Wireless blips on MTB flat bar with no AXS shifter, blips set just inwards of grips for thumbs to hit buttons with LHS for down shifts and RHS for up shifts.
Blips and brakes 
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Thanks for the info about the blips! Was just thinking the other day if I could upgrade by adding blips and a new RD, and keep the exisiting shifters. Seems like it would work!
Might even be possible to take an AXS shifter apart, and only keep the electronics to deal with any pairing failsā¦
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Sounds amazingā¦
This thread motivated me to finally pull the trigger on some wireless blips. Plan to use them on bars near stem on MTB when Iām in āaeroā position with my hands resting on bars near the stem. Not that useful for typical XC stuff, but I spend a bunch of time in that position at Leadville. And I also do a ton of on-road training on the MTB for leadville where Iām holding aero position. Once leadville is done, they will be moved over to aero bars on my gravel bike.
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I have to admit, I have not considered the scenario where you donāt have AXS shifters, but want to pair blips to your RD. I reckon your idea is to avoid having to buy a flat bar AXS shifter (or like this or this), right?
Like @gpl said, be very careful with the AXS button on your RD. Pressing it long resets your pairings. I did that by accident once, and couldnāt figure out why only one of my shifters would show up 
GX shifter I think would work, but the biggest problem with your plan is that the blips have non-replaceable batteries and cost an eye watering amount to buy. Youād want to have a shifter to repair, even if you could justify the cost of blips.
(Iād like to try run the Blips on the mtb instead of a shifter, but canāt abide the disposable nature of them)
Any pictures of your set up? Are you using a dropper? I was thinking of running a similar set up. I use Yep Components joystick remotes so it would look super tidy. Iād prefer blips with one on thumb side, one on finger side (right hand).
Itās for drop bars so not sure these would work.
Didnāt know this. Yea, for the main shifter, which I assume theyāre not designed to be, they probably donāt last long.
Just looked it up. SRAM claims 4 to 7 years of use. And theyāll replace them for free if they die within 2 years.
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If it is for drop bars, wouldnāt you need shift/brake levers anyway? What do you have in mind exactly?
not a fan of the disposable nature of the blips on principle, but I justified it as a ~$20 per year luxury āserviceā.
Donāt know about Thunderpants, but I was thinking on my cross bike, I could swap the rear mech for AXS, and put blips somewhere on the inside of the shifter (sort of like a campag thumb shifter). The exisiting shifters will then be brake-only, could even remove the shifter paddle. This is how one of them is already, as its 1x. I just dislike the idea of having to buy new shifters when their main purpose is to brake, and they do that fine.
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Like @splash said, this is a cheap/minimal upgrade from mech. Shimano 105 shifters would stay on the bike to control brakes. Swap out RD for the AXS one, and put blips on the existing shifters. I can get everything for less than $400. And in the future, I can upgrade the shifters to AXS if I feel like it.
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Just understand that you will only be able to shift from the hoods, if you do thatā¦.if you ride mostly from the hoods or never really shift from the drops, it is a great option.
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Hmmm, that doesnāt seem worth it to me. It would work and if you are really careful with that AXS button on your RD, it might be fine. But honestly, a better method is to simply use a mountain bike trigger shifter instead. Cost-wise, it might even be cheaper than 2 blips. Ergonomically, it is obviously not ideal, because, well, you are using a flatbar shifter on dropbars. But it should work better and would be 100 % supported.
However, I would just go in whole hog.
You can get it in the right spot to shift from either, basically in the position of the Campy thumb shifter. I messed around with positioning and itās totally doable.
Half the fun is trying something crazy. And itās also out of laziness. Swapping out the RD, cassette, and placing a couple blips is easier than rerouting and bleeding hydro cables/brakes. And to me, using blips is way better than the MTB shifter. I can get 2 blips for like $65 with my shop discount so itās definitely the cheapest option.
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Agree with that. Even on a MTB, Iām not a big fan of the wireless MTB shifter ergonomics and have considered trying wireless blips right near the grips. The left/right shifting approach is so ingrained in me now that I struggle ever time I get back on the MTB after a long layoff. I think your approach sounds solid. Skip buying a shifter and just borrow a AXS shifter/bike from a friend for a few minutes to do the pairing and then you should be fine with just the blips (at least thatās how I understand it).
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Well, that certainly qualifies 
Let us know how it works out!
Thatās an interesting point, I hadnāt thought of that.
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Are Blips functionally the same in terms of signal and clickablility?
ie. Do they shift gears just as fast as any other AXS shifter?
Is there any good reason that Iām missing to go with a rival axs crankset with power meter over the apex version?
My bike has rival axs xplr with power meter but I want to switch the crank length and it seems like thereās no good reason to spend more on rival over axs? Am I wrong?
Nope, I think you are spot on.
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