Electronic shifting thoughts.

[Webbo2]

Why would you want to have a phone app be able to change gear for you???

I mean - ok there is testing - but you still have the button on the bars

so - just why???

I presume no-one has a phone mounted on their bars and uses it to change gear when riding???
I say presume because - well - you know - people

I was taking the Michael. The emoji with the big nose was supposed to give it away.
It was a bit of an urban myth when electronic gears first came out that someone at the side of the road could change gear as you rode past.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I was taking the Michael. The emoji with the big nose was supposed to give it away.
It was a bit of an urban myth when electronic gears first came out that someone at the side of the road could change gear as you rode past.

Oh sorry - missed that

and to be honest - given how things are with some companies
it is very believable

just because ti makes no sense doesn;t keep it out of "the app"

 

[oldandslow]

I'm just not prepared to buy new bikes fast enough to keep up. So maybe some time I'll do a day hire on holiday of something with electronic shifting and discs, just to say I've tried it. But I'm about 20 years away from needing actually to buy one, as I only got my first carbon frame less than two years ago, and even then I've just raced tonight on a very nice alloy Principia with 9-speed Ultegra.

Most of my bikes are steel, and I like all of them just as much as the day I bought them. Including the ones with friction shifting.

 

[Binky]

Love it. On my 4th group set 3 Shimano and 1 Sram.
Totally reliable.

Do be aware though that when an electronic group set begins to wear out (6 years IME) it's very expensive swapping parts in - new shifters for example £200 each - front derailleur close to that as well.

True although I've had my Di2 for 9 years now and only part replaced was the front derailleur which snapped, the lever arm. I bought a used one from Ebay £40 and job done. Mine though is old 6870 so cheaper 2nd hand parts I expect although probably soon obsolete!

If you did have to replace with new then yes very expensive.

 

[NorvernRob]

I'm sticking with rim brakes / 9spd / indexed / external cables on all my derailleur bikes, but I'll fight to the death to defend your right to spend your money on internal / headset routed / hydraulic disc / 13spd / electronic tomfoolery.

How about rim brakes with external brake cables, and wireless 11 speed gears with no cables?

There’s a nice one for sale in the classifieds (mine)

 

[Dogtrousers]

How about rim brakes with external brake cables, and wireless 11 speed gears with no cables?

There’s a nice one for sale in the classifieds (mine)

I've considered putting electronic shifting on my bike, purely because of my love of gadgets. I'd end up with a steel framed, rim braked, electronic geared bike, which would be a bit of an oddity.

Actually I imagine I might have problems mounting the necessary bits and pieces like batteries or junction boxes and may have to resort to duck tape.

 

[Elybazza61]

I've considered putting electronic shifting on my bike, purely because of my love of gadgets. I'd end up with a steel framed, rim braked, electronic geared bike, which would be a bit of an oddity.

Actually I imagine I might have problems mounting the necessary bits and pieces like batteries or junction boxes and may have to resort to duck tape.

Nothing a drill and steel bit can't solve,,,,,

Might be alright with SRAM as it's wireless but it'd have to be SH I think as they don't do much rim brake stuff now.

 

[presta]

Surely they work by number of changes??

Indeed, but that'll be closely related to mileage on average, and most have a better idea how many miles they ride than how many changes they make.

The head unit displays battery state and gives you a warning when it is getting low.

But how accurate is it as the battery gets older?

 

[Webbo2]

Indeed, but that'll be closely related to mileage on average, and most have a better idea how many miles they ride than how many changes they make.


But how accurate is it as the battery gets older?

I would think reasonably accurate as head units don’t start recording your distance wrongly as their batteries lose power.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

But how accurate is it as the battery gets older?

The indicator on my sixteen year old Sony Cybershot is still as accurate as ever, so I don't see why it should be any different on electronic gears.

 

[Seevio]

Thank you to everybody that replied. It would seem that the majority of people who have electronic shifting are happy with it. It would have been equally useful if everyone said "worst purchase ever." I could have happily spent the rest of my days using mechanical shifting except when I went to try the bike for size, they only had the higher end model.

Anyway, the new bike is now purchased so my decision is fixed.

 

[itboffin]

How about rim brakes with external brake cables, and wireless 11 speed gears with no cables?

There’s a nice one for sale in the classifieds (mine)

Funny enough I just sold one of those group sets

 

[itboffin]

Nothing a drill and steel bit can't solve,,,,,

Might be alright with SRAM as it's wireless but it'd have to be SH I think as they don't do much rim brake stuff now.

I’ve just had built a new canyon endurace with Shimano ultregra 12 speed di2 with rim brakes, to be fair I passed the job off to someone far more skilled at customised builds than me, he’s managed to route the battery cables via the front mech hole and rear mech via the BB cable guide, hoping to pick it up very soon.