Originally Posted by
kv501
But the point is that you can eliminate having to find a good mechanic with Di2. It just works flawlessly all the time. I was skeptical at first too, but 5 minutes after I bought a Di2 bike I wondered where it had been my whole life. It's astounding once you try it.
Even if SRAM does come out with an electronic group, unless they have something to differentiate it from Di2 it won't catch on. They let Shimano go for too long, and now too many people have it and will stick with it because it works so well. To me it's just like the downfall of Blackberry. They held out so long with their traditional phone designs thinking no one wanted touch screens, that when they finally came to market it was too late and now the company is toast. SRAM is the same way...nobody really wants electronic shifting, our group is so much lighter, etc. I know they've had an electronic group in testing and seen the pictures of the cx race bike, but I think it might be too late.
Although I agree with you about the merits of Di2 which to me are undeniable, I don't agree with what you wrote in bold. Sram has done fine being the new kid on the block competing with two entrenched incumbents like Campy and Shimano. When a good company comes late to the party, they many times bring the best dish. That's because their engineers perform in depth competitive analysis and improve on the baseline already on the market. I do agree that Di2 is a very tough act to follow. Some believe Campy EPS is head and shoulders above Di2 in overall performance in fact but that is open for debate. Campy sure can't compete with Di2 pricing and where I believe Ultegra Di2 in particular has the best advantage. Price may in fact be Sram's calling card. They may undercut Di2 pricing and bring an overall level of performance that will surprise many. Only time will tell.