Sram eTap
 

I went to a open house at the LBS and they had a number of vendors. The Sram dealer had a bike with eTap.. .very cool.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r..._183916072.jpg

Still technically a "prototype" but what i saw was a production model.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r..._195647333.jpg

i started a thread about this when it was first announced and there was actually a lot of good discussion, but it looks like it was somehow deleted :(

I have been reading about this, seriously interesting innovation.

Why is wireless better?

The lack of wires are not the point, its the "out of the box" design on shifting.

The left shifter shifts to a harder gear, the right to a easier gear and do both to change the chainring.

Also it's Sram Red and not Shimano... if you like Sram. If you don't then it doesn't matter.

Less wires.

No wires.. more aero.

I'm waiting for wireless brakes. ;)

Enjoy your veolcipede.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_bicycle

I'm embracing it. I'll be sure to write you a postcard.

Just asking a simple question.

I read recently (Peloton mag.?) that if carbon frames don't need to be reinforced in areas where wires enter and exit, they can be built a fair bit lighter. Along those lines, not having to deal with wires makes building them easier too.

Neither are game-changers, but both are small improvements.

While this part is true, do you realize how much lighter they are talking about?

The other advantage over Di2 is that the batteries are interchangeable. so if your RD goes dead somehow then you can shift the front ring how you want then swap it to the back and have all 10-11 gears available for the way home. batteries are also much smaller and don't need a spot to mount them

anyone got a few grand to spare they can give me for when it comes out? :D

How long is a battery expected to last?

Mostly more convenient to install and maintain. Wired speed, cadence and power sensors work as well if not better than their wireless counterparts but they're more of a pain in the ass to setup. Most prefer the simplicity of wireless.

I only see advantages to wireless:
- No more replacing cables/housing every season.
- lighter.
- don't stretch, don't fray.
- can't get stuck because of grit in a rainy ride.

says 1000km for the deraillieur ones. a year of frequent use for the shifter watch batteries.

I believe it is ~30 hours of riding time.

1000 Km is a very shady way to report battery life... battery life should be a function of time or number of shifts, claiming it in Km is moronic.

While I'm excited about full wireless solutions (not that into Di2), I can also see disadvantages:

- It is not lighter because of the batteries. It's actually slightly heavier, even if you discount the cables.
- 1000 km isn't that much with one charge and probably you will charge it quite frequently.
- And while you won't need to change cables, you will have to replace the batteries after a couple of years.
- Riding and depending on an external battery system with rain, mud, hail involved? Well... I don't know. Time will tell how reliable it is.
- MSRP $2,758. That's in the same ballpark with a new mid-range carbon bike with Ultegra. It would be extremely hard for me to justify this spending instead of getting something really cool/useful. Or a nice winter training bike.
- It's a completely new technology for SRAM. Shimano has years of experience with electrical shifting. Also Campagnolo. Both of these manufacturers had some early stage problems with it. Sram tries to have it all. I hope they succeed, but I'd rather not be a tester of their product.

So far all vapor-ware. Want to see some early adopters give some feedback. Haven't seen any indication when it will actually be available.

scott s.
.

I saw it at Interbike and was able to shift it a few times. Its pretty awesome. The shifting is quite fast and smooth. If you think about it...it's just four parts. Two shifters and two derailleurs. The rest of the drivetrain parts can be cobbled together. People are straight nitpicking on the charging. It's no different than charging your phone or any other electrical device. Its really not that difficult to pop the battery off and charge it before going to bed.

Going 1x will even be simpler. That will just be a shifter and rear derailleur.

you test rode an eTap equipped bike?

You charge your Garmin every week, you charge your headlight and tail light also. So what's the problem every few weeks to charge the derailleur batteries?

Spare batteries are under $50 and weigh very little if you want to carry a spare. And they take about 5 seconds to change.

Ok that is what the video said. Maybe Sram says something different. go look it up yourself

It's just speculation on my part, but I would think the proprietary wireless protocol SRAM developed is not without a roadmap of future product integration. Connectivity and analytics will be much more accessible… with the right devices, developed by SRAM, to translate the wireless protocol.

I love all the new developments, from a geek side, but I also love the mechanical simplicity of bicycles. I'll root for development and advancement, but still ride with cables.