'semi' wireless FSA group

[oldpotatoe]

Oh goody...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-fsa-wireless-groupset-debuts-at-tour-de-france

I'll bet this is the way shimano will go 'wireless', but with a smart fder, ala XTR..no front der shifter..

[topflightpro]

Kind of ugly, but interesting.

[MaraudingWalrus]

I'm intrigued, and have been since last year. More players to groupset game the better, I think. Excited to see how this and Rotor stack up against the big boys.

[benb]

2 Hood sizes is intriguing. I would love to try "extra large/long" hoods as I can't wrap all my fingers around the hoods on the hoods from the existing manufacturers.

[CampyorBust]

It's hideous.

[CAAD]

This seems like they are going backwards. Full wireless is the only way to go. Full wireless or bust.

[djg21]

This seems like they are going backwards. Full wireless is the only way to go. Full wireless or bust.

My guess is that there are a lot of patents serving as obstacles at this point. Otherwise, Shimano wouldn't have been so quick to seemingly yield the market for the time being.

[stien]

For me the benefit of wireless is no shifter cables. I don't care about cables between derailleurs and battery. I think it's a good idea.

[sparky33]

It's hideous.

Exactly...I think we are done here.

[oldpotatoe]

My guess is that there are a lot of patents serving as obstacles at this point. Otherwise, Shimano wouldn't have been so quick to seemingly yield the market for the time being.

'Yield the market'? I'll bet shimano sells OE bikes with all di2 vs etap many, many times over. 100 to one or more. I'll bet even world wide, Campag EPS outsells etap on OE and Campag can't really even spell 'OE'. Remember, etap is an advantage to frame builders primarily. Not necessarily to riders or customers who buy complete bikes.

[eBAUMANN]

For me the benefit of wireless is no shifter cables. I don't care about cables between derailleurs and battery. I think it's a good idea.

Agreed. Wireless is nice but I would happily pay less for a semi-wired system.

That said...good LORD that FD is bulbous.
RD looks polite by comparison.

Hopefully it will be priced accordingly...

[unterhausen]

I would rather have a SRAM-style system, but battery life is an issue for me. This still would make a decent travel bike solution, since you could have the battery on the back half of the bike. That's my only real use case for electronic shifting, I'm happy with cables otherwise.

[sandyrs]

I would rather have a SRAM-style system, but battery life is an issue for me. This still would make a decent travel bike solution, since you could have the battery on the back half of the bike. That's my only real use case for electronic shifting, I'm happy with cables otherwise.

I had the same thought.

I like the group okay. I don't think it's notably pretty or ugly, but I also don't put much stock in the appearance of drivetrain components. Being FSA, it will probably have quality issues, but if reviews are good and the price is reasonable I'd think about rocking this just to see the horrified looks on everyone's face. :)

[velotrack]

Eh, doesn't look that ugly to me. We'll see how it performs...

[mistermo]

So who do we have as component makers now?

Shimano
Campagnolo
SRAM
Rotor
FSA

that's it?

How long til Bontrager and Roval enter the fray?

[jruhlen1980]

Isn't microshift working on a wireless setup?

[eBAUMANN]

How long til Bontrager and Roval enter the fray?

You mean trek and specialized? ;)
Never?

The idea of hydraulic shifting (rotor) makes me cringe.
So much mess.

Isn't microshift working on a wireless setup?
Dear god I hope so.
Itll either be hilarious for how bad it works or how good it works for the $$...
One thing is for damn sure though: aesthetically speaking, itll make this FSA group look like C-record campy ;)

[saab2000]

'Yield the market'? I'll bet shimano sells OE bikes with all di2 vs etap many, many times over. 100 to one or more. I'll bet even world wide, Campag EPS outsells etap on OE and Campag can't really even spell 'OE'. Remember, etap is an advantage to frame builders primarily. Not necessarily to riders or customers who buy complete bikes.

A lot of folks I know who use eTap love it and love the clean aesthetics. I know one guy who uses EPS. He does love it but eTap is coming hard and fast and it's because of the wireless design, of that I'm sure.

Regarding the wiring on the FSA, I have always opined that the shifters should be wireless with the derailleurs connected to a central brain and battery using wires.

Wireless clearly has some advantages, especially on a travel bike, but I have little issue with the way FSA is approaching this.

Aesthetically, there's some work to do.... They need to hire a designer, not just an engineer!

[FlashUNC]

'Yield the market'? I'll bet shimano sells OE bikes with all di2 vs etap many, many times over. 100 to one or more. I'll bet even world wide, Campag EPS outsells etap on OE and Campag can't really even spell 'OE'. Remember, etap is an advantage to frame builders primarily. Not necessarily to riders or customers who buy complete bikes.

Oh I dunno. Was flipping through the Giant catalog at a buddy's shop yesterday. 2017 TCR models include SRAM eTap versions. I suspect you'll see eTap out there more and more as the supply chain ramps up.

If Giant is looking to cut costs on frame production, a couple fewer cable bosses or stops can lead to some big savings, I'd imagine. The old "cutting the olives out of the airline salad saves us $10 mln annually" kinda thing.

[jruhlen1980]

Itll either be hilarious for how bad it works or how good it works for the $$...
One thing is for damn sure though: aesthetically speaking, itll make this FSA group look like C-record campy ;)

My mistake. It's wired. And no FD. Also, ugly.

http://www.gizmag.com/microshift-excd-electronic-shifting/42270/

[ik2280]

I thought I'd hate this, but don't mind it at all - as long as they don't screw it up with some terrible logos...which seems likely, given that it's FSA.

[velotrack]

I thought I'd hate this, but don't mind it at all - as long as they don't screw it up with some terrible logos...which seems likely, given that it's FSA.

My thoughts exactly.
I've never really thought any groups were particularly "ugly". They're functioning parts. Some look better than others.

Yeah, they'll slap a bunch of logos and designs on them. How many "FSA"'s can they fit on that RD?

[oldpotatoe]

Oh I dunno. Was flipping through the Giant catalog at a buddy's shop yesterday. 2017 TCR models include SRAM eTap versions. I suspect you'll see eTap out there more and more as the supply chain ramps up.

If Giant is looking to cut costs on frame production, a couple fewer cable bosses or stops can lead to some big savings, I'd imagine. The old "cutting the olives out of the airline salad saves us $10 mln annually" kinda thing.

No doubt but my point is shimano hasn't 'yielded the market'. There will still be many times etap, shimano Di2 bikes sold. Remember...3 levels of di2 and wet brakes. Even EPS will have wet brakes before etap. Also, I really doubt you'll see a etap only frame from the big boys. It's more expensive to change/interrupt production to not drill holes then to do them all the same way.

For above, 'clean lines'...ya mean that 6-8 inches of almost cannot be seen wires? VS the Buick size batteries on the Ders?

[MaraudingWalrus]

So who do we have as component makers now?



How long til Bontrager and Roval enter the fray?

I think the second Shimano catches wind of Bontrager (Trek) or Roval (Spesh) thinking about producing a shifter or derailleur, shimano pulls out the engineering I'm sure they have on building a frame...

[mistermo]

Resurrecting this thread. Anyone have any experience with the FSA wireless group? Is in on the market yet?

[dddd]

You might want to start here:

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=216188&highlight=fsa&page=7

[sales guy]

Resurrecting this thread. Anyone have any experience with the FSA wireless group? Is in on the market yet?

Yeah. Check out the thread I started. I really like the kit. I would consider it for a new build it's the nice. And for this Paceline members that went to NAHBS, they had the chance to play with it on our bike as well as the FSA booth.

I think it's a great kit.

You might want to start here:

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=216188&highlight=fsa&page=7

Thanks for linking it.

[Veloo]

12 speed update.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/reviews/fsa-k-force-we-12s-review/

[Coffee Rider]

It's nice that it got a favorable review.

[RoosterCogset]

So who do we have as component makers now?

Shimano
Campagnolo
SRAM
Rotor
FSA

that's it?

How long til Bontrager and Roval enter the fray?

How about Nike, Honda or Garmin?