Are these the harbingers of innovation and obsolescence?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not excited about this (exactly the opposite). It feels like I’m being coerced into buying stuff that’s not any better than the old stuff every time they “innovate”.
Still, if all current shifting systems will be obsolete in a year, I’ll keep riding my old nine speed a bit longer.
the electronic shifting systems will have some cool advantages, but will have some pretty big disadvantages. my guess is that the biggest benefit of the new systems will be the trickle-down of some of the ideas and design improvements to manually-powered drivetrains. my guess is that shimano and campy will always (or at least for a long time into the future) offer dura-ace / record level manual component groups. and that’s what i’m gonna stick with because, for me, simplicity always wins in the end. i already got a big electromechanical servo and big battery on my bike: me.
It does look incredibly tidy compared to previous attempts by all manufacturers, although I agree that it seems a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. Maybe it’s for the aerodynamically obsessed that have externally routed cables?
I don’t see why these companies are putting any money in this - I already don’t think much about shifting, why will electronic be better? It is not like it is that hard. If you need to shift electronically, maybe a bike isn’t the best thing to be on…
I don’t see why these companies are putting any money in this - I already don’t think much about shifting, why will electronic be better? It is not like it is that hard. If you need to shift electronically, maybe a bike isn’t the best thing to be on…
I don’t think it’s about function, I think it’s about planned obsolescense.
I don’t see why these companies are putting any money in this - I already don’t think much about shifting, why will electronic be better? It is not like it is that hard. If you need to shift electronically, maybe a bike isn’t the best thing to be on…
Anyone remember Mavics electronic system? Everyone thought that would be the end of cables. Then there was Shimano’s air shifting system for MTBs that went no where. Shimano has has a history particularly on the MTB side of trying something really out there and having it either fail to work better than the current tech, or costing way way way to much to make. I think most people would perfer they work on refining their current stuff.
In the tri world, will this enable a dual shifting set up - sti type shifting via the brake levers at the horns along with the usual bar end levers? Would be nice to be able to shift while standing, holding the horns.
Electronic shifting would make it possible to clean up the shift cables, make derailleurs more aero, and you could shift with a thumb button like a lap counter with the wire run up your sleeve.
You could shift from any position - aero or on hoods or while scratching your head. Advanced models could have a feature to shift by voice command.
Years ago I had a Mavic Zapp derailleur and the shifts were dead on, no cable stretch.
Next are electic brakes - like my trailer?
One down side could be weight. Have to net out cable weight, battery weight, etc. to see differences.
Great marketing ploy though - sell new gear, more expensive, and obsolete all the previous derailleurs.
Jump on the bike, plug in your umbilical cord and away you go.
I already don’t think much about shifting, why will electronic be better
A few reasons actually… none of which really apply to the current technology, but they’re getting there.
eventually the electric group’s ergonomics will be smoother, faster, more comfortable than mechanical. Simply a matter of designing a hood around the hand rather than the guts of the shifter.
electric shifting is more precise and therefore you can squeeze more gears into a cassette.
most importantly… I think you’ll see a day when Speed, cadence, HR, Watts, Incline, whatever is all integrated into a single computer. You can simply plug in the wattage (or speed, or HR, etc…) you want to hold and the bike will shift for you, like the Erg funtion on a CT works now.
Eventually I think it’ll end up like F1 Cars, fly-by-wire fighter jets, etc… with a combination of user input and computer controls. There’s a lot of upside.
Of course… a servo can never replace a beautifuly cabled old steel Masi. but that’s a different arguement.
Once you get the basic electric shift down, it would be a pretty easy step to move to automatic shifting. The article makes note of the fact that the plug on the bike has 12 pins which is beyond what would be used on a charger but just right for plugging in a laptop. My guess is they are already doing some shifts automatically.
While a racer might not want auto shift on all the time, there would be some performance benefits for a sprinter if he could activate an individually tailored auto shift program based on rpm and/or mph before starting a sprint. I was reading a review of the new SRAM shifter which allows a rider to shift easier while in the drops and it cited test data on how many watts pro riders lose shifting during a sprint from the change in position required to shift. Auto shift would eliminate that.
This is one area were a minimum bike weight acutally helps innovation. If you have to have weight on a bike to make the minimum it might as well be a battery and computer.
Call me old school, but I find peace in knowing that when a shifter stops working when I am 50 km from home on some rural road with freezing rain pissing down on me that I can get assistance from Farmer John with his pair of pliers under the front seat of his 1976 Ford Pickup rather than having to wait for the next Shimano Electronics Engineer to pass by.
I had Mavic Zap many moons back. It was nice when it worked…and it was what I would consider “Union Labor”.
Being as there is no weight advantage (certainly not at UCI events) I dont get it. I cant figure out where there is a problem that needs to be fixed with the cable systems.
