this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2024
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Are you asking about electronic, or wireless shifting? Because electronic wired shifting is also a thing, and adds some advantages, while wireless adds more advantages on top of that.
I've never used either, but from people who have, I've heard that the shifting is a lot smoother on electronic shifting than mechanical. Whether smoother shifting is actually worth the price seems to be the debate most people have.
As for wireless, the advantages there become a little clearer and easier to explain. You can put the shifters wherever you want for maximum convenience. In the drops if you spend a lot of time sprinting. At the ends of your aero bars if you're a triathlete or time trialist. You can even have multiple shifters at multiple positions. Plus, yeah, the stuff @[email protected] says about removing cables.
As I said though, this is all by reputation. I've only ever used mechanical.
I meant both wired and wireless. I hear that the shifting is faster and smoother than cables, but my cable shifting feels perfectly acceptable as it is. I can't imagine a slight improvement there is worth the hassle of dealing with batteries dying, servos wearing out or getting shorted by liquid ingress, or the security issues of wireless that the article mentions.
But then, maybe I'm just a Luddite.
I switched my bike to Di2. Best thing I've done. I was tired of shift cables breaking.
Everyone always says that cables work great and are trouble free, but my 105 11-speed was a cable eater. Apparently it's a known issue with them, one guy I know replaces his cables every 6 months to avoid having them break during a ride. The last one that broke was installed by a pro and had less than 2k miles on it, and there was no warning there was any problem before the ride.
A few times I caught it and replaced the cable before it broke on a ride, but I've had breaks several times during rides. I never had an issue with my older 8 speed setup, so I think it's something to do with the bend the cable has to make in the shifter.
And even when the cable wasn't breaking, it felt like I needed to adjust the derailleur every so often to get it to shift juuuuust right.
Di2 has been set and forget, for the most part - I recharge the battery every few weeks. I haven't had to do anything else to it since installation.
It's so easy to operate, too. I know cables are also easy to operate, but electronic is even easier. Just tap the button or hold the button. The front derailleur auto aligns as needed, too. I spend a lot less time worrying about my drivetrain during and after rides.
You can also get information about your riding from it - how much time do you spend in each gear? I know I shift every 8 seconds, on average, which makes me think I might be shifting too often. (I also ride in hilly areas, so I definitely use all of my gears.)
Someone else noted the buttons I can use to control the computer. I have mine set to switch screens on the computer, and I use it pretty regularly. Nice not having to take my hands off the grips to do that.
I'm glad I made the switch, and I won't go back. I also built my gravel bike with Di2, and I'm glad I did it there, too. If people want to use cables, that's fine with me, but I'm really happy with the electronic setup.
I read that electronic shifting can automatically downshift when you come to a stop which I find a little tempting. But not tempting enough at the price I've seen. There's a spot on my regular route where my habit is to downshift 6 times as I come to a stop sign at the bottom of a hill. I do wonder what it would be like not to have to think about that so much.
I believe some electronic gears are also really good at changing gear under pressure, which can be fantastic in a situation like that even if you doesn't automatically downshift for you.
What does "under pressure" mean? Does it mean shifting while stopped? I'm told some non-electronic belt drives can do that.
Just the opposite! It means while pedalling hard. Normally, to change gears, you need to ease off the pressure, similar to how you put down the clutch to change gears in a car. This can be awkward when trying to get moving from too hard a gear, or if you forgot to change gears before arriving at a hill.