Electronic Shifting the future?

[CopperCyclist]

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.

Yes it's confirmed. The electronic motor that changes it produces more torque that the standard cable pull, and can change under much higher loads.

 

[smokeysmoo]

I've heard the battery lasts an age, so if it runs out it's your own fault for not checking/charging it IMO. Granted it creates the possibility of a failure, but have you never had a gear cable snap, they aren't infallible to failure themselves? Also you will need to replace the battery eventually, but if you accept the battery as the consumable item it is then it will never be a problem.
I'd love it for the fit and forget and auto trim aspects, but I can't afford it so it's not going to happen.
I wouldn't retro fit it to a bike due the external cabling, but I'd seriously consider it on a Di2 designed frame in the future.

 

[Camrider]

but have you never had a gear cable snap, they aren't infallible to failure themselves?

Never had that happen, but I have spent a bit of time adjusting the dam things so the anything that gets rid of that issue is to be welcomed, although I'm not sure if these are issues that affect modern hub gears to a great extent.

Good to hear that ES improves shifting the front end under load, had a plenty of bad moments with that when riding in more hilly terrain than we get round these parts.

 

[Davidc]

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.

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

You both get a +1. Has to be an improvement on Bowden cables, just a matter of time before prices drop and cabled gears are as common as rod brakes.

 

[broomwagon]

Yes, the cost will put lots of people off, myself included. I've not long returned to riding a road bike and using STI shifters for the first time so I'm pretty new to those for a start. They'll be those of us who will have to get the electronic shifters, because they are techno freaks and not necessarily because they need them. Like everything else new, it's just a matter of time...But I'm enjoying my STIs. I'm more worried about what folk will say about my Tiagra 9 speed block! I'm way behind

 

[jdtate101]

I've also heard that due to the auto trim, it's impossible for the chain to come off during a shift. Not sure if that's true, but another nice advantage. Had a chain jump a few times changing down from the big ring on a climb. When it happens and your out of the saddle, one tends to land one's nuts on the top tube.

 

[MacB]

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.

I don't suppose you have any info on the electronic Rohloff shifter, as in real world stuff? I've read all I can find and exchanged some e-mails with Edsan the Australian company that makes the Shiftezy now at Mark III. But the only real world info I have been able to glean is re the Mark I version.

http://www.edsanautomation.com.au/EdsanProducts.htm

At £375 plus any import duty it would be a heck of a leap in the dark. The main attraction for me is the ability to position the shifters wherever I want, I use some weird handlebars, and I've never been a huge twist shifter fan. Also it simply replaces the external clickbox with a sealed servo motor unit. So you have the same ability to change gear manually as you would if you snapped a cable or damaged the clickbox. Plus the clickbox et al can just be slotted back on if need be....but it still leaves that £400+ outlay

 

[Speedywheelsjeans]

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

It would be a difficult thing to make work, you need to take your weight off the chain to get a chain to shift without causing too much wear, imagine just about to put some extra power down to get up a hill and the chain jumps down to the next gear.

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.

Im thinking of powering it though, batteries will be another thing you have to carry in your jersey in case they run out of juice miles from home, you can have manual over ride... but then thats just adding weight. There is always the possibility of running an alternator type charging system in the bottom bracket or somewhere where there is inertia, but spinning around a magnet is going to take extra power from you, plus if you spend your day climbing at low cadence can the thing actually charge....

I dont dislike the idea... but my cable gears work just fine at the push of a lever.... so why add electronics when they are just a 'technological advancement' without making any difference to my riding. When they become the norm... I'll probably end up with them, but for now im not making a fuss of them.

What I do like though is the idea of hydraulic disks on the wheels.

 

[Jonathing]

I was at the local round of rollapalooza this week and there had an Ultegra D2i demo bike there. It looked great but the battery was flat. I know that's not the fault of the bike but still, it certainly demo'd the main weakness of the system rather well.

 

[Night Train]

I'm not convinced, just yet, that an electronic box of tricks will never go wrong and if it did it could be fixed in the rain at the road side.
However, I guess a set of spare batteries would be easier to carry then spare cables and tools and setting it up again.

The automatic option would be good for some people, those with disabilities maybe, and also electric assist.

 

[qwiksilver]

It would be a difficult thing to make work, you need to take your weight off the chain to get a chain to shift without causing too much wear, imagine just about to put some extra power down to get up a hill and the chain jumps down to the next gear.

Speedy dont think of it as bear cogs and derailleurs more enclosed set of cogs much like a cars/motorcycle gearbox, it could be made with 1 drive cog to replace the chain rings and 1 cog to replace the cassette much like a fixie with all internal gearing as hub/BB, i understand it would be difficult but look how far bikes have already come compare a penny farthing to a modern road/mountain bike it can probably will eventually come to fruition

 

[lulubel]

I'm not convinced, just yet, that an electronic box of tricks will never go wrong and if it did it could be fixed in the rain at the road side.

That's what I'm thinking. Since cars have become electronic, most of us are helpless when something goes wrong. When it was just simple mechanics, it didn't take a great deal of knowledge or skill to fix common problems yourself.

 

[Night Train]

Speedy dont think of it as bear cogs and derailleurs more enclosed set of cogs much like a cars/motorcycle gearbox, it could be made with 1 drive cog to replace the chain rings and 1 cog to replace the cassette much like a fixie with all internal gearing as hub/BB, i understand it would be difficult but look how far bikes have already come compare a penny farthing to a modern road/mountain bike it can probably will eventually come to fruition

That would be a Schlumpf mountain drive/speed drive and a Rohloff.
Digital shifting of that on a fast recumbent trike would be cool!
[Clarkson]Flappy paddle gearbox![/Clarkson]

 

[Speedywheelsjeans]

Speedy dont think of it as bear cogs and derailleurs more enclosed set of cogs much like a cars/motorcycle gearbox, it could be made with 1 drive cog to replace the chain rings and 1 cog to replace the cassette much like a fixie with all internal gearing as hub/BB, i understand it would be difficult but look how far bikes have already come compare a penny farthing to a modern road/mountain bike it can probably will eventually come to fruition

Final year university engineering project there.... :P ... Im going to give that some massive thought... Not sure how to go about the front cassette.

 

[MacB]

wouldn't you want to keep it simple out back and introduce the gears to the BB area, there's already the Schlumpf and I've seen bikes with a Rohloff at the BB.

Also easier then to add in things like electric assist, battery points, whatever.