Yes I do but I wouldn't trade modern EFI and cars that go 200000 miles without NEEDING major surgery for the ability to easily fix it myself. I love the 70's muscle cars and trucks I grew up with but........
Change is not a bad thing. Embrace it or go extinct.;)

[QUOTE=CdCf;6294124]Simpler: easy and quick setup, as described in my OP.
Quieter: no rubbing ever - nothing would ever lose alignment, because the electric shifter would continually adjust itself.[quote]

This would require the processor to be on all the time.

ScrubJ...
Back to the laptop battery weight. Are you going to give up a water bottle to make room for the battery?

We call that background processing. It controller can't be turned off IF it is to keep checking the position every X seconds. FWIW, your car is never really turned off. During my last ride (six hours) I made many shifts as dictated by terrain (read bridges as I live in Florida) and wind. Sometimes it's just plain hard to find the right gear when riding in a group.

Trust me when I say I love technology, as long as it's in its place.

Sorry about butchering this post.... Didn't come out looking the way I expected.

My car? I don't have a car and never will.

And you can definitely have "sleeping" electronics. Most bike computers are like that.

I've done many group rides on my singlespeed without any problems.

When I took my main road bike out for the first ride this year (after a winter inside), I had a stuck RD cable, so it wouldn't shift the rear. I didn't notice it until four miles into the ride - that's when I wanted to shift for the first time, and those first miles are a mix of flats and a few hills (4-7 % grades).

You don't need to shift THAT often...

+1
Just wait until THAT screws up.You're gonna have to be a electronic's wizard to figure it out.
That won't help you on the side of the road.
It is a fact that batteries don't like the cold.
IMHO it's just another GIZMO in a world full of them.It's electronic so it "must" be better.
Give me a friction shifter over that ANY DAY.

I agree. Get into your car somewhere in the high altitudes of Denver, turn the key and it starts. No fiddling with the choke (remember these) the car starts and you drive off. For this, one pays several thousand dollars more for their car. I like it because when it breaks you have to take it to a shop, no roadside repairs here.

I guess there will be a day when one opens the top tube on his/her bike to replace the battery for their shifting and a port for their Ipod but I am not necessarily looking forward to it.

Yes they are, won't work the way you describe in your post. They are off or on, what will run the "timer"?

As to wireless, how many of us have had our HRM or spedo go wonky during a ride? Police radar, high voltage lines, other radio interference. Imagine the fun during a climb or sprint when your bike takes on a mind of its own and decides to shift on its own accord. Fun huh?

Good on you. The US doesn't have much in the way of public transportation and my service schools tend to end up somewhere between 70 and 100 miles from my home. Kind of far to peddle to take a class.

Electric shifting wouldn't have to be wireless. Not that I've had the slightest problem with my Sigma DTS 1606L wireless computer, but still...

A tiny shielded signal cable between the shifter buttons and the shifters wouldn't weigh many grams.
If you work with electronics, couldn't you figure that out?

Are you trying to tell me that a simple timer would draw much power? Not a chance. Comparable to a wrist watch. Several years of service on a single watch battery.

What I meant was: don't assume everyone has a car just because you do!

Yes I can, adding weight again. Still need that damn battery too.

I knew this would come up. You are right, the timer in and of itself draws little. Trouble is, there is more to the whole system than just a watch. When the timer goes into "check" mode all the sensors are energized and minute adjustments (if needed) are made. How often do you have to trim your shifters? Once I make my shift, I'm good to go. The system by default is going to want to make changes.

Again, I'm not saying that it won't work, I'm just questioning the reason.

Understood, just not the way things are here in the US sad to say. When Ford, Olds and Co. pushed the railways out of the transportation business things took a long term turn for the worse, Will admit that most of our states are as large as most countries in the rest of the world and many travel between them just like going round the block.

It seems like it's a change for the sake of change.Not a change for the better.It's going to be more expensive to run and (definately)to repair.It would be like today's cars,when they run they run great,but if it quits on you,call a tow truck.There's no way you're gonna fix the problem on the side of the road.At least with the older cars, you could.
Today's cars have become so complicated that a backyard mechanic or mechanically inclined person can't fix them.
I think bike shops are gonna love them.:D

build a 7lb bike with automatic shift please.
I'm an EE. I appreciate electronic conveniences, maybe more than most. However, I also see plenty of pros and cons to both views.
I have a 42 year old car that has more room than a Cadillac, runs low tens without any sort of boost, and, lacking a lot of modern conveniences, still weighs less than the average new mid size car, in spite of it's 500cid motor and massive amounts of sheet metal thicker than what's used today. I can also tear it all down myself and rebuild it without anything involving ODB II or an advanced degree in CE.

I have a 21 year old bike, 21lbs or so, all cromo, 6sp, though SIS not just friction, and I still love to ride that just as much as my space age materials carbon bikes. Doesn't make one better than the other. Just different.

And just because nobody has devised an acceptable CVT transmission yet doesn't mean it can't and won't be done.
A lot of people tried and failed to fly a plane before Orville and Wilbur, too you know.
Didn't mean a horse was the better solution, or that it couldn't be done.

lithium ion batteries can store plenty of juice these days without much weight, which helps, and an actuator and solenoid shifter with bluetooth could probably be used to shift with less weight than conventional drivetrains. the trick is designing the bike frame and components to function with the longevity and durability, in all weather, of said conventional drivetrains.
especially if this carried over to MTBs

CdCf - I just have to make a comment here...

When you ask people what they think of something and they give you their honest opinion, which seems to contradict your own, you should not be calling them "backwards" for disagreeing.

Many companies have tried to develop and market automatic shifting systems and none have been successful as even if the technology is sound and works as intended, it also adds a high degree of complexity to what is seen as basic transportation and increases the cost of an entry level bicycle by a significant degree.

That is a recipe for failure.

Take a look at Browning's Smartshift which was a computer controlled automatic transmission... the technology seemed to be sound and appeared to work well but with a $1000.00 price tag it was not something that the average rider could afford or something your average mechanic could have serviced. Browning is no longer producing the Smartshift and I can only think that this stemmed from a lack of demand from consumers.

Shimano developed the Di2 system which is a fully integrated computerized system for a 16 speed bicycle but the added degree of complexity of the system means an entry level bike equipped with this would cost between two and three thousand dollars and weigh a pound more than it's non automatic counterpart.

I have never seen a Di2 equipped bike on the road or in a shop.

We now have the Shimano automatic 3 speed bikes and their prices seem to start in the $600.00 range (the Trek Lime is $580.00).

I do not see experienced cyclists having any interest in automatic systems as one of the things experience brings is the ability to shift gears smoothly and efficiently without the aid of a computer or specialized derailers.

The resurgence in popularity of internal gear hubs (which are very user friendly) also does not bode well for computerized systems being that successful as a Nexus equipped bike is already about as simple as it gets.

The "backwards" was mostly a comment on the lack of faith in modern technology, rather than not wanting the new stuff.

I'm not forcing this down any throats. I just wanted to give my opinion on what I am convinced could and will be a major revolution in shifting technology, with very few and minor drawbacks.

The fact that there already are electronic shifting systems similar to what I described in actual on-the-road testing right now, tells me that it's far from the "vaporware" status of the bicycle CVT, which I don't think will be realised in the next couple of decades, if ever.

all this while folks are falling all over themselves going ss.......................go figger.........

I can't wait for electronic SS.

just a Peewee Herman airhorn and I'll be happy..................

Although I subscribe to the KISS theory, I must admit that building bicycles has become my hobby because it is cheap. Electronic shifting...............I can't picture where the price of this is going to go. Just look at the price of a new SRAM/Shimano/Campy 10 speed group and think about what we were paying for 9 speed 5 years ago. Ouch.

The basic bicycle isn't broken....I'm not sure it needs a fix. The comparison of 60's vs modern cars isn't the same. $4 gas and smog equipment drove the cars to computers. 60's muscle cars were cheap and easy to fix, but they would not run under todays laws. On the other hand, have you had to open your wallet for an ignition or injector repair on a modern car.

LMAO, computer shifting?? No thanks.

Just wait till Shimano decides to use a non standard battery that costs $300 and will be unobtainium in five years. Then run the whole thing under windows. Call me a Luddite, but my 23lb 6-speed, steel friction bike works flawlessly, every time, and I can repair every part blindfolded.

What? Two wheels the same size? Surely you're joking!

What? More than one gear? Pfft! Weakling!

What? Indexed shifting? No piece of mechanics will shift better than I can do myself, thank you!

What? Aluminium frames? Only steel will be durable enough, and alu is too stiff.

What? Carbon frames? At least aluminium is still metal. Ride plastic? Hell no!

What? Electric shifting? (Insert this thread here...)

;)