Originally Posted by
oldacura
I agree. We are a niche market: tandem application, older demographic who need low gearing to climb hills and want high gearing to speed down hills. We are likely not a big enough market to bother with.
I think that Shimano could meet our (my) needs but it just may not be worth their while.
A Di2 road triple is definitely feasible, but I doubt that it's viable from a business point of view. The bike industry is mature with slowing growth, esp in the premium market. In 2015, US bike sales dropped by 2%. Cannondale's recent quarterly profit decreased by 50% from 2015. As a result, more LBS are stocking urban bikes, e-bikes and affordable road bikes (Ultegra or 105 level). Shimano's shareholders will be understandably unhappy if it launches the Di2 road triple and can't break-even.