Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jessica on February 18, 2009 at 8:18am

As a bike mechanic, and as someone who has already had more experience than I'd like with the Trek Lime, I'm going to say...

Yuck.

:(

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Permalink Reply by heather s on February 18, 2009 at 8:29am

"Bob Stapleton, the owner and general manager of Columbia, said many of his riders had doubts about using bicycles that could literally run out of power. The Di2 system has no manual override if its battery goes dead. That event can be an irritation or a disaster, depending on the terrain and what gear ratio the bike is stuck in. Shimano estimates the battery will last for about 1,000 miles per charge."

Nothing happens when the battery runs out. That's only one of the reasons why this is a dumb idea.

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Permalink Reply by Homebuilt on February 18, 2009 at 8:55am

Well, pro racers will just change the battery every day, and I doubt they'll get recycled. And who else will be buying these anyway.

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Permalink Reply by S on February 18, 2009 at 9:09am

The shimano system has rechargeable batteries so I'm guessing the pros will have two or three sets and swap them out/recharge them each day.

I figure the electronic shifters will go to the same people getting the 11 speed super record sets. Basically people willing to drop 14,000-25000 on a bike. Electronic shifting does look like it has some benefits, e.g. shifting the front under while pedaling, allowing derailleur cables to be replaced with smaller, sealed cables that can be routed more easily, cleaner shifts and being able to use more cog combinations. Still not many people are going to be spending money for it until it comes down to 105 or ultegra price levels.

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Permalink Reply by Anne on February 18, 2009 at 9:12am

Double yuck! Limes are Lemons!
Mavic came out with electronic shifting back in the 90's, and it didn't work then either!

Jessica said:

As a bike mechanic, and as someone who has already had more experience than I'd like with the Trek Lime, I'm going to say...

Yuck.

:(

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Permalink Reply by Ray on February 18, 2009 at 9:22am

Can you say MAVIC ZAP?! IIt didn't work back then, and I wouldn't trust it now UNLESS there was an override when the battery fails.

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Permalink Reply by Jon on February 18, 2009 at 10:13am

Man, the dentists are going to love this.

I mean, really, is it that hard to do manually?

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Permalink Reply by S on February 18, 2009 at 10:32am

Jon said:

Man, the dentists are going to love this.

I mean, really, is it that hard to do manually?

I think it's primarily a speed advantage thing although not having to worry about adjusting your trim is nice. Although the one place where it makes a lot of sense is on TT and triathlon bikes. With this you could shift on the aerobars and on the bullhorns. In general, it'll probably trickle down over time. As a comparison, F1 cars have had electronic and (semi-)automated shifting for a couple years and some of those systems are starting to show up in consumer cars.

I think the doctors, lawyers, and finance people still in the biz are also going to love this.

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Permalink Reply by Ali on February 18, 2009 at 4:43pm

Actually, I have been following the Shimano and Campagnolo Electronic Sifting Systems for a while...Campy has been secretly testing and improving theirs since 2003, and the rumor is that they are not too far away from placing it into production. Shimano has been testing their systems on pro bikes for over a year and it has been common knowledge that it was going to be relased sometime in 2009 for awhile.

In my opinion this is simply the way of the future for most people, the advantages of the system vastly outweighs its drawbacks, apart from the price. These systems are vastly superior to their predecessors from Mavic, and simply are not even in the same ballpark as Shimano's Nexus.

-Ali

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