The history of electronic controllers pulling cables to operate mechanical derailleurs goes back to Maruishi's iconic devices from the early 1970s. But the first modern, wireless, smartphone-controlled, version was the 2017 XShifter.

This storied device started as a Kickstarter project and did that whole-Kickstarter-thang... It had a nerdy, bespectacled, slightly uncomfortable inventor, unrealistically messianic messaging, plenty of time spent on a plethora of YouTube videos featuring the inevitable drone footage, possibly marginally less time spent on production management, a smorgasbord of random branding and logos (is it Xshifter, XShifter, X Shifter or XSHIFTER?), slightly disconcerting pricing, missed delivery dates, customer service that went where no customer service had gone before - and not in a good way... Every start-up-cliché was lovingly explored. There was only one possible ending - and it was soon acomin'.

However, despite it all, the device itself had promise - and I know of XShifters that are still in regular, even heavy, use today.

And so to the LTWOO Ae electric shifter. This was the XShifter done right and ready for prime time. In that Chinese way, LTWOO know how to design for manufacture - and they also know how to actually do manufacturing. The Ae was/is fully developed, cheap, coherently made, inoffensively styled, well packaged, the app seems pretty good and the whole package works more than acceptably. I would, however, humbly suggest one small improvement. This is that if you are going to write the word ‘shifter’ on your product you should use a font in which the ‘f’ looks very different from the ‘t’. Just saying…

Finally, I believe that the LTWOO Ae electric shifter was the first of many electronic-derailleur-related products to come out of China. The tell-tale ripple before the looming Tsunami.

• Derailleur brands: LTWOO
• Themes: Electric Avenue
• Country: China
• Date of introduction: 2021? (it was shown at the China Bicycle Industry Conference in December 2021)
• Date of this example: 2025? (Serial number starts 260125... perhaps indicating that it was manufactured on 26th January 2025)
• Model no.: OED00
• Weight: 115g for actuator, battery and 2 zip ties. A total of 197g if you add the cable parts and the lever
• Maximum cog: not applicable
• Total capacity: not applicable
• Pulley centre to centre: not applicable
• Index compatibility: everything
• Chain width: 3/32”
• Logic: top normal
• B pivot: not applicable
• P pivot: not applicable
• Materials: largely plastic

Ref. 2159