Logitech G RS Shifter and Handbrake review

Flying down the Wellington Straight at Silverstone, the roar of the engine is bested only by the mechanical clunk of the sequential shifter as I drop the gears down for Brooklands. Sim racing is made much better by a dedicated shifter. In this instance, the Logitech G RS Shifter and Handbrake.

This accessory has been a long time coming—I've been waiting on something like this since 2022 when Logitech first launched the Pro Racing Wheel. At the time a very impressive wheel and pedal set, but it was missing any sort of handbrake or shifter accessory. It also lacked any additional wheels for the wheel base. That's a bit of a whiff for an ecosystem claiming 'pro' status, even if it is possible to use another brand's shifter via USB to your PC.

Logitech amended its lineup late last year to include the RS Shifter and Handbrake and the new RS Wheel Hub with new wheel designs. This review only covers the shifter—I have more to say on the wheels that I'll save for a separate review.

The main thing is we're seeing the ecosystem for Logitech's Pro Racing Wheel expand into something a little more competitive with midrange offerings from the likes of Fanatec (now owned by Corsair), Thrustmaster, and Moza.

The RS Shifter and Handbrake is comprised of a tall base unit measuring around 15 cm (6 inches), a metal handle, and a USB Type-A protruding out the rear. This cable is attached to the unit and non-removable, so be careful not to chew it up in your brake pedal.

The RS Shifter and Handbrake can be used as either a shifter or handbrake. If you require both functions for your sim setup, you'll need to buy two. It's easy to swap between shifting and braking modes between races or different games, at least: the included metal handle screws into one of two threads on the unit to switch between modes. Though you wouldn't want to be doing this too regularly. There's also a small switch to toggle between handbrake, analogue handbrake, and shifting.

The thread in the middle marked in blue is for shifting, which offers a full sweep both towards and away from you. Both directions end in a satisfying and substantial clunk. It's a heavy shifter, not like your average road car manual gearbox, though when you're racing with a load-cell brake and 11 Nm or more of torque it is suitably weighty to match.

I measured about 1.5 cm or just under half an inch of travel to each shift—it feels like a pretty long shift when racing but not overly so. While racing around Silverstone in Assetto Corsa or Spa-Francorchamps in Forza Motorsport, each shift adds a level of engagement and realism that makes both games so much more enjoyable. As an upgrade to my sim rig, it's a very noticeable improvement and I find myself wanting to sit down and race more often to experience it.

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It has also helped to keep shifting front and centre in my mind as I've raced around each track. Learning where to shift and what gear to shift into is a part of mastering any run, and I feel myself keeping a close eye on when I am upshifting or downshifting, and how many times, with this installed. But it can be both a benefit and a hindrance to your lap times. It's more punishing for the times when you mess up and have to wrestle the wheel with one hand occupied, though a lap is more entertaining for this extra jeopardy.

This doesn't serve up a traditional H-pattern manual gearbox with all of its quirks and conveniences, however. That's a bit of a shame, though PC users need not worry about compatibility—a large number of H-pattern shifters on the market will plug directly into your PC, bypassing any need to buy Logitech's own gear.

The RS Shifter and Handbrake is able to connect via the Pro Racing Wheel's rear USB Type-A ports or a direct USB connection to a gaming PC. That said, I ran into an issue with the Logitech G Hub software which caused it to lack the key firmware for the Pro Racing Base to function with the Shifter properly. A complete uninstall and reinstall of the G Hub software fixed this issue and another I ran into with the RS Hub. Moral of the story: don't trust the G Hub when it tells you it's completely up-to-date, it might not be.

Onto the braking function. This will appeal to players of rally games who don't want to go careening into a haybale or ditch when racing up to a hairpin. The unmarked thread on the unit is used for braking, which sits right at the top of the action and allows for roughly 3 cm or 1 ¼ inches of travel when engaged. The handbrake will sweep in a smooth motion to a spongy stop. It's not as mechanically satisfying as the sequential shifting but it's just about all you really need out of a handbrake accessory.

The RS Shifter and Handbrake will set you back $150/£130. That's not a terrible price for this level of quality—I'm yet to detect any sort of rattle during use. It gets a little less affordable if you feel you need two of these things. I'm happy with one in every racing game I've tested it in so far: the shifter for racing games and the handbrake for rally games.

It also comes with a table clamp that's comprised of thick plastic and feels pretty robust. It stayed put during my testing with the Secretlab Magnus Pro, which is only an inch thick, though it opens to about 6.5 cm or 2 1/2 inches.

In order to use the shifter on the Playseat Trophy required a mounting plate that's sold separately. That set me back £39. The shifter now sits happily atop it with room for one more besides, so I'll chalk that up to a good investment.

Weighing up the whole package, the versatility and build quality of the RS Shifter and Handbrake get my nod of approval. It might not be for everyone for that lack of H-pattern, and if you wanted to go more premium, you absolutely could, but it delivers on its core promise of convenient shifting and braking that should appeal to the sim racing player that hasn't yet found their 'one true racing game'.