Kimmo

If you have your front brake wired to the right, Shimano brifters have a pretty cool ergonomic feature; you can brake pretty damn hard and still modulate successfully while shifting to the big end of the cassette.

That feels great.

nuxx 

Aside from the obvious puritanical beauty of an "analogue" classical bike... what bull... shifting with mechanical STI levers is substantially more strenuous on your fingers than Di2... and it's not mere milliseconds... especially with multiple consecutive shifts. When I built a Di2 flatbar for city use - I eventually had to ditch my old mechanical Trek Madone for a Di2 roadbike... it was simply too big a QOL improvement to pass up.

I totally agree! I have that on both my Di2 bikes... even my Dura-Ace spec S-Works. I'm not always sure where the front-derailleur currently is otherwise x) ...and the battery indicator entirely removes any charging concerns/issues.

GhostRider62

What?

I'm an electronic shifting fanboy but a broken cable is trivial. Just carry a spare along with a spare cleat, mounting hardware, etc. I've never broken a cable, because I replaced them on a PM schedule. I have broken cleats and the mounting plate, but was able to repair on the road.

GhostRider62

I have.

I can't get my head around it. But I can't feel anything anyway.

Bottom line for me, I just want gears to change fast, easy, reliability, for a long long time. SRAM AXS and eTap fit that bill for me. All the old crap is up in the attic where it will die.

eduskator

It's not hard at all, and it's certainly not rocket science to plug a bike once a month for a few hours! That's what I like about DI2 versus eTap whose batteries needs to be removed and put on a charger.

In fact, mine can easily last 2 months, but I charge it monthly with my power meter regardless.

Sy Reene

Trying to picture.. you can shift while hard braking (therefore not pedaling)?

GhostRider62

I only do bike maintenance about once every 2 weeks and during that hour, I wax the chain, charge the eTap batteries, wash the bike, and inspect the bike. I have no idea how many shifts a SRAM battery will last. Probably 400-1000 miles depending on terrain and shifting behaviours. The longest for me was about 40 hours and I just swapped it.

For busy people or scatter brains, charging batteries is a challenge

mschwett 

i should have clarified that for me it would be a ride-ending failure. are internally routed shift cables really so easy to replace on the side of the road?

mschwett 

scatter brains maybe … but nobody is THAT busy. it takes a few seconds to plug it in lol. less time commitment than pumping up tires!

GhostRider62

Unless they are snipped off inside the ratchet mechanism on the older Shimano units, in which case a case of beer is needed, yes, it really is that easy. Fetch the 5 mm, push the old cable out, thread the new one in, connect, adjust and tighten. A couple of minutes? Ten? Whether one just takes one long one or a long and a short is personal pref, I always just carried one long. I always have tiewraps and duck tape.

mschwett 

good to know. a lot of these things that seem easy in concept (or to those who have done them many times) just don’t go quite that smoothly for the less experienced.

eduskator

Would love to see a video of that. It's impossible to shift for obvious reasons when the crank is not moving, so the rider would need to continue pedaling slowly while downshifting and hard braking

GhostRider62

Practice

If you want to fix a flat in the rain and in the dark, the first time should be blindfolded in your shower, naked with cold water running. Ok, maybe start without the blindfold

GhostRider62

I shift all of the time when braking. Soft pedal.

SoSmellyAir

Kimmo brakes so hard that rear wheel is lifted off the ground such that Kimmo can keep pedaling to shift chain onto larger cog of cassette.

The new Danny MacAskill. Although the above move may be easier to achieve with regularly cabled (i.e., left lever to front caliper) brakes.

Trakhak

Also trying to picture how that's better than braking with one hand and shifting with the other.

msu2001la

Everyone knows that the first step to fixing a flat in the rain and in the dark is to get naked.

SoSmellyAir

And to cut what you had been wearing into strips which will be stuffed into the tire?

msu2001la

I do this too if it's an expected slow-down, like rolling up to a stoplight. I think most experienced riders do this instinctively to avoid being in too tall of a gear once they start pedaling again.

Doing this while braking hard seems ridiculous though.

tomato coupe

I often add sealant to my tubeless tires while doing a wheelie or braking really hard. It saves valuable time in a long gravel race.
The first step to doing anything is to get naked. (Except, maybe welding.)

GhostRider62

Just some consideration for my better half

GhostRider62

If you are talking about an emergency stop as when a vehicle is about to kill you? Yes, totally agree

If you are talking about braking during a descent, the front brake is all the business. Letting up on the rear for a quick shift a couple of sprockets takes what 500msec? Very easy to do with AXS. I actually think most this thread is ridiculous.

eduskator

Hadn't thought of that! Stoppie & downshift.

jon c. 

I've only encountered this once, but the chain went to the bottom cog and I could easily ride home. I ride vintage with downtube friction but I don't see why that would make a difference.

msu2001la

I was thinking more of a panic stop situation. I'm not bothering to downshift in those types of stops.

The rest of the time? I usually downshift.