Ball Shifter Vs. Dog Shifter?

[Mike Marandola]

I don't have any experience with dog shifters but after 6 events and a bunch of practice, our ball shifter gears or plunger had no wear. The Teflon coating was not even worn. We usually only shifted about 1-3 times each match though.

Originally Posted by nathannfm

MOE used the 3 CIM ball shifters this year and we experenced significant wear on the aluminium shifting shaft. I heard a few other teams experienced this on their winches but this was on our drive, enough that the most worn one was unable to shift. We also had some of the miniature ball bearings fail, possibly related to this. We never did get to the bottom of the problem (possibly user error related to the pneumatic coupler) but I have to stress that VexPro and JVN were extremely helpful and generous when we told them of the problems we were having. I also believe it was mentioned that this component would soon be replaced with a steel version which I know some teams already took it upon themselves to manufacture. If you are looking to purchase gearboxes in preparation for 2015 I would wait and see if VexPro has another product unveil in mid December like they have had the last 2 years. You don't want to be stuck with "last years model" if they come out with something better.

WOW! That's bad. Out of curiosity, what were you guys geared for and about how many times did you shift in a match?