I’ve been slowly updating my tri bike setup and one of the last big items would be to switch from mechanical to an electronic groupset… of course the price tag is pretty high so I’m trying to get a better idea of the benefits. Has anyone (and perhaps i need to post this question for the marginal gains podcast ), attempted to quantify the gains? Thinking, aero plus other potential gains like more optimal chain line (e.g. less cross chaining). Anyways, would love to hear everyones thoughts!
Was thinking just in terms of it using a more efficient front/rear combination than I would. That’s of course rider specific but i’m pretty sure i’m not always so efficient…
Thanks, yeah i feel like at least 1 or 2 gears are always slightly less than optimal as well without some adjustments… with young twin babies, i’d rather spend hte extra time riding
Also having the ability to shift while not in tri bars would add up to at the very least a more enjoyable experience.
On thing is that with electronic shifting is you can set it so you never have to move your hands or wrists to shift so they can just stay in the optimal spot aero wise. Not sure this is worth much though. Maybe a watt or two?
The one thing I really liked was having the ability to shift on the base bar. Not sure if it saves any time from not having to move your hands back and forth when climbing. But for me there is a mental fatigue benefit.
Electronic shifting to me would mean you could change gears easily while out of aero, as I have found when a hill surprises you and you can’t change rings or go to a bigger cog without taking your hands off the bars and that is difficult to do when you’re already standing or straining. Of course, knowing the course in advance or not being an optimist can save you a chunk of money.
Conventional wisdom is that there is no time savings, but electronic shifting is just so much nicer to have than mechanical. I also think it is more reliable, although problems always can occur with either.
Cycling is supposed to be fun. Electronic shifting is money well-spent for that reason alone.
On thing is that with electronic shifting is you can set it so you never have to move your hands or wrists to shift so they can just stay in the optimal spot aero wise. Not sure this is worth much though. Maybe a watt or two?
The one thing I really liked was having the ability to shift on the base bar. Not sure if it saves any time from not having to move your hands back and forth when climbing. But for me there is a mental fatigue benefit.
These benefits are huge for me, on my Tri bike.
With electronic, I shift more frequently to optimize being in the right gear, especially on climbs or fast decents. Always being in an optimal gear certainly provides marginal gains, both physically and mentally.
One huge plus for me is no more dropped chain using syncro shift. I got occasional drops with regular shift mode but still much less than mechanical.
E-shifting is also easier and I find myself shifting a lot more. For me, I think that has kept my VI lower.
This is what I noticed as well. It’s so easy to shift that I can get into the best gear whereas mechanical I pedal through instead of making the change. I never knew it until I could click a button.
One thing to remember is whatever electronic shifting system you go with, guaranteed it will be obsolete in 3 years or less. SRAM has totally moved on from 11 speed etap and now supports only Etap AXS 12 speed. They made your whole system, even wheels obsolete. Shimano already has had 3 generations of Di2 and next year will be onto 12 speed Di2. There really is no backwards compatibility. This combined with all the people I’ve seen with a dead battery on race morning, even pros (see Sebastian Kienle 2018 Ironman Kona). It happened to a top female pro at the UCI Imola world championship a month ago and cost her a medal.
Unless you are sponsored and getting it for free (read: a pro) my contrarian opinion is to stick with mechanical.
One thing to remember is whatever electronic shifting system you go with, guaranteed it will be obsolete in 3 years or less.
This is just wrong. It might not be ‘as good’ as a newer version. But obsolete in 3 years? That’s just dumb. Plenty of us have been running our electronic groups for >3 years and they continue to work perfectly.
As for the notion of a dead battery, if you pay attention this should never be an issue. I’ve run both Di2 and mechanical for tens of thousands of training miles and dozens of tris and road races. Both are equally reliable. In fact the only time I’ve had a bike equipment problem screw up my race was when my index shifter broke 30 miles into a HIM bike and I was left with just 4 gears in the rear.
I respect your points but I think you misconstrued my use of the word “obsolete.†I don’t mean obsolete as in “not working.†That’s not the definition of the word. After all a bike from the 1970s can still work just fine. But it is obsolete in terms of production and support. What I mean to say and we’ve had other threads on ST about this— is there is no stock of SRAM etap 11 speed parts for example. It is just gone and good luck getting replacement parts in the future. It was a bit of a niche product so it’s not like you’re going to be on Amazon in three years buying 11 speed etap parts. This is different from say searching for a 9 speed DA chain on Amazon there were plenty of them made and they are still easy to find.
My second point about the batteries is: sure it’ll never happen to you until it does. I agree it’s most likely to never be a problem but my point was it HAS been a problem even to the pros.
I’m a bit torn on this…
I don’t Think I would recommend anyone to spend their money on it, because it’s not really an upgrade. It’s heavier, more expensive, doesn’t make you faster, when it fails, it really doesn’t work.
On the other hand, I spend the money myself. Definately a Nice to have.
Shifting from the base bar doesn’t really make much difference to me on the road. Synchro is a fun feature, But on one hand, you want to be able to shift the FD yourself, on the other hand, buttons are missing to do (dont get the 2 button bar end shifters, you forget which does what anyway).
This is what I noticed as well. It’s so easy to shift that I can get into the best gear whereas mechanical I pedal through instead of making the change. I never knew it until I could click a button.
^^^^^This, I would never go back.
It’s hard to quantify because in theory you could shift just as much on a mechanical setup, but in reality people don’t. IME I shift twice as often with Di2 as with mechanical, YMMV.
This is especially true during climbs/descents/corners, where reaching out to the end of the extensions to shift is a lot more disruptive.
), attempted to quantify the gains? Thinking, aero plus other potential gains like more optimal chain line (e.g. less cross chaining). Anyways, would love to hear everyones thoughts!