Originally Posted by
Maelochs
If you take time to look at the tiny gear indicator and can figure out if it is pointing at four, five, or six ... you just blew though the intersection, lucky there was no cross traffic.
I have this on three bikes, and had it on my mountain bike too ... pretty worthless. if it actually flashed a cog number that would be better but ... still just more finicky little parts to break. This is on fo those "advances" which is actually a step backwards, devised as a sales tool for LBS employees trying to sell bikes to people who never have and likely never will ride bikes and are scared of a multi-gear drive train.
If you like you can buy brifters with this feature. if you think it is an upgrade ... there you go.
personally I find it important to downshift for every intersection unless it is at the very top of a hill (which they never seem to be---usually at the bottom, which is smart design---cars can actually see what's coming--but not so good for cyclists, because you race down the hill, don't make the light, and lose all your momentum and have to climb a hill from a standing start) because I hate struggling to pull away in traffic in a really high gear, with the front wheel flopping around as I stand ion the pedals ... somehow I manage, without the gear indicator.
But you can get them if you like.
In the dark you can't always see your cassette. In the dark I can see the indicators on the 2 bikes I own that have them, in most conditions. In cold weather with three layers of fleece over your ears, it's hard to hear cross chaining. It's also hard with steady traffic near you. My XT MTB has them, that's not a low end product. The other bike is low end Shimano. I did not get them because I wanted them, the bikes just came that way, however I ride in the dark a few hours a week, in the cold and next to steady traffic. It's handy to have them sometimes.