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

[brocklanders023]

It's all in the name of evolution & improvement but is it really a step forward. The added complexity & costs just get in the way of what should be a simple machine - The Bike.

I mainly ride on the road, long day rides, sportives, foreign holidays etc. I had a new bike back in 2016, full carbon, Ultegra 6800 etc. The way that bike has become dated is insane. Just on appearance, shape design & being rim braked etc, the industry trends have totally left it behind. I wouldn't be so bothered but I do wonder about the availability of things like decent wheels or even brake blocks in the future. Never has the component industry forged ahead with such determination as to render peoples old componentry or whole bikes as defunct.

This comes up a lot but we can still service our bikes 20 years older than yours with decent kit so I wouldn't worry. You could fit virtually any newer groupset, wheels are still 700c, tyres are the same, brake blocks are still made in huge numbers. The tech on your bike may be not fitted on new bikes but it's still a long way off being obsolete.

As for the pricing of chains, cassettes etc, that's for the top end kit and top Sram stuff has always been insanely priced. Perfectly good gear available that doesn't cost eye watering amounts.

For a website that specialises in keeping 30+ year old bikes on the road with standards not seen for 15 years, we don't half worry about something that has not happened happening!

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Heh ! Thats me

Me too, still want to try the new fangled stuff though.

 

[Mangizmo]

This thread has lasted longer than I expected

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

I agree this is a non issue, I suspect its the rich world that is buying into all these "innovations", in much of China, India, Brazil, Africa, ie in most of the world, mechanical older systems will dominate, everything is available on ebay for example at low prices, canti brakes, threaded headsets, old style ball bearing bottom brackets, its all there and its inexpensive, infact older gear is more readily available than newer gear and when I tour I wouldnt even consider using anything other than rim brakes, square taper bottom brackets, mechanical gear changers, screw on freewheels, you can get it anywhere and always will be able to.....and it works just fine !!

Think you have said that in every other post you've made.

 

[Mangizmo]

the new top end sram is 160quid for a chain. as someone who logs a lot of miles, thats a massive negative. rear derailleurs are still a wear item, the pivots will eventually wear, the new top end sram is 650 quid.
we're at a point of exceptionally small marginal gains for a massive price tag.

Of course you are correct, but for some strange reason, saying these things makes people angry, extolling the virtues of this new gear seems to be fine though.....strange

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Look at the bikes in my signature I ride exactly the sort of stuff you extol the virtues of. Newsflash, it is all flawed it is not perfect. I'm still open minded enough to want to try modern. I'm not saying it's better or a step forward. I think you think your opinion is the only one that counts, so further discussion is pointless.

 

[Imlach]

Perfection predates the derailleur and the name is

Internal gear hub

 

[rwm1962]

Of course you are correct, but for some strange reason, saying these things makes people angry, extolling the virtues of this new gear seems to be fine though.....strange

Folk disagreeing with you is folk disagreeing with you. Not anger.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

View attachment 725824

Perfection predates the derailleur and the name is

Internal gear hub

You know I love hub gears

 

[Imlach]

You know I love hub gears