COTS Shifter Comparison Question

[Joseph Smith]

This season we've used the VEX 3-CIM ball shifters with the 3rd stage WCD addon. So far we've really liked them.
PROS:
Lightweight
Easy assembly (except shifting shaft coupler)
Easy to install/pull from drivetrain
Smooth, fast shifting action
Integrated encoder mount
Lots of options for gear spread
Low-maintenance
Good customer support by VEX
Flexible mounting options

CONS:
Shifting shaft coupler tricky to assemble
Encoder gear can slip (this was fixed by replacing it with a new gear provided by VEX with a tighter fit)
Locknut stripping it's plastic socket (minor problem but annoying)

Overall we're quite satisfied with these gearboxes and would recommend them to anyone who wants a light, reliable, smooth shifting gearbox.

[DampRobot]

Having used gearboxes from all 3 suppliers, I'd have to say the WCP DS is the best gearbox currently on the market.

I used the AM shifter in 2011. It was the best shifter on the market at the time, but still had some assembly issues and couldn't do a direct drive off the output shaft. I also played around with the super shifter, and have looked at the sonic shifter. My general impression of AM gearboxes are huge hunks of metal that rarely break, but are a lot heavier than need be. They also have lower quality gears than some of their competitions, and are generally less efficient.

We used the 2 CIM Ball Shifters lot year on our P bot, and the 3 CIM ball shifters this year on comp and p bots. They're light, and fairly small, and much more efficient than the AM shifters. However, they're not the easiest to assemble, and almost impossible to service once installed. Our shifters this year fell apart a lot, and were very sensitive to assembly (over tightening the bolts holding that gearbox together could really screw you). We also saw them flex a bit, possibly because of the plastic casing. I'd recommend these as the best low cost option on the market, and especially recommend them if you plan on having a chain reduction after the gearbox to your wheels, gather than direct driving.

The DS is IMO the best shifter on the market today. We used them on our 2013 comp bot and offseason bot. They are extremely light, compact, efficient, and easy to service (although they almost never needed to service it). They're also really designed around WCDs, so they are really great for direct driving the center wheel and chaining the outer wheels. The only real downside is they don't have an encoder in the gearbox (which really isn't that big of a deal). The 3 CIM is a bit big for my taste, and has a lot of gears, so I'd really recommend with sticking with the OG DS. It's an awesome gearbox, I highly recommend it.