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0 pointsjskrablin3y ago0 comments

What's not reliable and tunable when using classic, cable operated gear shifting? I'm all ears, since my offroad bikes are usually getting thrown around a lot, are usually dirty and covered in mud... and gear shifting just works, no need to charge anything and require some adjustments once per year...

I understand that some people get excited about just any $shinynewtoy but unless you're in a position to take measurable performance gain out of it... it's really just a $shinynewtoy. There's a lot more performance to be gained with improving the rider, losing weight, etc.

Or maybe just stop being obsessed by specs, performance, results, comparing oneself to others and just start to enjoy riding.

0 comments

ubermonkey3y ago

If you're only adjusting your cable-pull drivetrains annually, you're getting off easy!

Once you ride electronic shifting, it's hard to go back. It's really nice, really stable, and on the whole I've had much fewer issues with eTap than I had with mechanical Ultegra.

PaulDavisThe1st3y ago

> on the whole I've had much fewer issues with eTap than I had with mechanical Ultegra.

Which might say more about Ultegra than the overall question of cable-driven vs. electronic shifting.

ubermonkey3y ago

It absolutely does.

It says that cable-pull systems require more (and more intense) maintenance than electronic systems do.

1 more reply

kleinsch3y ago

Electronic shifting never has to be tuned, that’s the point. It tunes itself so you always have clean shifting, no grinding chains.

PaulDavisThe1st3y ago

Have you ever ridden a properly built bike with a campagnolo group set? I've gone 15+ years on both my carbon tri bike and custom Ti road bike (both with Campagnolo Record) without ever tuning it (past the first 50-70 miles, thanks cable stretch).

Lio3y ago

Yes I have.

I have a couple of Campag equipped bikes and that’s not my experience.

Mechanical Campag is not as reliable as Di2 or Campag EPS IMHO.

There’s not a huge amount of tuning required but it is definitely still needed and you still need to replace the cable outers as they ware.

They don’t stretch by the way, that’s a myth. The force required to stretch a woven cable is massive. It’s just ferrels shifting on the cut ends of the outers.

kleinsch3y ago

Sure, but now you're talking about a group set that's more expensive than most electronic shifting sets. I had 15 year old bikes that were great, but I don't have the irrational hatred for electronic groupsets that most of the commenters here seem to have.

2 more replies

aix13y ago

I'd love to understanding how this auto-tuning works. Could you ELI5 or share some resources? Thanks.

infecto3y ago

There are different versions out there so I don't know if my statement is globally accurate but I would not call it auto-tuning. But for me the tuning process is magical compared to mech gearing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBIXq82M_oU

TLDR: You shift to the 5th ring, put it in adjustment mode, now each click is a microadjustment something like 1/10 or 1/12. You adjust until the chain begins to rub, then back it out I think 5 clicks and you are done. That single adjustment means you can shift across all gears.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 pointsjskrablin3y ago0 comments

Or maybe just stop being obsessed by specs, performance, results, comparing oneself to others and just start to enjoy riding.

0 comments

ubermonkey3y ago

If you're only adjusting your cable-pull drivetrains annually, you're getting off easy!

Once you ride electronic shifting, it's hard to go back. It's really nice, really stable, and on the whole I've had much fewer issues with eTap than I had with mechanical Ultegra.

PaulDavisThe1st3y ago

> on the whole I've had much fewer issues with eTap than I had with mechanical Ultegra.

Which might say more about Ultegra than the overall question of cable-driven vs. electronic shifting.

ubermonkey3y ago

It absolutely does.

It says that cable-pull systems require more (and more intense) maintenance than electronic systems do.

1 more reply

kleinsch3y ago

Electronic shifting never has to be tuned, that’s the point. It tunes itself so you always have clean shifting, no grinding chains.

PaulDavisThe1st3y ago

Lio3y ago

Yes I have.

I have a couple of Campag equipped bikes and that’s not my experience.

Mechanical Campag is not as reliable as Di2 or Campag EPS IMHO.

There’s not a huge amount of tuning required but it is definitely still needed and you still need to replace the cable outers as they ware.

They don’t stretch by the way, that’s a myth. The force required to stretch a woven cable is massive. It’s just ferrels shifting on the cut ends of the outers.

kleinsch3y ago

2 more replies

aix13y ago

I'd love to understanding how this auto-tuning works. Could you ELI5 or share some resources? Thanks.

infecto3y ago

There are different versions out there so I don't know if my statement is globally accurate but I would not call it auto-tuning. But for me the tuning process is magical compared to mech gearing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBIXq82M_oU

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse