AXS Rocker Paddle Upgrade

Long, long time MTB rider here (old guy) and all my bikes have been Shimano. (SRAM didn't exist when I started.) I like SRAM stuff but it just never came on any of my bikes.Converted my derailleur to the SRAM Eagle AXS and really like the way it works but the controller has been annoying. Shifting the wrong direction has been common because there's just no feel to the controller. Well, finally decided to get the rocker paddle although I'm ticked off at SRAM that I had to pay extra for something that should have been part of the original package.You see all the reviews that say this is the way to go? They're right. Hours and hours of riding and I could not get used to the original shifter. Installation of the rocker paddle was simple (no directions were included). It took about 30 seconds to become very comfortable with the paddle set up. And it is much MUCH easier to get it positioned on my busy handlebars to where it's a natural, easy reach.SRAM: Throw away that AXS controller and make the Rocker Paddle standard. Nobody who has tried both prefers the original.

This is way more comfortable than the standard paddle. Needed to adjust the rocker position to fit with lock on grips.

The stock lever that comes with the dropper post is not very natural feeling and I found myself searching for the lever. This solves that and makes it feel way more natural.

Works better, easier to use.

The stock rocker is GARBAGE!!! Stock is equivalent to 1980's shimano LX, come on, what a joke! It's shameful sram doesn't ship with this one as this one actually has intuitive controls that don't require you to change your hand position or loosen your grip to shift. Give me a break, extorting a few more bucks from us to make super expensive AXS actually be useful?!?It's a 5 start product but I took off 3 stars to shame SRAM.

Works exactly as expected.

I was new to AXS, having used only mechanical shifters, that had shifting to an easier cog on top and harder cog on bottom. I reprogrammed the shifter to act that way and added this paddle shifter to make it feel like the mechanical shifter positions. Works great!

I recently purchased a bike with a SRAM GX AXS rear derailleur. This was my first experience with SRAM's electric shifting on a mountain bike. My first reaction to the original shifter was "You've got to be kidding me!" Why is the top of the shifter so damned pointy??? After a little research, I found I wasn't the only one and SRAM must have listened to their customers. I found this shifter to work very well and it just feels right. Swapping the paddle out and adjusting position just took a few minutes. Super happy with my purchase!

I love the wireless shifting of the AXS but the ergonomics of the 'stock' shifter paddle is terrible - much to far back and high if I am to position the brake level in the correct position. For me, my thumb is extended to my maximum range to simply get it on the shifter. This causes my it to fatigue and decreases my grip on the handlebars.I bought this new shifter paddle in hopes that it was an improvement on the original but for me it was not much better, and possibly worse. Shifting into a lower (i.e. easier) gear is done more easily than the original, thanks to the new lower tab, that puts the thumb into a more neutral position, but shifting into a higher (i.e. harder) gear is actually quite worse. In those cases I had to push much harder to get it to shift. I verified that it was installed correctly and that the spring was positioned as designed. I ended up just putting the original back on.In an ideal world, they would have a paddle with a tab in between the location of your thumb (downshift) and index finger (upshift) that required minimal movement from either of those fingers and allow you to maintain your grasp of the bar grips. Short of that, simply moving the shifter unit somewhat lower and forward would be a big improvement but as currently designed I would have to move my brake level up substantially.My overall take is that SRAM failed to appropriately test the design of the original shifter ergonomics and this new paddle suffers the same problem - at least for me. It's disappointing that they did not invest more time and energy into the usability of a high-end drivetrain.

This replacement shifter paddle is a major improvement over the first run paddles SRAM put on their wireless shifters. This paddle replicates the feel of the cable shifters we all grew up on. Sometimes it is better to not completely reinvent the wheel.

Oh man. All the reviews that said to get this were right. When I got my new bike with GX AXS I was really looking forward to the whole "wireless shifting" experience. I'm familiar with electronic shifting having Di2 on my gravel bike but this was my first experience with SRAM. When I got it I have to say I was not bowled over. It shifted great and worked perfectly but the ergonomics of the shifter paddle compared to my mechanical GX shifter was just not the same - and not better.I played with reversing the function of the paddle but it just wasn't right. I saw this product - and the positive reviews that said it made shifting more like "normal" MTB shifting - and figured I'd give it a try.They are right. This is the way it should be. The levers are in the right spot for how I'm used to them being and it just feels more normal to my fingers. To be clear, it's still a paddle hitting what are basically mouse buttons on the unit - it doesn't have the throw of a mech shifter - but this is miles ahead of the stock paddle.I'm also astonished at the price. I would have expected this to be more expensive since - the world we live in, but I think it's quite reasonable.They give you a new spring and bolt as well although I'm not really sure why. To my eye they are exactly the same as what is holding the original paddle in. I used the new ones anyway but it seems like I have spares now. Odd.Anyway, if you find yourself missing the old way of shifting and not feeling like there is a clear distinction between upshifts and downshifts with the original paddle, get this.

5 stars for the product, and also for the seller, Worldwide Cyclery! I had an issue with the shipping due to problems with my local post office, and Worldwide Cyclery was easy to communicate with, to get the issue worked out.

This did not feel natural for my hand.I could not get the angle of the shifter right, either vertically or horizontally. I have average size hands.Quality is not as good as the original. I decided after a week of frustration to use the original paddle.

I never liked the original rocker paddle. It was not ergonomic, making shifting awkward. This rocker paddle is a huge improvement. And I installed it myself in less than 5 minutes.

I like this controller better than the one the AXS derailleur comes with. This one is more like a traditional shifter. Pairing was easy and quick.

Makes the shifting more similar to a cable shifter. The original shifter requires you to move your thumb up and down. This makes the thumb movement more of a push.

This was better then the shifter it comes with, i changed gears by accident until i got this one so i do recommend this if u go wireless shifting

Pluses: Easy to install, inexpensive, better than stock AXS shifter paddle (which I feel is terrible).Minuses: It is still not as natural as a normal (non-AXS) SRAM shifter. I tried multiple different angles and positions, and ergonomically it is just not there. The positioning/overall feel is off. I love AXS wireless/electronic shifting performance, but why didn’t SRAM just design the AXS shifter paddle to be the same/similar feel as a non-AXS shifter to begin with? Strange design choice to me. Regardless, this upgrade is better than stock, but still not stellar.

Definitely get it if you didn’t like the original paddle that came with your AXS. It really does make it feel more natural to what I was accustomed too with my mechanical SRAM shifter.Easy to install and now enjoying my AXS a whole lot better without confusing yourself while riding.

Easy to install. Feeling is a bit closer to that of a mechanical shifter. You lose the action of the anterior button on the original shifter.After many years of using a mechanical shifter, the new electronic shifter was sometimes confusing and it was not infrequent to Upshift instead of downshift. I had to think carefully about which butting to press. This happens less often with this paddle.I was getting used to upshift using using the “third” paddle in front and Miss this function a little.