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Took a road bike with electronic shifting out for a long test ride.


RJM

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Last night I took a new Trek Domane 5.9 out for a long test ride from the shop that actually likes me...there's very few that do. It was sweet. Perty color too.  

 

I decided to test out the shifting under loads a few times and took off on a hill shifting down as I needed and the bike performed great, even while standing up. Then, I did a few sprint interval thingys...giving it my all and shifting up to higher and higher gears. The shifting didn't fail me. Quite a bit of awesome. I'm not sure if the cost difference is for me, but I can see the advantages for some riders. 

 

That is all. 

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As a confirmed retro grouch,I was not enthused about the idea. One of the things I like most about wrenching on bicycles is that they, unlike almost everything else in the mechanical world have remained low tech. Until now.

 A couple of years ago, I worked part time in a local high end road bike shop, and got some exposure to them.

Gotta admit, they work pretty slick, but I don't see one in my future.

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I've never tried electronic shifting but would like to see what it's about. Over the last 30 years I've never had any mechanical issues or cables breaking. To me this system is tops, so I'll be sticking w/ tried and true conventional for a long time (unless I'm forced to switch). Far as fixing goes. As aforementioned, I never had to fix anything w/ the exception of cable replacement every several years. I'm not a fan of little servo motors and battery packs. I would say the deraileurs would be replaced, not fixed. But I could be wrong. Also, I don't want to forget to charge the system and be be stuck in one gear for 40 miles on a hilly ride.

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I'm not a huge fan of Di2, even though it works incredibly well. From what I've seen most of the Di2 buyers are 40-60 year old men that are fairly new to road cycling, ride twice a week when the weather is nice, have a fairly large disposable income, and never work on their on bike.

Sounds perfect.  But I won't downgrading anytime soon.

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I've never tried electronic shifting but would like to see what it's about. Over the last 30 years I've never had any mechanical issues or cables breaking. To me this system is tops, so I'll be sticking w/ tried and true conventional for a long time (unless I'm forced to switch). Far as fixing goes. As aforementioned, I never had to fix anything w/ the exception of cable replacement every several years. I'm not a fan of little servo motors and battery packs. I would say the deraileurs would be replaced, not fixed. But I could be wrong. Also, I don't want to forget to charge the system and be be stuck in one gear for 40 miles on a hilly ride.

My SRAM RED came with Gore sealed cables.  I haven't had to change them in years, and they still shift well.

When I do eventually have to replace them, I know what cables I'll use.

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My SRAM RED came with Gore sealed cables.  I haven't had to change them in years, and they still shift well.

When I do eventually have to replace them, I know what cables I'll use.

As you know I'm no fan of SRAM, but you made an excellent point. 

Mechanical shifting is so smooth on modern group sets with coated cables, that I see no reason to go to electronic shifting. 

On TT bikes it is an advantage, but for most road cyclists it's completely unnecessary.  

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