I’ve been looking to upgrade my rig for a while now and one of the things I want to change is the handbrake. Although I originally intended to get the Sim-Lab push-pull shifter, unfortunately it was sold out and so I got the handbrake. It was a change that had to be made and the loadcell is the only option. The previous one I had was from Fanatec which for me is very bad in terms of design but the positive thing is that you put it on the shifter with extra space.
The XB1 at first glance out of the box looks very nice in design and easy to use. The installation was very easy on the base provided by the company for this particular handbrake. The base is well designed to adjust distance and angle although I would have liked it a little further back.
On the handbrake now on the plus side is that you can very easily adjust the hardness. All the parts come out and go in very easily and so I quickly and easily found the hardness that suits me. Program installation and calibration were also easy. With the first tests the difference is noticeable and impressive as the way I now turn in the hairpins is completely different but also easier. Now I work the handbrake with the force I put in and not with how hard I pull it. Thus, the distance has been reduced considerably, making the process much faster.
On the negative now, one is the cable which is unfortunately on the driver’s side so it is also exposed in my case because on the same side I have a small button box if I am not careful with fast movements I can easily damage the micro USB. The other negative is the height. It should definitely have been bigger considering it’s a bit lower than the fanatec shifter which is relatively small. So if I had a bigger shifter I would definitely have to add an extra aluminum profile to the rig or do some patent work to bring them to the same height.
