tempocyclist

- Faster shifting (kind of)
- Less maintenance
- Looks cleaner with less cables on show
- Automatic derailleur trimming
- Ultra reliability
- It goes "Zzzzt!" when you change gears


No it's not that dramatic really. It's a lot more subtle. It's just, well, very nice to have.

Russ Roth

Not certain the width behind 11 and 12 is significant enough to matter with the gearing on the crankset, just keep your crank and change the rest, easy enough. AXS has a gravel der that should handle the cassette with no trouble and they make a front der.

bykemike 

Love my Di2, really , really love my Sram Red double tap wireless,

No wires or cables, appears to be stone reliable, you can carry a spare battery set if you are going long but it would have to be pretty long. I charged this system when I got it a couple of months ago and it shows fully charged after a fair amount of riding, The shifter batteries do about 600+ miles but that is dependent on how much shifting you do, The lever batteries are good for maybe a year or two (little key fob batteries)

I would expect electrical shifting to begin to dominate a portion of the market over time, sort of like disc brakes are doing,

jaxgtr

Ok, that is not one that I considered, but sir, that moves into my top 5. LOL

Bald Paul

I have two bikes, one Ultegra Di2, one Sram Rival. Both are excellent. Obviously, the Sram was much easier to set up, being wireless. No, I would never go back to mechanical shifting.

Trakhak

Just got through reading yet another needlessly snarky handbags-at-dawn thread. It was a pleasure to come across the quoted posts and be reminded that the forum can actually be helpful.

Steve B.

[QUOTE=rsbob;22788002]Many say the prefer electronic but no one has stated WHY. WHY is it so much better?

Is the difference so dramatic like going from a manual transmission in a car to an automatic?[/QUOTE

Shifting is quicker and precise, if that means anything. Theres no maintenance issues down the road, it just keeps on working perfectly. That makes it easy on a bike that gets dirty. You charge up batteries periodically, but really its never needing to replace cables and housing that is the big plus for me.

TiHabanero

Not so sure there is less maintenance with electronic shifting. The der mechs must be kept clean just like a mechanical mech, the shifters have batteries that need replacement once a year, and the der battery(ies) need(s) to be charged. There is maintenance, just a different kind of maintenance.

The shift cables on my Campy 11 speed have 3 seasons on them, and will go at least another season. I shift quite a bit and imagine in the next year or two the right wire will need replacement. So far the mech shifting has been zero maintenance outside of cleaning the ders. Not bad in my book.

One thing for certain, and this happened to a customer as well as a friend of mine, one of the der will need replacement, and hoo-boy, they ain't cheap! About twice the price of a mechanical one.

It all comes down to what level of luxury one desires. Ain't nothin' wrong with that. Would I strike out on a long distance tour with electronic shifting? Not a chance. I'm still stuck on friction shifting for as much simplicity as possible when on tour.

smd4

When the EMP happens, I'll still be able to shift my bike gears...

DaveSSS 

SRAM derailleur batteries don't need to be replaced every year and neither do Shimano batteries. I have four SRAM batteries that were manufactured four years ago and they still work fine. I'd expect more like 5-7 years of life. I've got batteries for power tools that are 12 years old and still working.
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The coin batteries in the shifters only take a minute or two to change and every year is wise.

PeteHski

It's a pretty low and undemanding duty cycle for a modern battery. So not something to worry about. But I do prefer SRAM's multi-battery approach. If one mech battery dies at least you can prioritise the rear mech (or carry a spare battery if you are really paranoid or on some epic multi-week tour away from civilisation). The shifter coin-cell batteries are fit-and-forget for a couple of years and simple to change. These are certainly not reasons to avoid going electronic. I always found cables more of a hassle overall and removing them makes for an easier, cleaner installation.

spelger

i've read that when in certain modes the di2 will handle front shifting for you and maybe even full automatic. that tells me it is monitoring cadence somehow.

momoman

I have the 1st generation Ultegra 6770 Di2 and love how it shifts without any front derailleur chain rub because it auto trims the FD as you shift the RD.

The newer generation electronic shifting have synchronized shifting. You can program it to shift through all your gears with just your right brifter. It’ll find the next higher or lower gear, even if it requires shifting the FD and RD to get to that next gear.

I bought a Yoeleo R12 frame and mechanical groupset but am seriously thinking of buying a SRAM electronic groupset like DaveSSS above. I haven’t built the bike up yet. Decisions, decisions……..

For me, the Synchronized Shifting would allow me to keep pace with a fast pace group with rolling hills. You won’t need to shift your FD and RD manually to find the next higher/lower gear because it’ll find it for you. For those of you using synchronized shifting, what are your opinions?

https://bettershifting.com/di2-synch...omplete-guide/

rsbob 

“Handbags at dawn” <- A classic!

Kapusta

I know plenty of people who use both, so clearly you can go back to mechanical after using electronic.

Steve B.

Agree, I should have phrased it as less maintenance. Not needing to change internal derailer cables is a huge time saver. Charging batteries it plug it and leave it. I do clean the chain and derailers on the mt. bikes more often then the road bikes, but a wash as I would do that on mechanical as well. The single easiest thing and why I like elec. on the mt. bikes as I have never adjusted, it just shifts perfectly every time for 3 years now.

seypat

I didn't know mechanical was that slow. I thought all of the modern groupsets shifted great. At least that's what you read here on the forums.

momoman

I’m now seriously trying to decide between Ultegra and Sram for my Yoeleo R12 frame set.

https://wheretheroadforks.com/shiman...onic-shifting/

edit: corrected the link

tomato coupe

I think you’re going to give poor DaveSSS a heart attack talking about synchronized shifting.

DaveSSS 

I don't use SRAM's sequential or compensating shifting modes. I pedal standing on some steep hills and sequential mode could make a chain ring shift while pedaling standing. I don't want that to happen. I set a 2-sprocket limit on multi-shifts and sometimes use that after a chain ring shift, but otherwise make my own decisions on when to make chain ring shifts. I prefer SRAM's 2 lever shifting over any 4 lever system. It works great with winter gloves on.

There's no FD trimming needed with the SRAM yaw FD.

I'm not sure that an R12 frame can even be set up for mechanical shifting. I think the holes near the FD are for Di2 wires, not a FD cable. Using SRAM, I put some clear bike saver tape across both holes to keep water out. Mechanical shifting isn't likely to work well with all the bends required with integrated bar/stems.

msu2001la

Comparing manual/auto car transmissions doesn't make sense to me. You still have to manually shift an electronic groupset so it doesn't really change the way you ride, it's just a motor doing the work instead of a cable. A manual transmission in a car results in a completely different driving experience than an auto.

I think a more apt comparison would be going from manually adjustable seats to memory-function power seats in a car that is shared with someone else (so you frequently re-adjust the seat position). Both do the same thing, but the electronic option is a more simple operation that is more precise and needs no adjusting. Yes, there are motors and batteries involved, so some will argue that power seats are unnecessary and complicated and more expensive, etc but most people prefer them.

PeteHski

It’s not that kind of automatic. So no need to monitor cadence. The auto part is deciding when to shift the front mech in sequential mode. So you just shift up/down and the “auto” takes care of front shifts as and when required. You tell the software what cassette and chainrings are fitted so it knows when to shift the front and compensate at the rear.

But I prefer to shift the front mech manually for the reasons DaveSSS stated.

tomato coupe

How about a manual transmission compared to a dual clutch transmission in manual mode?

PeteHski

The whys for me are:-

1. Cleaner installation without cables - especially SRAM

2. Precise one-off trimming

3. Easier, shorter shift action without moving whole brake lever. It’s like going from manual transmission to sequential paddle shift in a sportscar.

momoman

Thanks for the pedaling standing info. I hadn’t thought about that! Also, I just double-checked the Yoeleo site and the R12 supports mechanical and electronic shifting. However, I am leaning towards electronic now. Hmmmm, what do I do with my new mechanical Ultegra R8000 groupset? Buy another frame?