I used wireless shifting in the 90s and my kid TTs with it now. We have both generations of Di2. And a power meter. I wish none of them were ever invented. I'm not at all surprised by this innovation. I wouldn't be surprised if the next step was coaches shifting for the riders based on their computer screens. F1 got rid of the anti lock brakes(so I hear) because they want the driver driving. This wouldn't be the end of the world, but I'd like the electronics gone from competition. Just have the officials set off some big EM pulse before each race and we're good.

Doge,
There is a much bigger wave of tech that is coming that you and humanity aren't probably going to be ready for. Machines that mimic human behavior. They are already here in fact. Robots that can be companions to people. I am older so I won't see much of the what the younger generation here will and some believe this could even further unravel humanity. To me, change in bike tech has been positive. Yes, there is stupid BB30 and ISP's and few other things along the way but the vast majority of changes in bike tech have been positive and I even put electric shifting in that camp.. That said, I have ridden electric shifting a few times and still prefer my mechanical Campy. But auto shifting of electric shifting has a lot of merit and really increased the benefit of electric shifting. Maybe, but maybe not for racing...time will tell. It is no different that racing other vehicles from cars, boats or airplanes. Humans power all of these vehicles and the motor of a human still is a large percentage of a powering a bicycle. So we disagree a bit there. I am a tech guy and interested in future technology. But look what technology has done in the context of social media. On one hand it is has been positive. It allows all of us to talk about what we like on the internet and share information in spite of the unmasking of human ego and all the antisocial behavior social media is known for. But the world has never been more contentious keeping in mind it always has been at some level. Technology in some ways isolates us socially and perhaps more information is more destructive to the human spirit than less.
But the slippery slope is artificial intelligence which may even find its way into bicycle shifting at some point. Learning behavior. The human brain is being reverse engineered as we speak. The brilliant E-car CFO Elon Musk is keeping his hand in it in fact to prevent foul play 'if he can'. If AI can be produced that can create an IQ 2-5 x's the intelligence of the smartest people that develop current tech and interfaced with a larger data base (RAM) than human's can store in their cortex based upon evolution which could even happen in my life time all bets are off what will happen. A race of super robots basically. So 20 years ago, an auto shifting bike couldn't even been conceived of, now there are robots that can ride a bicycle and that saddled with artificial intelligence is going to completely change the landscape of life as we know it.
Maybe religious zealotry will be abolished in the next 500 years...who knows but if not, this divisiveness in combination with tech we can't even consider now does not bode well for mankind. So ride your bike now and enjoy it.

DC Rainmaker has an overview/first impression up, Surprise, surprise - someone that's got actual hands-on time with it is more impressed than the 'net experts that can't even be bothered to watch a 2 min video before declaring all of the systems shortcomings. Hands-on with the Bioshift Automated Bike Shifting System | DC Rainmaker

Two minutes? Dude, it was like 7 minutes! Who has time, or the attention span, for that?

The scope I was discussing is in competition. I've been in technology all my life and didn't think this was about cyborgs. Cycling, with the exception of areas where it is the best transportation, is not done for efficiency, rather enjoyment.
The person being the intelligent and power part and the bike being the delivery part. There is a romance in that relationship. When bikes (or coach in car with electronics) start doing the thinking and providing their own power, they are changing their role and the relationship is altered. If my bike becomes like a motorcycle - I might want to just get a motorcycle.

Still - if allowed, and I thought an advantage in competition - I'd buy it. Just like I'd buy a javelin with wings. But I'd prefer for competition the people are competing and the bike is closer to a standard piece of equipment.

Everybody wants/needs something different from their activities. I pedal hard. I sweat profusely. I breathe rapidly. My heart beats fast. I repeat all this for between one and several hours. I trust my health is being improved. Not once during that time do I contemplate any "romance" inherent in the activity. And I love all aspects of cycling, the riding, the buying and selling, the shade tree mechanical work, you name it. But alas, no romance. When I am ready to invest in a new drivetrain or bike, automatic shifting, if available, will suit the purpose just fine. None of the above activities and physical responses will be adversely affected.

I still like going to the book store and milling around and looking at books to buy. I don't like the kindles. I have my iPad and love it but not for books. Bike are the same way. I enjoy them and the oneness I feel with them. For me, I have no interest in electronics on a bike or a book.

I'd consider 100,000+ units per year for a decade to be pretty successful. 40,000 in their first 12 months. But you didn't know how harsh and unexpected the shifts were until after you assembled it and no one wants to put it back into the box.

Agreed. The technology is expensive yet the vast majority of people who want it aren't really willing to pay for it because they are just getting into the hobby and they see bikes as inexpensive commodities.

If two bikes were at an IBD and one had automatic shifting and the other was a normal bike, I think a lot of new riders would pick the automatic (especially when a good automatic system can be run in a manual mode at the rider's request). But if the automatic bike is 2X+ the price, most won't do it.

Yes F1 is a great example of getting rid of electronics in competition.

Your theories are cute, but won't hold up when the technology is finally available commercially. It will be so good, no pro will be able to do without it. Wait and see. You insist on pretending that knowing how to shift proficiently makes one disinterested in auto shifting. Nothing could be further from the truth. Adopting auto shifting won't characterize someone as being inept in bikes any more than it actually did in cars. Thinking otherwise is just a mind game you are playing on yourself.

I don't pretend to know. My opinion is based on feedback from countless bike shows pitching an automatic shifting system that me and my team developed. What's yours based on?

This is for the driver. It was for the crew. They had laptop doing a bunch of this.
Maybe you misunderstood me - I favor putting as much control in the competitor's hands as possible. All the decisions should be made by the competitor. Not the coach, not the computer.

This is of course my view/what I like. I don't like radios for cycling. I don't like radios in helmets of football QBs. I don't like soccer electronic goal line technology.
I like seeing the human error and indecision as part of the whole event.

For training/being an enthusiast - whatever makes you happy.

Four things:

* 66 years of experience with humans' voracious appetite for material things.
* The concept, "build it and they will come".
* The news I've seen regarding the development. It already looks too good to fail.
* Competiton. Each of the big three cannot take the chance that someone else will get there first. They will have to try to get this on the market as soon as they can.

All of the above assume that it works well. This is one development you absolutely don't want to beta test on the public. Anything less than excellent performance right out the gate will put the whole development back years.

I don't know who you were pitching to, but when SRAM or Shimano bring it out, I am ready to buy it (or at least determine if I can afford it for three bikes). And I have been doing this for a long time. Knowing how to shift proficiently doesn't mean I like to. Why wouldn't I want to let a robot do an onerous job if it can do it right?

But just to be clear, you did notice that I said "when the technology is finally available commercially". That could be the hang-up. I don't know whether you are an independent developer or you work for a major bike parts supplier or even one of the big three. But where this comes from will make a big difference. The hard sale will be either to one of the big three or within those companies themselves. The public is going to be the easy part.

Disagree...I think you are overestimating the actual need/want for this type of tech...and you are assuming UCI will adopt it. I really don't think auto shifting will be adopted in the pro peloton in the near future....maybe not ever.

I agree with you. I also agree with UCI, although they did recently change on the hour record bike.

Big of a difference there. The Hour Record rules problem came about because there were a million and one different aero/non-aero/slightly-aero/Superman-aero positions, and there was a whole issue of different records for different standards.

Auto shifting is a lot more black and white.

Get this reality-based first-hand observation outta here!

Fair enough. Let's watch what happens. We can consider this a bet to keep it interesting.

Maybe and maybe not for pro racing but auto shifting likely won't be embraced at the pro level because it won't be as fast or provide the level of control a pro wants.

But lets be clear and the handwriting is on the wall. Autoshifting is here and will be available on electric shift bikes moving forward for one simple reason. For those that purchase an electric groupset, with exception of adding a Powermeter many will want anyway, the software 'comes along for the ride'. With exception of the tremendous development effort, its a free lunch. Just software. This is cut and dried. It will be an option on every Di2 bike sold and will tell you personally it would be a key reason I would purchase Di2. I ride at a couple of different intensites as many riders. Out my door and down the street and through town where shifting doesn't matter much and auto shift will be good enough. For racing or aggressive group riding, flip a switch and now you have good ol' Di2. No weight penalty. Gonna be popular without question.

I agree for the most part and actually I think it is a good thing that is a "value added" feature. Certainly it will be a selling point to electronic shifting, and even cycling with a power meter. I think it would be a pretty good training tool too; I just don't see "the masses" going for it in droves or buying electronic shifting just to have it.

Truth be told, my wife would love automatic shifting...she is a recreational biker who likes everything to be as simple as can be and hates thinking about shifting. She would go for auto shifting all the time but I have a feeling it will be sold as a high end thing and not at her price point.

Maybe not be her price point initially, but I bet in 5 years, it will affordable and Power Meter prices will come way down as well.

I have a couple of the original Auto-bikes in my collection. I bought them just a couple of weeks ago through a Craigslist ad. It had been at least twenty five years or so since I thought of these bikes, but when I saw the listing I immediately remembered the late-night TV infomercials from the late 1990’s, which is how they were originally marketed and sold to the public.

Finally had time to watch this. Good observations on the automated system.








Disclaimer: Only had a chance to watch the first 30 seconds or so. May take another 3 years to finish the rest.

My pair of original his and hers 1998 Violet Splash CSA Auto-Bike Classics.

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