SRAM goes electric....(almost official) Has Landed

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apeescape56
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2014 5:08 am

by apeescape56

I honestly think going wireless is fixing a problem that wasn't there. I just see this adding complexity and causing issues down the road. Aren't wired networks and devices more reliable than wireless? And multiple batteries to charge and remove instead of one plug? They still haven't addressed their terrible pulley cage design. I have seen too many of those fail. They need to move the load of the upper pulley off of the pulley attachment bolt.

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SLCBrandon
Posts: 709
Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:52 am

by SLCBrandon

Haha people hate everything on this site.

I will be one of the very first to get this group. I have DA Di2, 3 Red Bikes and a 2013 Campy 11spd group on a new project. Red is my go to and fav of all. I honestly hate Di2. Not a fan of electronic because of Di2 but everything is going that way and I love double tap so I'll eagerly give it a shot.

Err...."BOO!" I mean.

kauphy
Posts: 75
Joined: Mon Jul 08, 2013 3:38 am

by kauphy

BeeSeeBee wrote:The shifting design still sounds like one of the worst possible methods I can imagine, no thanks. The only thing I think could save it is sequential shifting out of the box.

I'm sceptical too. At least they must provide sequential shifting an an option if not by default.

I also hope Shimano comes out with their wireless version soon.

mrlobber
Posts: 1928
Joined: Sat Oct 23, 2010 9:36 am
Location: Where the permanent autumn is

by mrlobber

I don't really care about wireless on road bikes - any internal DI2 installation (even self drilled for older frames) basically has only one wire going into the frame, and the junction hanging around the stem area - not much of an added complexity.

However, for TT bikes... totally awesome. No need for exotic proprietary front end designs to hide the wires coming from extensions and basebar shifters... but unfortunately, we're talking about SRAM road wireless here :D
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maquisard
Posts: 3772
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 8:51 pm
Location: France

by maquisard

apeescape56 wrote:And multiple batteries to charge and remove instead of one plug?


This is the major downside of a wireless design. The need for multiple small batteries that will require regular charging. With a central battery like in Di2 and EPS the battery can be of larger capacity and better sealed. Putting the battery in the derailleurs and shifters also means that, especially in the case of the derailleurs, the battery is in a much harsher environment.

I guess it will look cool though!

bfno
Posts: 279
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2014 2:09 am

by bfno

I would say that their would only be two major batteries (on either derailleur) as the transmitters (the shifters) would only need one of those little coin batteries and be replaced annually I would say as the transmitters would only need power occasionally unlike the receivers. IMHO two batteries is a small price to pay for the elegance of a wireless system. Depending on the reliability of the shifting, I think this will be a very good group and it will definitely be on my next bike.

Hopefully an inter bike real ease this year!
Venge | Shiv TT | Langster | Dogma 60.1 | CruX | Aeroad CF SLX (WIP)

TimmS
Posts: 424
Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:46 pm
Location: Amsterdam

by TimmS

Image

What would this thing be useful for?
Looks like a cable tensioner to me...

Permon
Posts: 637
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:52 am

by Permon

It is a screw to stop the RD coming to the spokes when shifting to the largest cog. :wink:

TimmS
Posts: 424
Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:46 pm
Location: Amsterdam

by TimmS

@Permon, missed that, seems you are right.

But still, why is it so much bigger than the other limit screw?
So we can tune it? :twisted:

Image

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kman
Posts: 1117
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:51 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

by kman

This sounds pretty cool to me.
I appreciate all the concerns about teething problems, especially after the hydro road debarcle. Maybe that means they can't afford to release anything that's not properly sorted? If they do, surely it will cause massive brand damage.

I agree that the transmitter batteries would be tiny, I don't see this as an issue.

Hidden cables is cool, no cables will just look awesome.
Let's hope it works!
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kman
Posts: 1117
Joined: Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:51 am
Location: Sydney, Australia

by kman

This sounds pretty cool to me.
I appreciate all the concerns about teething problems, especially after the hydro road debarcle. Maybe that means they can't afford to release anything that's not properly sorted? If they do, surely it will cause massive brand damage.

I agree that the transmitter batteries would be tiny, I don't see this as an issue.

Hidden cables is cool, no cables will just look awesome.
Let's hope it works!
You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline. It helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.
-- Frank Zappa

nameless
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat Aug 16, 2014 8:40 pm

by nameless

I like the idea of wireless shifting, it makes for much cleaner design. Now, if they could figure out how to do wireless braking ... hmm ... Yes, you get two (three?) batteries instead of one, but ones inside the levers should be extremely long-lasting, only the one that powers derailleurs would need regular recharging.

On the other hand, getting good battery life from the main system is harder with wireless config than with wired config. The system spends 99% of the time in deep sleep state, waiting to be woken up by an input from the levers. You need less power to wait for a short in a physical circuit, than to wait for a predetermined signal amid noisy air waves (I'd assume that you need to keep the RF amplifier circuit powered up 24/7?) We'll see how they deal with it.

FCC part 15 statement about accepting interference basically means that you're on the bottom of the food chain among the users of RF spectrum. You can't create interference and you can't complain if someone else higher up the food chain (e.g. commercial radio station) creates interference for you.

davidalone
Posts: 622
Joined: Fri Feb 10, 2012 4:27 pm

by davidalone

nameless wrote:I like the idea of wireless shifting, it makes for much cleaner design. Now, if they could figure out how to do wireless braking ... hmm ... Yes, you get two (three?) batteries instead of one, but ones inside the levers should be extremely long-lasting, only the one that powers derailleurs would need regular recharging.


are you kidding me. No one in their right mind wants wireless braking, let alone electronic. if something goes wrong with your wireless electronic shifting ( or electronic shifting) the worst that happens is you're stuck in the wrong gear and have a long ride to the nearest bike shop or a long ride home.

If something goes wrong with your electronic brakes the worst that could happen is you end up dead. I would hate to have electronic brakes fail on me on a WET, RAINY day. How would you come to a safe stop if your brakes ran out of juice mid-ride? the technology exists, to do it, sure, but here it's a case of needlessly complicating a system. the more layers of technology you add on top of a system, the more things can go wrong. hydraulic and mech braking are dead reliable and can survive nigh anything. not so electronic systems. there's a reason why things like cars and aeroplanes still use hydraulics for critical systems, like brakes, if not for the primary system then at least as backup. I'm not sure electronic brakes would even be an advantage. for that you'd need a motor for each brake which would definitely be heavier than a mech cable or hydraulics. sure you could implement things like anti-lock... but really? do you need anti-lock on a road bike?

morrisond
Posts: 1325
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 8:34 pm

by morrisond

We won't need Wireless braking.

I think over the next few years we will see Bike Makers get progressively better at hiding hydraulic lines which can easily do 90 degree turns using the right fittings. It shouldn't be that hard for someone to build an Integrated Bar stem that has the hydraulic lines running internally right into the steerer and then out the back of the Steerer into the DT for the rear brake and down the steerer into the fork leg for the front brake.

The only tough thing is how to get the lines from the bar/stem into the Steerer and still be able to cut the steerer to length - however I just though of a great way to do it :D

It will require a custom fork as well - but that's not too hard - there is lots of room inside a steerer for two hydraulic lines.

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Guerdi
Posts: 407
Joined: Mon Jan 15, 2007 5:27 pm
Location: Switzerland

by Guerdi

SLCBrandon wrote:Haha people hate everything on this site.

[...]

I honestly hate Di2.


:?:

by Weenie


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