A history of Shimano electric shifting (Auto-D, Coasting, etc.)

Here's a little exchange from another thread between Oz and myself:

[quote]
RjC:
Well, first it should be pointed out they've been selling this
drivetrain (Shimano Auto-D) in Europe and Asia for some time.
Oz:
When did they begin selling this scheme in those markets?
RjC:
I'm not sure about exact dates, but I think if I dig around I have a
catalog from a few years ago that shows Auto-D as a product.
[end quote]

http://tinyurl.com/2dt9bs

(google groups link to the post within the subject "??The future of
cycling???")

That's a long preamble to me saying that I found my 2005 Shimano
catalog, which details all kinds of mad stuff that is not for us North
Americans.

"Premium Comfort" group known variously as Di2, Nexave C810, Cyber Nexus
or Ecovision:

3x8 electric derailer drivetrain setup, with a rear wheel hub dynamo to
power the shifting, plus the . . . other stuff.

Electronic front and rear derailers

integrated computer that both controls the shifting (automatically or
manually) and handles the usual cyclocomputer stuff, and controls the...

....electronically activated suspension! They use electronic control to
firm up the damping while climbing and starting from a stop. A shock and
a fork are both available.

Web site he

http://www.smover.com/

I'm going to assume that's pronounced "smoover" or "s-mover", and does
not rhyme with "smother."

The FAQ is otherwise quite informative. Group appears to have been
available since 2004. The auto shifting has so many user selectable
modes and programs that it appears to be aimed at Dutch bike commuters
who wish to reproduce in cycling form the experience of driving a BMW
with iDrive*.

*Notoriously overcomplicated "glass cockpit" radio/climate
control/satnav/et cetera user interface abomination, standard on certain
nice models. System features daft menus, fussy haptic-feedback knobdial
thingy, and in some versions a mandatory "using the iDrive is
dangerous!" disclaimer window which appears each time the car is
started, and which must be actively dismissed by the user (one hesitates
to call them the driver) before the car will start.

There's also a separate "Auto-D with Inter-3" hub gear system, also
featuring auto shifting and 8 shift-timing modes (...).

The existence of The 3x8 electroshifting drivetrain has inspired me! It
seems like a Positron approach, though: introducing a tricky innovation
at the wrong end of the market.

As a solution, I hereby offer the Nex' prize:

I will give a box of Powerbars (I think that's 15 bars) to the first
person to adapt this drivetrain to a road bike and take a podium
position in a sanctioned race (UCI, national subsidiary of UCI, or
non-UCI cycling bodies like OBRA).

I will up the prize to two boxes if you do so in a fully automatic mode
(that is, without touching the shift controls from start to finish).

I encourage all competitos for the Nex' prize to contact me for complete
details.

More seriously, Campy has been "testing in plain sight" its proto
electroshifting race group for years now. It appears the Shimano testing
has happened in even plainer sight.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos