Sorry to hear about your hand. I've dealt with tendinitis for years, because my arms were injured when I was small. My hands can crush rock (former bass player), but my wrists and elbows ache with normal activity sometimes.

On-topic: I have used the button from time to time, but the button only toggles 3rd/4th gears. The problem I had was going up a 45-degree paved winding road from a stop sign - I would reach 2200 rpm in 1st (about 15 mph), then I would shift to second and lose my mojo. No way to help it unless I moved the shifter to the 1st position.

The FAQ tells you to count your flats so that you can put the cable back. But I really turned the cable a *lot* to get where I am - maybe 20 flats. Any less seemed like too little. Now I have about half a centimeter of slack in the cable before it gets pulled by the throttle spool.

Hope I've helped some. Let us know how it changes your driving experience.

Thanks,

Ari