On Sat, 19 Dec 2015 08:22:51 -0600, AMuzi wrote:

On 12/19/2015 4:26 AM, John B. wrote:
On Fri, 18 Dec 2015 17:41:38 -0800, sms
wrote:

On 12/18/2015 4:04 PM, John B. wrote:
On Thu, 17 Dec 2015 16:37:35 -0800, sms
wrote:

On 12/17/2015 4:15 PM, John B. wrote:

snip

Maybe. After all they now carry batteries around so they don't have to
bother with manual shifting :-)

Well I was skeptical of the power-assisted shifting, but apparently it
really does benefit racers. And now there are devices you can add that
will do automatic shifting tailored to your preferences.

It's the idea that you have to recharge your derailleur batteries that I
have a hard time with. And when I was down in Morgan Hill at Specialized
last year, they mentioned that the preference was to save a few grams by
using a smaller battery that needed to be recharged more often.

I think that a dynamo that uses some magnets on the spindle could
generate sufficient energy to keep the battery charged, but that would
also add a few grams.

Funny, I was down to my local shop this morning and was looking at an
electric shift bike. Goodness, the shifters have two little levers to
push and the 'lectrics' move the derailer, just like my manual
shifters, you flick a finger and the gears change. But I suppose that
they let those with wimpy little fingers shift just like the big macho
guys with the strong hands.

Supposedly, with electronic shifting, you're more likely to shift into a
proper gear than to remain in a slightly less optimal gear. Also, there
are interfaces to the shifting system to automatically shift based on a
learning algorithm or on your manually inputted algorithm.


That is really hard for me to believe. Is it really that difficult to
shift a mechanical shifter.

It's not something I'd want, I'm trying to minimize extra gadgets, but
apparently it does work really well.


"Is it really that difficult to
shift a mechanical shifter?"

Not at all. The Ancients even used fingers before front
changers. That said, a test ride of a Campagnolo EPS bike
will astound you. Necessary? nope but very impressive.

A friend came up with a hand shifted front derailer (Simplex?) and had
it on one of his bikes. I asked him how he liked it and he reckoned it
was very useful. He used it on a bike that he rode on a two week
"tour" in north Thailand and said it was just as useful as the Shimano
"Brifter" he had on the right handlebar :-)
--
cheers,

John B.