Dirvetrain preference : Mechanical vs electronic

[mortirolo]

I'll be ordering a custom steel frame some time this year (i.e. when I can actually work out what I want), built up with a bunch of WW-approved bits and pieces.

It'll be fitted with a mechanical group set.

Why? I get there are many good reasons to go with electronic, but here's the thing...

I spend everyday in front of my Mac for work. I carry an iPhone everywhere. My kids (although their screen time is limited and vetted) have an iPad, Amazon Fires, a Nintendo DS and a Kano between them. We actually only recently got a TV, but, well, now we have one. We're pretty far from being a family consumed and overrun by technology (none of our kids have phones, and we don't have gaming consoles), but nevertheless, technology has a palpable presence in our household.

So when I get out on the bike, the last thing I want to do is to be interacting with electronics. If I'm going less than an hour from home, I don't even take my phone. For me, there's something really pure about changing gear and interacting with a bike mechanically. For a simple machine, it brings me an incredible amount of joy.

So no to electronic shifting for now. I say this as someone who recently purchased Valiska's On Pause on Bandcamp and ordered the vinyl edition. It did come with a free high-res download, but that was a bonus.

Best,

853guy

End of the story.

[mortirolo]

Bicycle is human powered vehicle.
Bicycle with mechanical shifting is human powered vehicle.
Bicycle with hydraulic shifting (ROTOR UNO) is human powered vehicle.
Bicycle with electronic shifting (EPS, Di2, ETAP) isn't full human powered vehicle.
If You use a drivetrain generator for supply accu, that maybe OK, but with outside energy...

[none]

I have used Di2, eTap, Mektronic, Zap, STi, Ergo, friction shifting.
I think mechanical will always have its marketshare in the bike industry.
Electronic shifting will hopefully continue to improve and go to wireless for all electronic shifting groups.
GSN just posted a video of Taipei bike show yesterday, segment that show a conversion equipment to allow mechanical shifting to be converted to wireless electronic shifting. That was interesting to see.

[kgt]

I am for "bicycle is and should always be a human powered vehicle".
It's not that I don't like the cool factor of a modern electric groupset but after all these threads with e-groupset failures in our forum I would never buy one.

[Dan Gerous]

I thought I didn't care about electronic and that the risk of problems not being as easy to fix, especially on the side of the road, would be a big downside... then got a Di2 bike for a price I could not refuse, and after a while, going back to mechanical was never pleasant. I can't say I ever liked how long the throw of Shimano mechanical shifting levers was but it became even worse after the small effortless movements needed with Di2... and SRAM Double Tap felt so rough and wrong after that, I feel like something is breaking everytime I shift now... And regarding reliability, both eTAP and Di2 have been flawless after a few years.

Basically, I still think electronic is an un-needed luxury, shifts are not really faster or better in the rear, shifting to the big ring is a tad better than mechanical... but it is very nice to have and you become spoiled once you use it. My cross bike is Force CX1 and boy does it feel cheap to shift now that I mostly use eTAP and Di2! But if money/budget is limited, I would rather put a certain amount to have a nicer wheelset, lighter bike than paying the premium for electronic and make concessions elsewhere.

Now my main two bikes are SRAM eTAP and Dura-Ace Di2, and I prefer eTAP, just because I prefer the simpler, more intuitive shifting logic of the levers and the paddles have a much better feel and feedback than Di2...

[TobinHatesYou]

I have used Di2, eTap, Mektronic, Zap, STi, Ergo, friction shifting.
I think mechanical will always have its marketshare in the bike industry.
Electronic shifting will hopefully continue to improve and go to wireless for all electronic shifting groups.
GSN just posted a video of Taipei bike show yesterday, segment that show a conversion equipment to allow mechanical shifting to be converted to wireless electronic shifting. That was interesting to see.

That wireless conversion kit has been shown off for like 3 years.

[AJS914]

I have nothing against electronic shifting. I'd try it if it was given to me. My concerns are basically:

Can't see that it's worth the extra money for a debateable performance improvement plus some down sides.

Electronic parts aren't going to last 10-15+ years

I see no repair avenue for out of warranty electronic derailleurs
(If a $700 electronic rear derailleur dies after some years, it shouldn't just become trash. There should be an easy repair/exchange service.)

I have four bikes - some which I only ride during certain seasons. I wouldn't want the chore of maintaining all these batteries and making sure they are always plugged in and ready to ride after sitting in the garage for a few months.

That said, the biggest benefit I see is that if you were building a bike with an integrated cockpit then electronic or better yet wireless would be the easier way to go instead of trying to make mechanical cables make all of those bends and still shift nicely.

[Calnago]

I have nothing against electronic shifting. I'd try it if it was given to me.

If mechanical cost more than electric, I’d gladly pay the extra for it.

[nickf]

All my bikes are mechanical and will stay that way for as long as I can. I like knowing that I can just grab my bikes and go for a ride without ever thinking about a battery to charge. Easy to service while traveling also, every shop has derailleur cables in stock. I agree with AJS914 about the integration aspect. It does look clean but in the end, removing a couple of cables from the wind isn't making anyone faster.

[Js2]

I vote for mechanical all the way. At work I'm already bombarded with electronics, I don't even wear fitness tracker except for my wahoo heart rate monitor and power meter on the bike. But if those run out of battery I can still happily ride.

Maybe you can do Di2 for your race bike / really modern aero bike and full mechanical for your steel bike. N+1 FTW

[RedbullFiXX]

I like both
Sram etap is slick and clean, pinky finger shifts all day drops or tops
Force 1x is burly, and hard to beat for it's intended use
That new Shimano DuraAce mech is just so smooth & efortless, we are truly spoiled for options

[wheelsONfire]

Well, if you try electronic i would be baffled if you didn't like it. I don't say it's the best, it's subjective.
Part from that, i like Etap. When it's set/ tuned it's really nice on a road bike.
I don't know what competing race guys would go for, but for my use, i love Etap.
The "new" AXS however, is darn expensive.
Luckily i'm happy on my 11 (22) speed bikes.
Not even on my mind to swap Etap for any other groupset on my last build.

[3Pio]

Definetely Mechanical... Somehow i feel the gear better, i have a synergy with bike.. With electronic groupset feel is a bit artificial.. Also prefer simple good working things, and cant see why should i buy electronic at all...

[Senna993]

I’ve owned EPS and Di2 both of my current bikes are mechanical. I concur, yet another electronic device to plug into the wall, yet another battery to lug around.
No thanks.

[morrisond]

I’ve owned EPS and Di2 both of my current bikes are mechanical. I concur, yet another electronic device to plug into the wall, yet another battery to lug around.
No thanks.

Me too - been there done that. It's just one more thing to charge.

Stuff that needs to be charged before I go out:

Phone
Garmin
Light(s)

I don't want to add anything else to that.

However I would be all over If someone was to build a really hightech lightweight low drag dynamo to charge up everything. That would be great

And no a SON SL generator hub is not nearly light enough.