COTS Shifter Comparison Question

[TheHolyHades1]

Originally Posted by cbale2000

There are certainly other COTS solutions to two speed gearboxes out there, but none I've ever found that are nearly as well tailored for FIRST applications.



We've used Andymark Super Shifters in past years, this year we went with a VexPro 3CIM ball shifter and were very happy with it. We also purchased a pair of 2CIM ball shifters but did not use them.

Here's a few things we observed from our 3CIM Ball shifters (This will probably look pretty similar to Joseph Smith's response above)...

Pros

• Surprisingly lightweight (until you add 3 CIM motors of course)
• Fairly easy to assemble, but not as easy as the 2CIM Ball shifter
• Very durable, we took our shifters apart after our 2nd event to switch ratios, and the gears all looked like new.
• Shifted without issue using the low profile pancake cylinders we got with them.
• Shifting is virtually instantaneous and can (usually) be done while stopped or moving slow.
• Changing gear ratios is really easy if you're not also changing the shift spread since it only requires changing out the 3rd stage.

...

Thanks for the detailed comparison. One question though; I was under the impression that the shifters can switch while moving (i.e. at the top speed of low gear)? You've said that it can be done while stopped or moving slowly; does this mean that you can't shift at speed?