Electronic Shifting the future?

[Camrider]

With Shimano announcing the launch of the Alfine Di2 I was wondering whether electronic shifting is the future or a solution to a problem that does not exist?

Personally I think anything relying on batteries is a potential problem that could leave you cursing and swearing by the road side and wondering how the hell you age going to set home stuck in top / bottom / no gear.

 

[Speedywheelsjeans]

Why fix whats not broken. Its takes the same effort from you to tap a gear up manually as it does electrically. I wont be using electric shifters when they hit the market!

 

[cyberknight]

I can see the benefits for electrnic shifting what with auto trim and the systems have been tested in CX so they are rugged enough but it will be a very long before the price point drops enough so that the average cyclist can afford them .
sram do not currently offer an electronic system but you can bet that in the future they will just to keep up with the market, the new sram red manual system has some interesting bits in it like a front mech that turns slightly to allow extreme chain lines.
If the price came down enough i could see the system being very beneficial to commuters especially in winter , no more frozen cables ( dammit we need electronic brakes ) .

 

[CopperCyclist]

I'm on the waiting list at my LBS for the Cube Agree GTC with Di2. I can't wait, and the fact that I have been for the past six weeks or more is killing me, and STILL no news from the suppliers!

That's said, I'm not arguing that it's something that's NEEDED, but something that I want is a whole other thing! No need to ever care about cable stretch? Perfect switching every time? On the fly trimming if needed? Gadget-whore status confirmation? Count me in... now just hurry up!

 

[CopperCyclist]

PS reference the getting stuck in gear, the system has been designed so that when the batteries run out, they stop switching the front mech first. This means that you should never be stuck in a completely unusable gear. Additionally, checking the battery should be part of your 'preflight checks', as much as checking your tyres are inflated!

 

[User269]

I might try it, once I've got the hang of these indexed downtube levers*.

*comment not suitable for anyone under the age of 40 (ish).

 

[qwiksilver]

i'd much prefer them to work on a semi-automatic set where the strain/friction/speed dictates the gears would shift if that setting was selected, for example have an auto/manual selector and if you had auto selected when you are going downhill and pedaling and the speed is picking up and the friction/tesion on the chain is decreasing it would automatically switch and visa-versa for going uphill

 

[CopperCyclist]

i'd much prefer them to work on a semi-automatic set where the strain/friction/speed dictates the gears would shift if that setting was selected, for example have an auto/manual selector and if you had auto selected when you are going downhill and pedaling and the speed is picking up and the friction/tesion on the chain is decreasing it would automatically switch and visa-versa for going uphill

I like the concept... and suspect potentially this could be easier to do on electronic shifters than mechanical, as you'd just set your cadence, your boundaries, and let it shift around it.

Electronic shifting even works better under high torque, so it would even compensate for the fact that you'd probably still be pedalling while it shifted. If I were you I'd go design and patent this, might make a fortune... or it might be an idea that seems great on paper but jus doesn't work in reality!

 

[oldfatfool]

I am sure I read that an auto box was in the pipeline. Along the lines of you set the power you wish to output and the gears change as required.

 

[Norm]

Electronic Afline? Yes please.

 

[jdtate101]

I think the biggest advantages for these systems is not in the rear shifter, but the front, allowing you to shift under extreme load. I really like the idea of the auto trimming. As my bike already has Ultegra parts and internal cable runs, I may upgrade at some point, but not until the new release price premium has gone away.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Why fix whats not broken. Its takes the same effort from you to tap a gear up manually as it does electrically. I wont be using electric shifters when they hit the market!

It's not a question of "fixing" something, but of making a technological advance that makes gear changing quicker, more accurate and easier, just as indexing and integrating the gear and brake levers into one unit did. You don't need any of those improvements to use the bike just as you don't need clipless pedals, carbon fibre frames or ten sprockets on the back wheel. All these things have made bicycles better to ride, all were prohibitively expensive when they first appeared and all had the diehards howling in disbelief and derision when they were introduced, now few people would buy a bike without them.

The technology in electronic shifting is cheap as chips and prices will reflect that once R&D costs are recovered and mainstream production gets into swing. Reliability isn't an issue, cars and motorcycles are packed with far more advanced electronics and are more reliable now than they ever were. Cable systems will exist for a long time yet, but within a few years electronics will be the norm in the peleton even at club level and a common sight on cycles in general.

 

[Sittingduck]

I think it will become the norm, much in the way that TVs all now have remotes.

 

[Camrider]

I think the biggest advantages for these systems is not in the rear shifter, but the front, allowing you to shift under extreme load.

Would it really help shift under extreme load? You still have the same very crude changing mechanism its just switched electronically so I'm not convinced it would work any better under load than a manual shift. I got rid the front mech problem with a Rohlhoff for which you can also get an electronic shifter but I can't see any real reason to fit one.

 

[Peteaud]

Nothing wrong with my old penny farthing, gears and chains indeed