Originally Posted by
benjamin163
Hello,
does anyone have any strong opinions either way on hydraulic gear shifting systems as opposed to cable ones or electronic ones?
I have only ever ridden with cable shifters but I'm interested in a bike which has hydraulic ones fitted and I wondered what the pros and cons are.
Any opinions gratefully received.
It's a good idea but doesn't rule out implementation issues.
The move to road brake.shift units with under bar tape routing and hoods level with bar tops added a tight ninety degree guide which cut cable life in half. Rear cables fail in 2000 miles when you shift a lot.
Hydraulic avoids that and doesn't have batteries to charge.
However, practical realizations may have worse flaws. Shift mechanisms for multi-ring bikes should let you arrive at the next sequential gear on the next ring in a pair of simultaneous motions. The escapement mechanisms in Shimano, SRAM, and Campagnolo levers don't allow that moving to the small ring because they can only shift one cog smaller per lever actuation.
The Rotor system has no front derailleur so it's impossible to have both wide range and closely spaced gears. I wouldn't buy it.