Is electronic shifting soulless? Meh, as someone whoās been an avid cyclist for >60 years and whoās seen a lot over the years, I love electronic shifting. Perfect shifts every time. Shifting lost its skill and āsoulā when indexed shifting was invented. So what?! I enjoy knowing that Iāll get a perfect shift every time. I enjoy knowing that when I round a corner and oops, I didnāt know there was a steep hill right in front of me and I need to shift fast to a bigger cog (or shift the front), Iāll know that Iāll make the shift without grinding gears or dropping the chain.
Every time I make a shift on an electronic drive train, it brings a little smile to my face.
But hey, if you want to go mechanical or even full retro with friction shifter, be my guest! If that helps you feel more connected to the bike, go for it. For me, I enjoy the ride and perfect shifting.
I also enjoy disc brakes and knowing that when I squeeze the lever while riding in the rain, Iāll actually have brakes.
I have a 1972 Cinelli Supercorsa frame. I love and appreciate the old stuff. But I also appreciate the latest and greatest and thatās what I prefer to ride.
For me, Di2 was a game-changer. I have small hands (even for a woman - buying gloves is an enormous pain in the arse) and shifting was always a āthingā for me. I donāt have huge reach and the whole push to the side thing was probably harder for me than for others. I still canāt just SRAM simply because of the reach required. (Itās probably just me but I found it so, so hard to use.)
So from a biomechanical perspective, itās been the best thing ever! Plus these days I have issues with both my shoulders and I couldnāt image going back to mechanical shifting. Itās bad enough I have to use it on my pretty short commute. I couldnāt imagine using it on a long ride.
A few years ago, I might have argued in favour of a perfectly adjusted mechanical drivetrain. A few hand injuries and what is probably early arthritis in a couple of fingers, and Iām good with Di2. It makes my rides a lot more enjoyable.
You want soul killing? Complicated internal cable routing.
I ride all the options, but the bikes that I want to ride most have electronic shifting. If I only cared about soul, I would ride my singlespeed all the time. For me the timing of when to shift is way more important than the action of shifting, so I love the precision of electronic. I do have mechanical shifting on my fatbikes since electronic works poorly below -15ĀŗC.
Iām not quite sure why my post offended you. The central question of this thread is whether electronic shifting is soulless, not whether it is better or worse.
My point is that it can be better in most ways that matter and still be considered soulless by some, and that separating better and feels better helps structure the discussion. Plus, I am not denying that there are some objective advantages to mechanical shifting, but in addition mechanical shifting might bring you more enjoyment, just because you prefer the feeling and not because it is necessarily better. Currently, only one of my two bikes has electronic shifting.
Vintage cars and bikes were not the only example I have given, I went for a hardtail mountain bike to replace my fully, knowing that itāll be slower in many circumstances. But I still prefer how it feels to ride. I donāt think thatās any different from e. g. a roadie who prefers a rim brake bike for the looks and the feel. The comparison to vintage cars is IMHO fitting, because on the high-end, every groupset is electronic (just like every modern dropbar groupset is disc-brake-only these days).
Well, as Iāve stated before ābetterā is not an objective measure. Neither you, nor I, nor anyone else gets to decide whatās ābetterā for some cyclist. That means that your statement is not objectively true:
ā¦just because you prefer the feeling and not because it is necessarily better.
No one gets to decide that for someone else. Your opinions on what is ābetterā for you apply to you, not anyone else, and youāre free to choose the criteria for ābetterā when it comes to your choices.
The comparison to vintage cars is only appropriate in your opinion. Itās not a universal truth. Itās not a fact. And āmost ways that matterā? Thatās another subjective qualification. Again, there is no universal set of criteria that āmatterā.
If something democratizes the sport, I think itās most likely better. Iām not talking about soul, Iām talking about something objective. Now, electronic shifting both democratizes the sport and makes it more exclusive.
Just listened to the podcast so Iām late to the party.
Thereās one thing which I think was missing, and itās lever feel. Iāve ridden DI2 and AXS and agree that electronic shifting is soulless. Thereās no feedback from clicking a button. With my 12 speed Sram mechanical the lever produced infinitely more feedback. It just feels nicer, to me. There is no which one is better, itās just different. Some prefer wine some prefer Beer.
A major argument against mechanical was that folks need to maintain the cabling. It seems that turning a barrel nut every few months is outside the realm of some cyclists - and thatās ok, but itās a price Iām willing to pay for better lever feel.
I converted my road bike to electronic shifting and Iāve never been more disappointed. Unfortunately the seals on the levers were going bad and so I had to replace the levers, which kicked off the whole electronic thing. Iām now on the lookout for new old stock of SRAM mechanical and will be going back to mechanical.
I like electronic shifting on my TT bike simply because I can shift from my extensions and from the base bar.
Edit: Some folks brew their own freshly roasted coffee and some are happy to make coffee from powder or even by tapping a button. While freshly brewed coffee is technically superior, not everyone can taste or appreciate the difference and thatās ok too.