In the world of sim-racing, there are many players who share the market for our passion. You’re all familiar with brands like Logitech, Thrustmaster, Simucube, Fanatec and Heusinkveld. All these players focus on a specific segment of the sim-racing peripherals market for different reasons. I won’t go into why a particular brand chose a particular segment, as that’s not today’s topic.

Given that not all racers have the same needs for their sim-racing setup, it’s perfectly normal to find different configurations. There are players who want the minimum, i.e. a chainstay, wheel and crankset. But there are also racers who want more realism and immersion, and to get that, there’s nothing like a cockpit and shifter.

Even if we all share the same passion, we differ in many ways, especially when it comes to sim-racing peripherals. Some of you don’t see the point of having a shifter, while others swear by this peripheral. In what follows, I’m going to introduce you to one of the best shifters available on the market, the Heusinkveld Shifter. I’ll tell you about its features, strengths and weaknesses, and give you my opinion on it.

Key features and shifter technology

• All-metal gear lever
• Sequential lever
• Laser-cut stainless steel case
• Several knobs and levers available in the box, as well as all screws and fastening systems
• Shifter resistance is ensured by a ball spring system integrated into the small shifter housing.
• PC-compatible only
• Formula Junior shifter-like feel

Heusinkveld Shifter design

I say it often enough: the design of a sim-racing device is a subjective element. What I think is beautiful probably isn’t to you. As far as the Heusinkveld Shifter is concerned, well, I think it’s quite beautiful, without being gorgeous. I don’t know if it’s its small size that makes it passably handsome, but in any case I prefer the design of a Fanatec ClubSport Shifter (which you can discover by clicking here) to that of the Heusinkveld Shifter. Still, it’s a handsome sim-racing device with clean lines and a very industrial design.

You can “change” the design of this shifter with the 3 levers and knobs supplied, to suit your riding style and change the feel of the race. More on this below. The Heusinkveld Shifter uses stainless steel for all its parts, which gives it an industrial look, especially in the way the parts are assembled. In absolute terms, it’s beautiful, but not as beautiful as some of the manufacturer’s other products.

Customized assembly

The Heusinkveld Shifter comes with two mounting systems: a table/desk clamp and a plate for mounting it on a chassis, which is quite a change from what the brand does with its other products, notably its cranksets. Sprint and cranksets. Ultimate cranksets cranksets, which are supplied without mounting systems.

The clamp is placed at the bottom of the shifter, making it easy to install and mount on a table or desk. However, the Heusinkveld Shifter, with its clamp, sits above the table/desk, not below it. This may be a problem for some configurations, but in my opinion, if you choose this shifter, you’ll most certainly have a cockpit.

Chassis mounting is easy. With the plate, which this time attaches to the side, you can mount the Heusinkveld Shifter on virtually any cockpit available on the market. What’s more, the plate allows you to adjust the angle of the shifter, which isn’t bad at all.

Manufacturing and finishing

The Heusinkveld brand is renowned for its quality products and use of laser-cut stainless steel, and this is clearly visible on the Shifter. The materials are very premium, with only metal for the entire sim-racing peripheral.

The finish is perfect, thanks to laser cutting. There are no sharp edges, protruding parts or other manufacturing defects. This shifter clearly comes from the Heusinkveld factories, and the brand has its own high manufacturing standards to meet. After all, when you see the price tag on this device, it’s only fair to ask for the best of the best, don’t you think?

Getting to grips with the shifter

The first thing that came to mind when I picked up the Heusinkveld Shifter was its size. This shifter is really small, tiny even compared to the competition. To tell the truth, this is to be expected, given that this is a shifter with only a sequential mode for shifting gears.

After that, what really stands out is the feel when you shift gears, and I’ll come back to that shortly. As far as the Heusinkveld Shifter is concerned, there are 3 different knobs in the box, as well as 3 levers that will allow you to easily find your ideal configuration. Although the Heusinkveld Shifter is devoid of any adjustment to the shifting mechanism, the knobs and levers allow you to change your grip on the shifter. Shifts click superbly, just as they do in a real race car.

Sensations during play

Let’s take a look at how the Heusinkveld Shifter feels in play. To begin with, you should know that this shifter has no adjustment on its mechanism. However, you can swap the levers and knobs to get a slightly different feel.

So the Heusinkveld Shifter provides an excellent in-game shifting feel, whatever sim-racing title you want to use it on. The mechanism is firm, and the whole shifter is really, really solid. You can quickly feel that this is a part designed to last a very long time. You can go full throttle during shifts, and the Heusinkveld Shifter won’t plug in at all.

The whole mechanism of this gearshift is made of metal, and it will require a certain amount of force at the beginning to shift a gear, just as it does in a real gearbox. As a result, it’s hard at first, then becomes a little softer once the lever has traversed a certain distance of its travel. Frankly, it’s very realistic, and feels like you’re actually using the sequential shifter on a rally or Formula Junior car.

Heusinkveld Shifter compatibility

The Heusinkveld Shifter is only compatible with computers running Windows. On the one hand, this is what I would have done, given that sim-racing titles can only be pushed to maximum realism on this platform, in addition to having native compatibility thanks to Windows. And on the other hand, sim-racers on consoles are simply neglected. So if that’s your case, I invite you to find a compatible shifter right here.

In any case, the Heusinkveld Shifter uses a USB interface to connect to the PC platform and will work perfectly with all sim-racing titles available on the market.

Value for money

Priced at €208.99 on the Heusinkveld website, this shifter doesn’t look too expensive at first glance, especially when you consider that a Fanatec ClubSport Shifter V1.5 retails for almost €260. However, the Heusinkveld Shifter is a sequential-only shifter, and this is where we see that its selling price is rather expensive.

Apart from that, the value for money is pretty good if you consider the materials used, the engineering involved and, above all, the overall quality of this device. Admittedly, it’s a premium product, but the brand is elitist, so…

My verdict on Heusinkveld’s Sequential Shifter

Having used it for a while, I have to admit that I really enjoyed my time with the Heusinkveld Shifter. It’s not the best shifter in the world, but if the manufacturer came up with a sequential H Pattern shifter in the Heusinkveld Shifter style, it certainly would be.

Its price is the second biggest obstacle to its mass acquisition by sim-race fans, after the fact that it’s only sequential. But if you’re the kind of rider who can afford such a device, I highly recommend it, as it’s one of the best shifters in the world.