John B. wrote:
On Sat, 13 Jul 2019 10:34:49 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

On Saturday, July 13, 2019 at 4:56:43 PM UTC+2, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Saturday, July 13, 2019 at 2:59:31 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Saturday, July 13, 2019 at 4:43:02 AM UTC+2, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Friday, July 12, 2019 at 2:54:54 PM UTC-4, Tom Evans wrote:
On 12/07/2019 18:09, Frank Krygowski wrote:


My concern is that unlike mechanical systems, electronics are a black box. I can
look at a conventional derailleur system and figure out what's wrong with it.
Usually I can fix it with very simple tools, even out on the road.


I normally do all my own bike stuff. However twice this decade I have
had to get shift levers replaced. They seem impossible to me to fix.

So I can't really see that electronic is that big a change from where we
are now.

Sounds like "we" are in different places now. I'm betting that you, like most
"sport" cyclists, are using brifters - STI or similar.

I'm not using brifters for exactly the same reason I'm skeptical of electronics.
Some of my bikes have friction shifters, some have index bar-end levers or
index levers elsewhere on the handlebars. I'm sure I can disassemble any of
those if necessary - but it will probably never be necessary. They are very
simple devices, with little to go wrong.

BTW, my oldest index shifters are on a couple different three speed bikes. I've
had those apart. I don't exactly remember, but I'm guessing there were maybe
three moving parts. Heck, I could fabricate replacements for those!

- Frank Krygowski

Lets see how often did my brifters (ergo and STI) fail on me in the last 25
years...hmm....never. In take my chance for the coming years.

Ah, same as my shifters, then!

No, I take that back. There was a problem with a three speed trigger shifter...

But I have had friends who had STI failures, who called me to come help get them
going. One was on a brand new bike, bought two days before a week long bike tour.
Another was a bike that had been in storage for maybe a year. A third was my
daughter's bike on our longest tour, that consistently missed shifts onto the
largest cog. I was once asked to help with a broken cable, too (inside the mechanism)
but I wasn't able to straighten that out before having to leave for home.

I know they work fine for most people, and I think they've gotten more reliable
over the decades. But your preference is almost always for more technology. Mine
is almost always for more simplicity and repairability. I doubt either of us
will change.

- Frank Krygowski

It is clear that we live in a different cycling universe and I have
little hope that I get you out of the eighties of last the century. That
is OK. What I am trying to say to other people was that reliability
can't be the reason to deny themselves the ease of use of brifters and
even electronic shifting. Fortunately 99.9% of the people figured that out by themselves.

Lou

My experience, which only goes back, maybe 10 or so, years, is that
brifters really benefit two classes of people. Firstly people that
race bicycles and secondly those that aren't bright enough to shift
down when they come to a stop light or sign.

It can be a real bother when the light turns green and everyone else
jams the throttle to the floor and roars off and there you are trying
to get up to speed in your highest gear. A death grip on the
handlebars and straining as hard as you can, maybe even standing up.

It is a real chore trying to shift down tube friction shifters while
standing but with brifters it is just click, click, click.

But of course if one's primary desire is simply to be seen as "modern
and up to date" than certainly brifters, or perhaps even more
"modern", an electric shifter is just the thing.

And, if relaxing on the bike is desirable than an "e-bike" would be
best, what with not having to pedal at all.
--
cheers,

John B.



Your experience seems limited.

--
duane