Electronic shifting thoughts.

[Mike Ayling]

CycleBlaze is a cycle touring website favoured by well financed retirees from North America and Canada who tour a lot in Europe..
Anyway one woman purchased a titanium framed bike with all the options and posted at some stage on a tour in Europe that she could not change gear.
She went into the nearest bike shop and was told that her battery needed charging. She was obviously upsold to electronic shifting when she bought the bike whether she needed it or not!
I will stick with my clunky shifting Rohloff!

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I have wondered about this

So - it seems the thing needs to be charged before your ride??

but at the start of the thread there was some mention of batteries - what were they for?
I presume the actual mechanism if charged but the shifter has a battery??


plus - if it needs to be charged - and you get it wrong then it sounds like you are stuck until you can get to a charger??
is that right??

I can see it becoming (or already being) standard on high end ebikes
after all - most of the question I have are automatically overcome if it is powered off the ebike battery

anyone know of any?

 

[Webbo2]

I have 11 speed Dura Ace mechanical on my old best bike and Di2 Ultegra on my new best bike. I find I change gear more often when using the Di2 especially now I have a power metre and are trying to avoid going in to the red.
If I’m going out for a ride I generally going put bottles on my bike, then check the batteries. It’s hardly a big deal.
The self adjusting front mech so it never rubs regardless of what sprocket you in, is a delight.

 

[Webbo2]

I have wondered about this

So - it seems the thing needs to be charged before your ride??

but at the start of the thread there was some mention of batteries - what were they for?
I presume the actual mechanism if charged but the shifter has a battery??


plus - if it needs to be charged - and you get it wrong then it sounds like you are stuck until you can get to a charger??
is that right??

I can see it becoming (or already being) standard on high end ebikes
after all - most of the question I have are automatically overcome if it is powered off the ebike battery

anyone know of any?

The shifters are wireless so need the coin battery to message the mechs.

 

[Drago]

Some might argue, with reasonable authority, that the skill of keeping ones mechanical gears properly selected and trimmed during a ride is also delightful. One persons delight is another person's soulless chunder, and vice versa.

 

[oxoman]

Sram has 2 coin battery's in the shifter that lasted me 6 months of regular use and the rear mech is a removable battery and i charged that every 3 or 4 months.

 

[PaulSB]

I have wondered about this

So - it seems the thing needs to be charged before your ride??

but at the start of the thread there was some mention of batteries - what were they for?
I presume the actual mechanism if charged but the shifter has a battery??


plus - if it needs to be charged - and you get it wrong then it sounds like you are stuck until you can get to a charger??
is that right??

I can see it becoming (or already being) standard on high end ebikes
after all - most of the question I have are automatically overcome if it is powered off the ebike battery

anyone know of any?

The shifters are powered by coin style batteries, the deraileur by a rechargeable battery. How often the shifter batteries are changed or the deraileur needs charging is entirely dependent on use. I'm told it can be 6 - 12 months.

You ride an ebike. I don't know if electronic gearing is available on e-bikes or how it is/would be charged but I would say this. I guess an e-bike needs charging before every ride. If you get it wrong you can be stuck somewhere with no power and stuck till you get a charger. On this basis an e-bike user is far, far more vulnerable than a rider with electronic gearing who probably only has to worry about battery levels every 3-6 months.

Both e-bikes and electric gearing equipped bikes remain rideable without power. It's just harder. One isn't stuck.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

To me, it's just another electric solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

 

[matticus]

Both e-bikes and electric gearing equipped bikes remain rideable without power. It's just harder. One isn't stuck.

Yes. Although imagine an e-bike with a flat battery in top gear ...

 

[Alex321]

To me, it's just another electric solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

Except that it isn't presented as a solution to a problem.

It is presented as just being a nicer/better way to shift. Which is part of the reason I think it unlikely to start becoming default on lower end bikes.

 

[PaulSB]

To me, it's just another electric solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

Yes, I get this. It was probably in the back of my mind for years. Today I view it as a part of the evolution of shifting........going from no gears all the way through to 12 speed electronic shifting.

There isn't a right or wrong but there is a preference. My preference has become electronic just as my car preference has become with A/C.

 

[Binky]

Are electronic gears necessary? No.
Are they great? Absolutely.

My current bike has Di2 and my next will, for me it's a no brainer.
Love the ease of shifting, consistently smooth and perfect every time. I love the integration with head unit so can see which gear I'm in. Again a lot may not even think of that but I find it useful.

As for flat batteries, that's something I notice those who don't have it chime in about but if you can't remember to charge the gears then you must have a very busy life. With head unit connected it shows level of charge so super easy to check.

If you can afford it get it is my advice.

 

[Venod]

When electric shifting first appeared I thought it interesting but not necessary, since then I have built several and had a few other bikes, each time I asked myself if I should go with electric shifting, and the answer was always it only does the same as mechanical with the added battery charging shenanigans.
But then came along wifi shifting which I thought was an improvement.
So I have just got a 12 speed wifi system, and without a doubt its the most precise easiest gear change system I have used in 60 years of cycling.
Its not a necessity and I only have it on one bike, but I'm a convert.
There is a Chinese system available that can be tuned for any speed gearing, this may find its way onto my next build.
https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/wheeltop-buyers-guide
For me its a bit like the electric car decision, for a number of years I was somewhat ambivalent about electric cars then while our Volvo XC40 was in for a service they lent me a Polestar, gobsmacked is an understatement, it was fantastic despite having no rear window, just a camera.
We now have a Volvo EX30 and without doubt its the easiest to drive car we have owned, it also goes like a rocket if your so inclined, no return to ICE driving for me,
and if I still didn't have mechanical shifting bikes, it would probably be electric shifting from now on.