What are the advantages of electronic gears?

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Kaboom
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by Kaboom

C'mon guys this is weight weenies.

The only legitimate reason that should matter here is that for the time being, electronic is still heavier than mechanical. As far as i'm concerned, that's reason enough to stay mechanical.

Also, I enjoy the feeling of pulling an releasing my own cables, specially in Sram Red. It has a nice mechanical feedback to it that makes me feel I'm more "at one" with what's going on.

But screw that, the day electronic becomes 50g lighter than mech, it's bye-bye cables for me!

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IrrelevantD
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by IrrelevantD

wilwil wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:53 pm
I feel I should try them but can't think of a reason other than keeping up with the times. Are there any good reasons to make my bike battery dependent? My LBS said they great for when you get tired. mmm.
I switched to Di2 a little over a year ago, I'm having trouble thinking of a reason not to convert over my other bikes (aside from I don't have the money right now). Easier to work on, easier to setup, 10,000 miles without having to adjust trim or replace cables, worry about gunked up housings, frayed cables inside the shifters, barrel adjusters, really long throws when shifting with 5800/6800 shifters. No fiddling with barrel adjusters due to temperature changes, more crisp and instant shifts, being able to shift from the drops without moving my fingers to the brake levers, being able to shift from the tops without moving my hands to the hoods...

Downside... gotta charge the battery every few months.
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morganb
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Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2017 5:30 pm

by morganb

Kaboom wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 5:19 pm
C'mon guys this is weight weenies.

The only legitimate reason that should matter here is that for the time being, electronic is still heavier than mechanical. As far as i'm concerned, that's reason enough to stay mechanical.

Also, I enjoy the feeling of pulling an releasing my own cables, specially in Sram Red. It has a nice mechanical feedback to it that makes me feel I'm more "at one" with what's going on.

But screw that, the day electronic becomes 50g lighter than mech, it's bye-bye cables for me!
My Tarmac lost weight going from 9000 to 9070, it really depends on the bike and the cable routing and such. I remember someone posting that their ViAS was a wash with eTap versus mech Red due to the amount of housing required.

bilwit
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by bilwit

morganb wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 5:56 pm
Kaboom wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 5:19 pm
C'mon guys this is weight weenies.

The only legitimate reason that should matter here is that for the time being, electronic is still heavier than mechanical. As far as i'm concerned, that's reason enough to stay mechanical.

Also, I enjoy the feeling of pulling an releasing my own cables, specially in Sram Red. It has a nice mechanical feedback to it that makes me feel I'm more "at one" with what's going on.

But screw that, the day electronic becomes 50g lighter than mech, it's bye-bye cables for me!
My Tarmac lost weight going from 9000 to 9070, it really depends on the bike and the cable routing and such. I remember someone posting that their ViAS was a wash with eTap versus mech Red due to the amount of housing required.
Exactly this, all the weights I've seen are more or less the same because of all the extra housing needed for mechanical. I've never ridden electronic and have been opting for mechanical for new bikes but if I'm honest, the cost is the only downside. Nothing more of a pain in the ass to have to recable an internal routed frame.. and then there's the degrading shifting/indexing and having to adjust all that to begin with.

bm0p700f
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by bm0p700f

I have been using Campagnolo ePS (record) for the last few weeks and it sure is nice to use. Then again the mechanical version is nice to use as well but the EPS just requires slight taps on the paddle or thumb shifter to get it to work. more pressure/hold it for longer and you get more shifts that you may want. Once you have you'll like it but you may not think I never buy mechanical shifting again, you wont but its still nice. For some frames with awkward cable routing it also makes sense as awkward routing with cables is a pain.

fromtrektocolnago
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by fromtrektocolnago

was on a trip with support. one of the members was on a new bike with di2. a connector got loose and nobody could figure it out for several hours. you can laugh at this but this stuff happens on electronic more than it does on mechanical
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Vagabond
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by Vagabond

dgasmd wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 4:01 pm
fromtrektocolnago wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 3:15 pm
i change my rear derailleur cable ever 2500 miles after having several snap on me. i look at this as the equivalent of charging a batter
Seriously? That seems excessively frequent. I have a 10 sp Campy Record bike with the same cable set from 2007 and over 70K miles on it. Shifts crisp and nicely as always. My other bike, have the original campy cable as well with now over 40K miles and no issues.

I suspect there is something else causing your cables to snap and would concentrate my time on finding that instead. :noidea:
I was thinking the same thing. I raced many years when younger and now ride lots still for health and sanity. I’ve never had a cable break. I swap out once a year only. I don’t see the point in doing it any more than that. I’ve ridden only Campy since my second year or so of getting into serious cycling. Perhaps their product is the difference? As to the topic at hand, wireless shifting would obviously benefit one who breaks cables.
Last edited by Vagabond on Mon Feb 12, 2018 8:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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MyM3Coupe
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Joined: Thu Nov 24, 2016 10:32 pm

by MyM3Coupe

coriordan wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 3:29 pm
Dura Ace always looks so amazing, . . .
Except for the hideously oversized lower derailleur.

stormur
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by stormur

morganb wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:59 pm
Di2 is noticeably quicker than mechanical.
Good joke :mrgreen:
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ms6073
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by ms6073

Juanmoretime wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 9:51 pm
Started on Shimano in the late 80's and then to Campy when 10speed came out.
Started on Campy in the early 80's when I rode for teams that provided Campy equipped bikes to race on, then in the late 90's, started riding on Shimano because I was paying for the bikes I was racing on. :lol:
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spartan
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by spartan

dude di2 is lighter than mech dura ace. please google the real weight of the two groups.
Current Rides:

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ex 2019 S-works SL6
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Cemicar
Posts: 472
Joined: Mon Aug 21, 2017 7:40 am

by Cemicar

Kaboom wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 5:19 pm
C'mon guys this is weight weenies.

The only legitimate reason that should matter here is that for the time being, electronic is still heavier than mechanical. As far as i'm concerned, that's reason enough to stay mechanical.
I suspect it's no longer the case, at least with Di2. Even with all other stuff such as battery, junction and cables which are miles lighter than the wires and housings, I believe 9150 is supposed to be lighter than 9100.

If we're talking about Campy or Red, yeah, mechanical groupsets should be still lighter.

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IrrelevantD
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by IrrelevantD

fromtrektocolnago wrote:
Mon Feb 12, 2018 8:07 pm
was on a trip with support. one of the members was on a new bike with di2. a connector got loose and nobody could figure it out for several hours. you can laugh at this but this stuff happens on electronic more than it does on mechanical
Well, I've had more shift cables fray inside the shifter than I've had e-tube cables come lose. Not even sure how that would happen if it was properly plugged in. I'm guessing whomever did the assembly didn't push in the connector until it snapped in place. This is the first time I've heard of an e-tube cable coming lose, but I hear about snapped/stretched/frayed cable issues, or in general issues with mechanical shifting all the time. Just browse through some of the mechanics forums.
* There is a 70% chance that what you have just read has a peppering of cynicism or sarcasm and generally should not be taken seriously.
I'll leave it up to you to figure out the other 30%. If you are in any way offended, that's on you.

AJS914
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by AJS914

Cable fray / cable breakage is primarily a Shimano issue. I've never broken a Campy cable in 35 years of riding.

fromtrektocolnago
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by fromtrektocolnago

AJS914 wrote:
Tue Feb 13, 2018 8:32 pm
Cable fray / cable breakage is primarily a Shimano issue. I've never broken a Campy cable in 35 years of riding.
this is true
Colnago C-59 (Dura Ace)
Firefly(Ultegra)
Colnago C-64 disc(ultegra) with Bora 35 wheels

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