'll get to see what a full hydro setup is like. Archer says that they should be shipping in February, so I'll update here as soon as I get it and get everything installed.

Yeah, I was very tempted.  Not quite tempted enough to preorder, but tempted enough to start passively looking for a take-off/used set of those brakes.  🙂

I've heard great things about the Hylex brakes. And full hydro is fantastic.  I wish their levers were a little more normal reach, as I suspect I'd need a shorter stem, but pretty easy thing to change.

I look forward to your review! 

pushstart wrote:Yeah, I was very tempted.  Not quite tempted enough to preorder, but tempted enough to start passively looking for a take-off/used set of those brakes.  🙂

I've heard great things about the Hylex brakes. And full hydro is fantastic.  I wish their levers were a little more normal reach, as I suspect I'd need a shorter stem, but pretty easy thing to change.

I look forward to your review! 

Are you talking about the SS/brake only Hylex levers?  I have a used set I could sell for $100 + shipping if you're interested.  Shouldn't need a bleed or new pads for awhile yet.

clarksonxc wrote:

Are you talking about the SS/brake only Hylex levers?  I have a used set I could sell for $100 + shipping if you're interested.  Shouldn't need a bleed or new pads for awhile yet.

Sweet, I send you a PM!

I've had a set of Hylex RS brakes/hoods for a few years now.  They are great and I've had no issues.  The reach is adjustable, and the hoods are very comfortable. 

TRP also makes a 3D printed adapter that lets you mount a Di2 climbing switch to the inside of the hoods, very similar to the Archer system.  I used this initially, the only limitation is that shifting from the drops can be a little difficult.  Something I usually only need to do when riding something super technical/singletrack.  

I believe the Archer system is also 13 speed compatible, which would make for a super easy Campy Ekar conversion.  

JWB475 wrote:I've had a set of Hylex RS brakes/hoods for a few years now.  They are great and I've had no issues.  The reach is adjustable, and the hoods are very comfortable. 

TRP also makes a 3D printed adapter that lets you mount a Di2 climbing switch to the inside of the hoods, very similar to the Archer system.  I used this initially, the only limitation is that shifting from the drops can be a little difficult.  Something I usually only need to do when riding something super technical/singletrack.  

I believe the Archer system is also 13 speed compatible, which would make for a super easy Campy Ekar conversion.  

Yeah, part of the appeal of the Archer to me is that when my current cassettes wear out, I can bump up to 12 speed, or 13 (whenever there's a wide-range 13 speed cassette that'll fit an XD driver--not going to change to Campy for that).

One of my TRP shifters arrived already--company was doing free one-day shipping, which I didn't need, but ok, whatever. It's longer than the SRAM shifters I'm using now for sure, but that's actually a benefit--I wanted to extend the reach on my bike just a tad without messing with the stack. So all good.

TRP Hylex brakes are great! I'm using them with bar end shifters. I really want to like the gravel DBR, but I still believe in 2x systems for those of us who are riding long straight gravel roads.

I've started to play around installing the Hylex system while waiting for the Archer stuff (that bike was taking a break anyway, so it doesn't remove anything I wanted to ride from commission). The install is pretty straightforward, but I have to say that it's mildly annoying that TRP doesn't ship it with the required adapters. You'd think that if the calipers necessitated adapters, they'd throw them in rather than having you scare up some of your own.

With all the different variations, it's probably hard for a manufacturer to know what would be needed.  Post mount, flat mount, IS, 140/160/180, etc... There are also some forks that dont require an adaptor for flat mount.

TRP also doesn't hide the fact they aren't included, its right there on the product page.

I really like that TRP lets you mix and match the caliper type when you order them.  My fork is flat mount, but my rear brake is post mount.

JWB475 wrote:With all the different variations, it's probably hard for a manufacturer to know what would be needed.  Post mount, flat mount, IS, 140/160/180, etc... There are also some forks that dont require an adaptor for flat mount.

TRP also doesn't hide the fact they aren't included, its right there on the product page.

I really like that TRP lets you mix and match the caliper type when you order them.  My fork is flat mount, but my rear brake is post mount.

All true enough. However, the last two sets of brakes I installed (TRP Spyres, Juin Tech GT-F) had all the stuff in the box that I needed.

Got an update today. They're saying they're going to be shipping in late March. I had a suspicion that mid-February was a pipe dream.

In the meantime, I'll be running my bike with a TRP setup for the front and SRAM/Juin Tech up back. It's a little weird.

 They had some delays getting chips and the plastics they needed, but it's finally here. Stoked.

Unfortunately, I'm swamped with work, but hoping to get this installed early next week.

OK, I've got the system installed. I haven't had a chance to ride it yet--I'll do that tomorrow, and take some pictures in case anybody's interested. But here are preliminary thoughts.

Small thing--the packaging was nice. Everything you'd need, and most wrapped in brown paper (less plastic!).

It took me about three hours, I'd guess, to get it set up. I was really taking my time and following instructions carefully. Now that I've done it, I bet that I could cut that time in half, at least. But it's worth remembering that you're not just installing the electronic shifting stuff--you've got to change the brake system too.

Getting the remote installed on the shifting lever is pretty easy, but you've got to use a x-acto blade (included) to cut through the hood rubber. That turns out to be a pain--I didn't realize how thick that stuff is. I'm not super happy with how I did that. I'm not great at making things look perty, just making things functional. Mission accomplished with that. Putting the remote into the shift lever is easy, as long as you've got a T6 wrench lying around. After some hunting, I realized I did. I guess they didn't include that one, so be prepared for it if you buy this system.

Installing the shifter (the actual motor) is a piece of cake. Pop off the old cable and remove that, figure out where the shifter goes, strap it on, and get the small new cable attached. I decided to use a longer cable run (by 2" or so) than the housing that Archer sent, to make the curve a little less extreme. Easy, as I had housing lying around.

Once that's all installed, it's a simple matter of firing up the shifter and the Archer app and adjusting it. This is all really simple and intuitive. The only realy issue I ran into was that around gear 5, the shifter wanted to shift it all the way down to my lowest gear. It took a giant amount of adjusting to bring it back to where it should have been, and that was the case for all the gears lower than 5. But this all took like 5-10 minutes. Then it's just pairing up the remote and good to go.

I'm excited to try it out in the world instead of on the stand. On the stand, the shifting is really, really smooth, despite my esoteric setup. The main thing I'm concerned about at this point is that it looks like it's going to be difficult to upshift when I'm in the drops, just because of where that button is located. Will report back about that, and include pictures, as soon as I get the chance.

Two rides in now, one on gravel (flattish), and the other with my road wheelset. I'm very impressed with the shifting. The best word I can use to describe it is "solid." It makes the whole bike feel sturdier, somehow. What I particularly like is that it's perfect every time--no more forgetting to hold the shifting lever long enough and the chain failing to engage. And it's taken care of the several problematic cogs on my cassettes handily. Bonus feature: on the downshift, the sound of the shifter motor is a neat cue to let me know when the shifting is happening, and I can ease up a tiny bit during that noise, applying full power when it's done.

Downsides: it's taking a while to get used to the buttons. That will come with time, of course, but I've downshifted several times when I meant to upshift. I'm finding the micro-adjust at the remote difficult to press and use while I'm riding, though I've hardly needed it. And as predicted, the ergononics of the upshift in the drops are a bit odd. I can hit that button with my thumb if I contort my wrist inward. I can definitely live with it, given the advantages of everything else, but I hope for a future version that improves this issue. With the size of the remote embedded in the lever, people with small hands or short fingers might have a problem gripping the hoods properly--not an issue for me. And if you spent a lot of time shifting in the drops or had short thumbs, this system is going to be awkward.

Some pictures of the installation:

 The red stripe is electrical tape covering up the port for the old shifter cable.

   It's hard to get a good angle on this, but I took these so you can see what it looks like from above. The shifter sticks out just slightly outboard of the chainstay. I was worried my heel would hit it, but not at all. It sticks out quite a bit inboard, but no risk of hitting spokes or chain.

 The remote. Note crappy job of hacking the hole through the hood.

 A sense of what it looks like incorporated into the whole bike.

This is such a great writeup/review; thank you!

To be fair about the learning curve I initially forget how to shift when I switch between Campy and Shimano and forget with my microshift thumbies on my cargo bike several times a ride.

In case anybody's curious, I got about 26:20 out of the initial charge of the shifter, with about 90% of that on regular power (not the battery saver setting). 3219 shifts. The remote (the part on the bars) is supposed to last about twice as long between charges.

I have to admit this thing has me curious. 

A small update. I've put a lot of time in now on this system, and really enjoying it. Running in low power mode all the time (because I don't feel like I need little blinky lights telling me things), I just got 5500 shifts out of a charge on the shifter motor, with goodness knows how many more. That's around 36.5 hours. The remote goes for a lot longer than that. I took it for a solo century with no issues or worries.

I have to speak highly of Archer. Their customer service, as one would hope from a small company, is excellent. I've had a few questions for them that have been answered in less than a day. I also had the power button on my shifter die (so ok, things break sometimes!), and they replaced the whole unit in like 5 days for free.

As far as I'm concerned, the only downside, mentioned in a post above, is that there's a contortion involved upshifting from the drops. I'm used to it, but still--hoping that maybe in the next version of the remote, they'll move the buttons around a bit to take care of that.