'Leccy gear shifting - BTSS-B or bonkers gimmick?

[simonineaston]

How are we doing on the electric gear shifting front, folks? Anyone got any tales of woe - or are we firmly in Best Thing Since Sliced-Bread territory? I notice with alarm there's a kit from Shimano for their Al-fee-nay hub gear... (review here, dated 2012!)

[tatanab]

Don't care. To me it is just something else that requires charging in this modern age. What happens on tour, half way up Ventoux and unable to change gear.? It is bound to be superseded by something requiring an "App" anyway.

If others want to use it, it is up to them.

[simonineaston]

something requiring an "App" anyway.

- like the Tesla owners who couldn't get in their cars recently !!

[ken66]

One of my bikes has ‘electronic’ di2 shifting. As I have arthritis in my left hand it makes life easier & less painful. It came in handy a few years back when my left hand was heavily bandaged following a mishap when I wouldn’t have coped with the effort needed for a conventional front shifter. On the downside it was a brain teaser several years ago when it had the symptoms of an expired battery which turned to be electronic failure within the battery mount. Needless to say I replaced the battery first. Also both derailleurs are now unobtainable so if one fails both have to be replaced together with the rear wheel (as that is 10sp only). Those parts alone would cost more than the value of the bike!

[willcee]

As many of the car guys are finding it works fairly well in vehicles under 'normal circumstances' for approx 3 years after that its like having a 'grenade motor' it may or not blow up any day or last for another 10 years..which is perhaps liveable with if you are the first owner and have the makers OE 'blanket' warranty , otherwise , just like life... tomorrow is promised to no one.. IMO its the young designers who are driving all these electronics in cars, I agree with the engine & fuel control, as far as safety is concerned none of the major players will stand over their many airbags after 8/10 years, sold as supplementary restraint systems yet the fools who think they know but don't work at the stuff , they set the MOT hurdles, they don't see them as such and a fail if a light appears in the dash..many of the lightly damaged older cars are written off because of SRS issues exploded dashboards etc etc, now i know that many of the expensive DI2 stuff could be binned and a cabled system fitted should the need arise.. just wait on the issues with EV's that will abound in our damp wet climate , what don't electronics like???? damp and they are nearly all inside and on top off a steel floor.. 6 inches from the ground ...w

[nirakaro]

are we firmly in Best Thing Since Sliced-Bread territory?

I've never been too keen on sliced bread either.

[sjs]

something requiring an "App" anyway.

- like the Tesla owners who couldn't get in their cars recently !!

Point of order: they have key cards and owners are advised not to leave them at home

[Jupestar]

I had the alfine Di2 and it was a nice piece of kit. The pure weight let it down quite a lot though. Bought and sold on eBay so cost ‘neutral’ luckily..

Would like to try the SRAM etap, but I have a mortgage to pay.

[st599_uk]

There seems to be many versions of Di2, 5 wire, 4 wire, 2 wire, wireless - all based on a variant of Canbus - none of which speak to each other.

makes future proofing or swapping components hard.

[Redvee]

I made the change to Rival eTap on my Kinesis back in October and impressed with the set-up, I'm riding with flared gravel bars and the shifting can be done with my 'pinky' finger on both levers and I've got it set up in sequential shift mode which means as I cahnge gear the mechs change into the next gear combo which might mean a front mech shift then a rear mech shift. I've had to charge the batteries once since making the change.

[iandusud]

As many of the car guys are finding it works fairly well in vehicles under 'normal circumstances' for approx 3 years after that its like having a 'grenade motor' it may or not blow up any day or last for another 10 years..which is perhaps liveable with if you are the first owner and have the makers OE 'blanket' warranty , otherwise , just like life... tomorrow is promised to no one.. IMO its the young designers who are driving all these electronics in cars, I agree with the engine & fuel control, as far as safety is concerned none of the major players will stand over their many airbags after 8/10 years, sold as supplementary restraint systems yet the fools who think they know but don't work at the stuff , they set the MOT hurdles, they don't see them as such and a fail if a light appears in the dash..many of the lightly damaged older cars are written off because of SRS issues exploded dashboards etc etc, now i know that many of the expensive DI2 stuff could be binned and a cabled system fitted should the need arise.. just wait on the issues with EV's that will abound in our damp wet climate , what don't electronics like???? damp and they are nearly all inside and on top off a steel floor.. 6 inches from the ground ...w

I think your analogy is a good one. I no longer own a car but when I did I always did my own repairs and servicing where I could, including engine rebuilds. I was continually frustrated by modern cars which, although generally very reliable, when they go wrong are often difficult to diagnose (even ofr garages) and expensive and expensive to repair.

I'm sure that an electronic shifting system can work beautifully and be a nice thing on a fancy day bike but I wouldn't want to wander far from home on such a bike. In fact I wouldn't want hydraulic brakes on my bikes for the same reason. I like to be able to fix anything that can wrong within reason when out on the road, particularly when touring.

[Slowtwitch]

Have eTap on my touring bike. I've long since ditched Shimano in favour of Sram (it just works better, and I've had zero mechanical problems in nearly ten years now, across 4 bikes).

eTap is a very solid platform, great effortless shifting, especially good if you have small hands or arthritis, and like above you can get months between charging. Compared to Di2 (which I've also dabbled with) its night and day. The initial outlay is a pill to swallow, but I got mine on a second hand bike which had literally covered 500 miles so that was a bonus. Setting up is a breeze, no cables, it's like pairing a mobile phone.

Its like anything else new that rolls out in cycling, disc brakes for example. They were poo-pooed by many and now I wouldn't be without them. Nearly every road bike being sold in the shops this year had then, or available as an option. The humble bicycle will be in time electrified and computerised. Its progress, Jim! Ain't no stopping it.

[Jupestar]

Have eTap on my touring bike. I've long since ditched Shimano in favour of Sram (it just works better, and I've had zero mechanical problems in nearly ten years now, across 4 bikes).

So your on a 2x. is that 11s 12s? - I've been tempted for ages with a TT set and blip box. But realistically it a change to 12s and therefore new hubs/wheels as well.

[Slowtwitch]

Have eTap on my touring bike. I've long since ditched Shimano in favour of Sram (it just works better, and I've had zero mechanical problems in nearly ten years now, across 4 bikes).

So your on a 2x. is that 11s 12s? - I've been tempted for ages with a TT set and blip box. But realistically it a change to 12s and therefore new hubs/wheels as well.

Its a 2x11, the shifting is precise and effortless, I've not touched it since I set it up 18 months ago. The wireless set up takes about 3 minutes to pair everything and that's it. No fiddling with cables or batteries, or routing about with magnets in internal tubing, or any faffing at all. It's definitely the future of gear shifting. Imo it leaves shimano and Campagnolo in the dust. The blip box is really nice piece of kit. But I prefer traditional levers.
The 11 speed etap is selling for around a £1100 if you can still find one. Which means you can keep your wheels.

The 12 speed Rival disc is the one I would go for if buying new. It's available for around a Grand.

[freiston]

I voted "wouldn't touch it . . ." though I have to say I was between that and "ambivalent".

I have absolutely no desire to try it let alone have it. From what I gather, like any system, they're wonderful when they work, not so good when they don't. Cables are cheap and easy, don't require charging and are within most people's ability to fix at the roadside - whether that is an unlikely scenario or not.

I heard of a friend of my nephew who's bike was out of commission for 5 days because he needed a firmware update (or something of that ilk). I can't remember what precipitated this - whether it was a change of component, a developed fault or what.

For me, it is something that offers no significant benefit, adds cost, introduces further compatibility issues and reduces my ability to fix it if something goes wrong, adding complications like needing a computer hooked up to it.

Disclosure: I have a 3x9 bar-end friction-shifting system, don't race, don't chase Strava segments; I rely on my bike for transport and have a very limited budget.