Electronic Groupsets.....good idea or utterly pointless for most people ?

[Mangizmo]

Electronic groupsets, my local dealer claims that they will become the norm on even cheap bikes, I can't see that happening myself, but rather than state my opinions on this "advance" I wonder what people here think. I am not talking about pro level competition where I accept every microsecond counts, I am talking about the likes of you and me, is it something you lust after, would being able to see what gear you are in on your phone or add extra buttons to change gear improve your life ? what do you think ?

 

[FluffyChicken]

Looking at the new SRAM Transmission stuff, it actually looks excellent.

Apart from battery life, but if ease of charging them is ok (for people away from home) , it wouldn't be a problem for most nowadays.

It really does look modern and how things should be.

All the other stuff is a bodge on top of 30+ year old bike styles.

 

[greencat]

Another day, another rant. Great stuff! I can see an automated electronic gear transmission being a convenience that would be appealing to a lot of riders, and perhaps especially novices. My missus didn't learn to ride a bike until she was 35, and still gets confused by how gears work. If that decision was taken out of her hands, she'd be very happy indeed.

I find the notion of a cable free bike quite appealing myself. Especially if the same mech/shifter could be easily set up to index across 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 speed cassettes via manual tweaking in an app. I can't see that coming by default from the big S etc, but I can see firmware hacks allowing it.

I reckon it will trickle down to Deore level, not sure about Tourney - but if it's cheaper in terms of labour saved to set up than cabling (and I could imagine it would be) at the factory then it'll come.

 

[Mangizmo]

Another day, another rant. Great stuff!

Well I am guilty of being sure I am always right so rather than state my strong opinion (at least not yet) I will entertain the vague possibility that I might not be completely correct

 

[FluffyChicken]

I'll add, I'm coming from someone who modern bike is from 1997.

I don't think the Shimano way is there Di2 has been around for a very long time now, longer than the Retro period on this site.
There is an excellent mod by someone tweaking the setup way back when for (semi) auto style transmission, if I remember, probably a decade ago or longer now.
But that's not what modern electronic is normally used as.
The older SRAM stuff too, but this Transmission setup seems well thought out.

It's not about the app at all.
That's just fluff some used way back when to help sell to the increasing mobile phone strava user base.

 

[novocaine]

in it's current guise, no, but as it progresses, yes to an extent.

think about it, a gear system that doesn't need tuning, where setup is as simple as bolt it on push a button. it will make the live of so many people much much easier.

I won't have it anytime soon though.

 

[d8mok]

1. Works better - perfect shifts every time
2. Easier to set up
3. Never needs adjustment
4. Cleaner with no cables
5. Stronger rear mechs
6. Battery’s can be charged quickly anywhere with a USB connection
7. Sram batteries are easy to carry and change
8. Multi shifting
9. Personalise your shift set up
10. Data can be pulled to see gear use
11. Phone notifies if battery low
12. No cables to snap
13. Front mech trims with rear on Di2 for full use of gears
14. Auto shift and syncronised shift on Di2

 

[synchronicity]

Don't want it, wouldn't buy it.
More e-waste, more recharging shit.
Don't people have enough to recharge already?

 

[al-onestare]

1. Works better - perfect shifts every time
2. Easier to set up
3. Never needs adjustment
4. Cleaner with no cables
5. Stronger rear mechs
6. Battery’s can be charged quickly anywhere with a USB connection
7. Sram batteries are easy to carry and change
8. Multi shifting
9. Personalise your shift set up
10. Data can be pulled to see gear use
11. Phone notifies if battery low
12. No cables to snap
13. Front mech trims with rear on Di2 for full use of gears
14. Auto shift and syncronised shift on Di2

All of this basically. For me 1 through 8 are the winners and having used it for a year, I'm really impressed with the durability and most importantly, the range.

My only minor gripe is it doesn't feel as butter smooth as something like XTR M950, but that's the modern way.

The price is ridiculous so I hope things begin to settle down, but as mentioned the new "transmission" is a ludicrous cost.

When are we going to talk about ABS brakes?

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

I'd never considered Di2 but @d8mok makes a convincing argument for it's usage. Might I ask if you do winter riding with it, salt, wet, slush etc?