Thinking about what's next...

[SoCalSteve]

I know that wireless shifting has been tried (and I think pretty much failed) by Mavic. I am sure Dave Kirk has an opinion of the Mavic gear as he built a frame around it.

I heard rumors of Campy going down that road. I can only imagine that Shimano has it in the pipeline as well. I say this because of the Japanese penchant for all things electronic (in cycling, the Flightdeck comes to mind as being pretty cool).

Whats' everyone's opinion on wireless shifting? And/or braking?

And, does anyone see anything wrong with cable shifting/braking? Seems to work very well, easy to maintain and adjust, etc, etc, etc...Is there a reason to go to wireless?

Just thinking out loud....

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions on this subject.

As always, thank you all in advance,

Steve

PS: After owning and riding several thousand miles with the new Dura Ace 10 speed gear (as well as building a few bikes with it) I cant imagine anything working better...

[cs124]

I think it's a solution to a non-existent problem. Current cable actuated drivetrains work just fine for me. I'd ask "what does Zap et al do that will make my riding more fun?"

The trend to fly-by-wire technology is really all about taking control of the machine away from the operator. Might be appropriate for cars (and planes) but not necessary for bikes.

[Louis]

Hey, how about an electro-mechanical system that uses your speed, cadence, grade, heart rate, and whatever else you feel like throwing in there to change gears automatically?

I know there’s a model out there with weights on the rear wheel that shifts automatically, but this would be even cooler… You could have a cruise mode and a turbo / sprint mode and all sorts of other neat features!

I’d never buy one, but I’m sure there are some folks out there who would want to be the first on the block to have one.

Louis

[David Kirk]

While I think the Mavic Mektronic works very well I'd have to say that it doesn't work better than say Dura-Ace...........just differently. It has it's strong and weak points like anything else. I like it because it's fun to use.

I feel that the important thing to remember in this is that experimentation is what makes for better stuff. Most experiments fail. It's the few that don't that make our lives better. When Shimano introduced indexed shifting many said it was un-needed and over complicated. But it worked very well and it opened cycling up to more folks. There are countless examples of this over the years. If we were to say that Dura-Ace works well enough and that there is no reason to consider other ways then who knows what future developments we might miss.

Realistically none of of NEEDS anything better that a Bridgestone RB1 with Ultegra..........but I think most of us enjoy and WANT something more.

I say celebrate diversity and vive la differance ( I failed French class).

Dave

[Catulle]

I say celebrate diversity and vive la differance ( I failed French class).

Dave[/QUOTE]

I'm sure e-RICHIE would love to straighten out your French in exchange for a Terraplane. He might even chip in some Italian. And if you add wheels to the deal, you'll get a PhD in the more prosaic aspects of both languages.

:D

[manet]

... But it worked very well and it opened cycling up to more folks.
Dave

the physically impaired?

[David Kirk]

No.............to all those folks that never mastered friction shifting.

Dave

[manet]

No.............to all those folks that never mastered friction shifting.

Dave

so douglas has remained in camp, and dirt has gone back to
make sure he's ok...

[Argos]

The trend to fly-by-wire technology is really all about taking control of the machine away from the operator. Might be appropriate for cars (and planes) but not necessary for bikes.

I believe this is next:

http://datacore.sciflicks.com/terminator_2/images/terminator_2_large_10.jpg

Then this....


http://datacore.sciflicks.com/terminator_2/images/terminator_2_large_11.jpg