- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Cross country mountain bikes
- Tubeless valves
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
forum
Mech vs electronic Gearsets
We have had the debate with callipers vs discs but in this debate is there really any debate ?
GCN have just published a vid from Dubai which shows 90% of the pro's are now on electronics and if not for the cost I would imagine most of us amateurs would be as well. Since going to EPS and comparing it to the mech of chorus (ok got record EPS so difficult to quite compare like to like) then the difference in shifting is light years.
Is there anyone who would not want to use electronic (be it EPS, DI2 ) over mech if we ignore the cost of it ?
If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.
Latest Forum Topics
Latest Comments
- thax1 3 hours 26 min ago
I guess we can take some solace that, a year on, it's down to 'only' £7,999....
- Rendel Harris 4 hours 19 min ago
Need to take your daughter and her very expensive instrument to her lesson with the best cello teacher in Kent?
- David9694 5 hours 39 min ago
Driver and passenger flee after smashing parked car into wall in Cheltenham...
- David9694 5 hours 44 min ago
Of course, to get a tougher sentence, you have to first secure a conviction:...
- ktache 6 hours 21 min ago
Timbuk2 seem obsessed by them, my tool roll has one and so does my apron. Their new courier bag adjustment buckle can be used as one, but it's ali...
- Blackthorne 6 hours 42 min ago
Entertaining read! I would also add that soupplesse is also a function of body mass. imagine an 80kg Contador 'dancing' up Mont ventoux!
- quiff 6 hours 51 min ago
Another oddity is that in the opposite direction it appears to be a bus and bike lane. If the timings are tight, I can imagine that crossing being...
- ubercurmudgeon 7 hours 2 min ago
If recent corporate trends are anything to go by, they'll be putting up price rises for customers and laying-off staff soon. Because if N billion...
- the little onion 7 hours 17 min ago
Because I like to keep people updated. I had a very helpful chat with CyclingUK today. Can't say too much, but I still firmly believe that they,...
Add new comment
73 comments
i think the intro text misses a big point: aren't electronic shifters still heavier than mechanical? that's not an issue if your bike is under the UCI limit (i.e. you're a pro, and you have to make the bike heavier somehow) but is an issue for all non-pros.
marginally heavier but for most of us that will not matter. What I love is that simply they shift so much easier and the difference in costs between electronic and mech esp at top end bikes is now marginal.
As pointed out, the difference in the groupset weight is marginal and, even if noticeable (i'd like to see someone try and test that), should be balanced against the benefits - e.g. shift quality under load, self-trimming, lack of cable maintenance. You pay for that, and there is an increased complexity, but that's your choice.
On the electronic groupo, some parts will be heavier (e.g. front mech), some lighter (e.g. shifters, since you mention them, significantly so on Shimano Di2) and some only exist on one or the other (e.g. battery, control box). If you're that worried about it though, you're probably missing the point and might want to stick with mechanical as you'll save a decent chunk of money and can imagine you're much faster without hauling all that extra mass around.
All getting a little bit gear fetish for me. As someone once suggested, it's not about the bike.
The more you ride, the more you will get your arse handed to you on a plate by people who don't have the latest kit but do have the enthusiasm and work ethic needed to be a good cyclist.
Quibbling over inconsequential gear variations is fishwifery.
I've had Di2 Ultegra 6770 for about 8months and initially I loved it. Couldn't praise it enough.
Now I have a bitter taste in my mouth, as above post, the battery holder stopped working rendering 'a bicycle' useless!
As it's out of warranty, Shimano want stupid money for a small but fundamental component.
I'll be fixing it eventually, then selling it. Going back to mechanical.
I just like not having any assistance. I'm happy to change up and down using old-fashioned cables, and I can fix them away from home if needs must.
And thinking of the long term, there's such a short lifetime before obsolescence with electronic things. To bring my 40-year old bike back into service all I needed was new cables, tyres & tubes, and a bit of grease in the bearings. How easy will that be in future?
I've gone back to mechanical.
Took my di2 bike to a race recently, signed on only to find it wouldn't shift. No lights, dead. Turned out to be a broken battery mount.
I'll still run di2 on my cruising along bike but the race steed will be mechanical as, if di2 goes wrong, you can't really fix it in a hurry.
I've just got a new bike with Di2 - and still getting my head around it. It does seen good, but it's definitely a luxury, and no huge advance on my 6700 ultegra. I'm not sure it shifts much quicker or better than a mechanical shifter, and so far I have not noticed that I change gear a lot more. It does seem like it may be easier shifting under power up hill. I have not had a problem getting to grips with it in big gloves, which I had heard was a problem.
Advantages as I see them are (hopefully) never having to replace cables; not having to adjust cables; having Sprint/tt shifters. Programming your shifts may be an advantage to some, but not me.
Disadvantages are that the battery needs charging; it's expensive to replace any parts; I suspect it may become obsolete before mechanical go upsets, and parts will be harder to get hold of.
No idea how robust it may be. I've come off a few times on the old bike, and though the ultegra mech and shifters bear the scars it still works beautifully! It's still possible to crunch your changes with
I write this with the proviso I have only ridden it 3 time so far, so I may feel totally differently after I've been using it for 6 months!
I've done probably 40 custom builds on di2 and lots of repair/diagnostics work over the past few years, after getting training from shimano on di2 and buying my own diagnostics kit at cost during the training.
Its a neat system for sure, especially when you experiment with setup, shift speed, multi shift. The modular design is clever when you start looking at shifters button, climbing buttons, bar end shifters.
Personally? I just don't like the feel of the switches, I prefer the more tactile feel of the mechanical 6800 on my bike.
With shimano Teflon cabling its got a very easy shift action, even on the front mech, and its been maintainence free in terms of the cabling. Indexing has not needed adjustment since bike was setup and run in.
Drive train still needs cleaning as would be the case with di2.
Since the Di2 charges via a USB port I guess you could use a power pack (as for topping up your phone battery) to give it a boost, if you were stuck.
That's my point exactly, it means nothing and is purely anecdotal.
I think Di2 etc is like having a velvet lining to your underpants. Nice, but not entirely necessary, a luxury of sort, but then so is having Ultegra over 105, or Dura Ace over Ultegra. If I had the money then I would get it for sure.....if you have them I am pleased for you.
As it is I have to chuckle to myself as my commuter bike is a 1992 Kona Fire Mountain and my top loaded thumb shifters are epically vintage. My other bike has Ultegra, but for what it is worth electronical shifting would make me faster, but so would skinny tires. Still doesn't stop me from taking most out on their bikes.
There just seems something inherently wrong in plugging a pushbike into the mains to charge it.
I am luddite, hear me drag knuckles on ground.
thats me with Disc brakes !
Sounds like someone has really tried to justify electronic gears to themselves!
FWIW the guys who won the last 3 races I entered were all on 10 Speed 105.
And the guy dead last, Dura Ace Di2 11 Speed...
IW = Nothing
He didn't say that if you have Di2 it is guaranteed to make you faster than everybody without it.
I'm wondering when the single-control shifting that Shimano have put on their MTB Di2 will be brought into their road range
thats fair enough and I am not certainly into competitive raving, yet. However for sportives etc where you want to get faster and better, where you are interested in your starva segments etc then I think it makes an hell of a difference.
I'm sure it helps but it's just one factor that contributes to becoming faster and better. I've seen guys on Di2 who are distinctly average on Strava compared to others who ride a winter bike with Shimano Sora.
sure, there is no one thing on cycling that makes it go quicker, it is about the whole package. But as I said if we take the cost out of it then would anyone for their next bike not get electronic ?
Yeah, it think it's good to remember your original question before we all lose our heads over what makes a good cyclist
I think I'll stick with original answer and say no.
How does electronic shifting make you go faster?
for me a big difference. I believe my mech bike is fantastic but I can feel the shifts as you go up and down at high power is much better, much smoother. Some of it is a mental thing of course, if you think it will make you go quicker, it is likely to.
Sure if I was into audaxing then see no real point to electronic but otherwise, difficult.
How much quicker do you go on your Di2 bike?
EPS but same difference. Difficult to tell at the moment because other factors are there. All I can say is that the gear changing esp up hill under power is so much smoother.
I'm fascinated that you think electronic shifting has an effect on your overall speed. Don't get me wrong - I'm well aware of the other benefits of electronic systems but I think this is the first time I've seen someone claim it makes them faster and I'd like to understand why.
It is about the hills, just been out on my usual ride for 90 mins and when spinning at 100 up an hill I want smooth changes, that makes you quicker but with mech the slight delay can put you off your spin for a short while to lose some momentum.
It is just one of the factors I look at, bike is lighter, I am lighter and fitter and I have EPS.
In theory... if your gears shift well, and are easier to facilitate and you are more confident in your gears, then you are more likely to change gear more often.
An example of this taken to the extreme is with winter bikes... when the gear cable is well past its replacement date and shifting is terrible, you will instinctively change gear less and tolerate less than ideal cadences more of the time.
So, working that in reverse, if you change gear more often, you will spend a greater percentage of time in an optimal cadence range, which in turn will delay fatigue and help you get more watts out for longer.
Thus, making you faster.
spot on and that applies going up hill where I try and maintain 95-105 rpm and that means having to shift gears a lot ad if I have confidence in it, then smoothness = speed.
That seems like a stretch, but ok.
Pages