Your experience of Electronic shifters please

[Oldjohnw]

I am both old fashioned and old so I am not very likely to purchase these. But it does interest me: and I try never to say never.

Any first hand experience of electronic gear change, both wired and wireless?

[Marcus Aurelius]

Yes, they are a blessing and a curse. They make it far easier to shift up exiting a corner, or shift down under braking, but they can suffer software glitches, which can leave you stuck in a not ideal gear, that can also happen if the power supply fails. They are quite fun on other people’s bikes though. There’s comedy value to leaning over and up shifting for someone on a climb, and equal comedy value in disconnecting their battery at a stop. The customisable shifting and maintenance of chain line by automatically shifting chain rings are neat tricks as well

[Oldjohnw]

I am both old fashioned and old so I am not very likely to purchase these. But it does interest me: and I try never to say never.

Any first hand experience of electronic gear change, both wired and wireless?

Yes, they are a blessing and a curse. They make it far easier to shift up exiting a corner, or shift down under braking, but they can suffer software glitches, which can leave you stuck in a not ideal gear, that can also happen if the power supply fails. They are quite fun on other people’s bikes though. There’s comedy value to leaning over and up shifting for someone on a climb, and equal
Comedy value in disconnecting their battery at a stop.

I guess it takes all sorts!

[RickH]

There's also comedy value putting a stick in someone's spokes! Maybe it is because of you that most new systems now use an internally mounted battery!

I saw a write-up of an ultra-endurance guy's bike. He was running shimano Di2 1x & had shifters on both sides set so he could do the rear shifting with either hand (& if one broke he would still have working gears). That might be possible with 2x set to auto change the front, but I don't know for sure.

Possible extra coffee stop security with SRAM - put the bike in top gear & remove the battery/batteries from the mech/mechs, taking them into the cafe with you so it is stuck in that gear if someone tries to ride off on it?

[Brucey]

another set of batteries in your life that need to be attended to; do you need that?

I think there is a nice quote from Douglas Adams (in reference to some gadget or other) along the lines that " the feeling of satisfaction you get from getting it to work at all blinds you to the inherent pointlessness of it". Could apply here...?

cheers

[Oldjohnw]

I recently asked on these pages about the inherent excess of bike lights operated via an app on your phone, when a switch on the light was both closer and easier.

It does feel that electronic gear changers fall into the same bin called "Pointless".

But as I say, I'm old and increasingly Luddite.

[Marcus Aurelius]

Custom shifts are great, but totally unnecessary if you’re not racing. E shifts are also handy if you’ve got mobility problems with fingers / wrists. There’s no resistance to work against.

[Marcus Aurelius]

Possible extra coffee stop security with SRAM - put the bike in top gear & remove the battery/batteries from the mech/mechs, taking them into the cafe with you so it is stuck in that gear if someone tries to ride off on it?

I’m pretty sure the bike defaults to a ‘limp’ gear if you disconnect the battery, or the power goes for any reason. Small ring and middle of the cassette, IIRC on Shimano E groupsets.

[thatsnotmyname]

I am both old fashioned and old so I am not very likely to purchase these. But it does interest me: and I try never to say never.

Any first hand experience of electronic gear change, both wired and wireless?

I'm not a luddite, but I've always seen electronic shifting as a solution in search of a problem. Functionally, it performs the exact same operation as a cable operated shifter, the main difference being that the cable shifter will still be functioning long after the battery has expired on the electronic version. Obviously both cable and electronic are prone to different sorts of failure, but on balance I don't see enough of an advantage in switching to electronic. The cost of replacements (if you hit the deck and trash your Di2 or Etap rear mech for instance) can be eye watering, too.

The only useful/practical advantage I can acknowledge that electronic has over cable is the ability to upshift at the front from inner to outer ring under load - something which is generally not possible with a cable system. This would offer a competitive advantage in some circumstances, but if you're not racing then there is none. The other thing to say - about Etap in particular - is that it is remarkably easy and quick to install and set up, from having no cabling/wiring to wrestle with.

[RickH]

I recently asked on these pages about the inherent excess of bike lights operated via an app on your phone, when a switch on the light was both closer and easier.

It does feel that electronic gear changers fall into the same bin called "Pointless".

But as I say, I'm old and increasingly Luddite.

I've not got electronic shifters but one of very few (I think only 1 other - a campag ergo - apart from rare, temporary indexing glitches) gear shifter failures I've experienced was a downtube friction lever that decided to go frictionless & couldn't be tightened further by hand, meaning to ride in any gear apart from top I had to ride one handed holding the shifter. (A longer term temporary fix would have been to adjust the cable to limit the gears to mid block, but it was a briefly borrowed bike so I didn't have to find a better solution at the time.)

As my thumbs (especially), fingers & wrists get stiffer I may consider electronic shifting if mechanical shifting gets too painful. An hour or two is all my thumbs can comfortably take with flat bar shifters these days. With drop bar shifters (currently on SRAM) I can ride almost indefinitely, or at least until my legs give out. I wouldn't want to give up the convenience of the shifters at my fingertips out of choice.

Slightly OT, I can read a map (I can't actually remember not being able to read one going back over 50 years) & use a compass to navigate. I can look at an OS map & mentally visualise what I am likely to see at a given location (probably like folk who can do the same with sheet music who know what it will sound like). But I prefer the freedom of a GPS on my bike so I can get on on with riding & looking at my surroundings rather than figuring out where I am & working out where I have to turn.

[Scunnered]

E shifts are also handy if you’ve got mobility problems with fingers / wrists. There’s no resistance to work against.

Absolutely. One of my friends has mobility issues with her fingers and e-shifters have been a godsend for her. Without them she would not still be cycling. Don't knock them just because you don't need them yourself.

[reohn2]

E shifts are also handy if you’ve got mobility problems with fingers / wrists. There’s no resistance to work against.

Absolutely. One of my friends has mobility issues with her fingers and e-shifters have been a godsend for her. Without them she would not still be cycling. Don't knock them just because you don't need them yourself.

I agree.
That said though many people confuse need with want,I'm thankful for racing developing E shifting,but as I don't need it and it's many potential problems I won't be buying into the system anytime soon thankfully.

[Oldjohnw]

E shifts are also handy if you’ve got mobility problems with fingers / wrists. There’s no resistance to work against.

Absolutely. One of my friends has mobility issues with her fingers and e-shifters have been a godsend for her. Without them she would not still be cycling. Don't knock them just because you don't need them yourself.

A very fair point. But it wouldn't surprise me if the majority of users did not have mobility issues.

[[XAP]Bob]

another set of batteries in your life that need to be attended to; do you need that?

I think there is a nice quote from Douglas Adams (in reference to some gadget or other) along the lines that " the feeling of satisfaction you get from getting it to work at all blinds you to the inherent pointlessness of it". Could apply here...?

cheers

I really don't know why they don't run a teeny tiny generator off the chain or the rear wheel.
Or at least have a 6V AC input option.

[[XAP]Bob]

I recently asked on these pages about the inherent excess of bike lights operated via an app on your phone, when a switch on the light was both closer and easier.

It does feel that electronic gear changers fall into the same bin called "Pointless".

But as I say, I'm old and increasingly Luddite.

Pointless until you need them.

Two cars ago we had keyless entry and ignition, which I thought was fun, but basically a gimmick.
That car eventually died, so we replaced it with a more recent one, slightly larger in the range, but lower spec - no keyless entry, which was disappointing for all of a few weeks.

Then I got ill and became a wheelchair user.

The car got written off by a lorry continuing round a roundabout from the left lane.

The replacement has keyless entry again...

Now it isn't a gimmick, it's amazing. Having to get to the car, open a bag, get the keys out, unlock the car, put the keys back in the back, load the boot, get round to the drivers door, then (inevitably) scrabble for the key again to get that door opened really loses it's appeal.
When mobility requires both hands (either wheelchair propelling or simply using walking poles) then keys are a complete nightmare.