Modern drivetrains - observations from today's ride

[Matt92037]

My Garmin 1040 has a screen dedicated to monitoring battery level for all of the various batteries used on a given ride. The garmin connect store has an app (battery level?) that will measure the voltage of a coin cell battery that i use for my power meter and HRM. When the voltage gets to ~2.5v its time to replace.

With all of this info at my fingertips i wont be taken by surprise with a battery dying on a ride

[fa63]

I work at a bike shop from time to time, and I can tell you that what you are describing is quite rare Many internally routed frames are very user unfriendly when it comes to changing shift cables. My former Argon 18 was a nightmare, and I convinced someone with an Open UP to switch to an electronic drivetrain after he watched me (for a long time) while I replaced his broken rear shift cable.

If you do get lucky and find a frame with full length housing (like my Specialized Crux), then it is indeed a 5-min job

Originally Posted by Mark McM

Depending on the bike, this could be really easy. Some bikes use full housing, so you'd just pull the old cable out and slide the new cable in. Personally, on bikes that use internal routing I always use cables with full liners (such as made by Jagwire and SRAM, and used to be made by Gore), in which case you can also just pull the old cable out and slide the new cable in. And there are some bikes where the internal cables enter into the down tube and then exit through a hole at the BB, around a guide, and back into the frame - these cables can also be replaced without special tools.

[robertbb]

5 pages and noone mentions a USB power bank? They are very small form factor now and can charge your phone in an emergency as well as your derailleur.

Granted my profession of 20 years in Disaster Recovery and Resilience wt State Gov level makes me think about scenarios 24/7 (yes, we have bugout bags at home, water and food in the car at all times, never let the car below 3:4 full, medications stocked for an eternity, etc. et al) but I’d have thought this solution is obvious to non-crazies too

[BdaGhisallo]

Originally Posted by vespasianus

I think "new" and "digital" sells bikes. But bike sales can only be a part of the business for any LBS. Service is a big part. And I think most bikes shops are worse than most car dealerships. A new chain and cassette is the bike shop equivalent of a new air filter for the engine and cabin.

There's no doubt about that but I've never had the impression that bike manufacturers care all that much about the fortunes of bike shops and how they earn their revenues.

[echelon_john]

It’s only a matter of time before someone slaps a “Powered by Generative AI” label on a rear derailleur.

[El Chaba]

Modern drivetrains are noisy. I don’t know if it is a product of the decreasing ability of people to adjust their own equipment or if it is just inherent in many of the parts. Of course any noise that is present is amplified by an oversized-tubed carbon frame.

[Spoker]

In over 50 years of riding I broke frames, seatposts, stems, rims,saddles, racks but never a shifter cable I can remember.

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by Spoker

In over 50 years of riding I broke frames, seatposts, stems, rims,saddles, racks but never a shifter cable I can remember.

I’ve had a few cause problems. Shimano has a bend in the lever which will eventually cause them to fray and become a problem. And I had a cable begin to fray in a Campagnolo shifter as well, though I think they have/had fewer issues. But cables can become problematic on modern Shimano shifters after a while.

[Red Tornado]

Put me in the column of no cable breaks. Never had one, and come to think of it, I've never witnessed one on a ride (dirt or road) and can't recall anyone I've ever ridden with commenting about a cable break. I've witnessed more discussion on the topic in this single thread, than in 30+ years of riding total.
My two MTB's are all mechanical. My road bikes were all mechanical. If I decide to get back into road riding, I will def have some choices to make, as I'm seeing I'm well behind the tech curve.
The last few years I rode with the club, on the road, I was the only guy running Campy (mechanical), every week it was "when you going to go SRAM like the majority of us?"

[CAAD]

Originally Posted by El Chaba

Modern drivetrains are noisy. I don’t know if it is a product of the decreasing ability of people to adjust their own equipment or if it is just inherent in many of the parts. Of course any noise that is present is amplified by an oversized-tubed carbon frame.

With AXS adjustments on my fly couldn't be easier, anyone can do it. No guessing which way to turn a barrel adjuster. Just click the inner shift buttons to trim the RD. I notice less clacking, skipping, slow shifting on goup rides the past few years. The majority of cyclist do not maintain their equipment, electronic shifting eliminates many of those common shifting issues by eliminating cables.

BUT I have witnessed dead di2 and 2 axs derailleurs at the start of rides, that were fully charged but completely dead for whatever reason. Firmware update fixed one of the axs derailleurs.

My travel bike is full mechanical, 11 speed, rim brake with external cables. I can get a shift cables, 11 speed chains, brake pads virtually anywhere in the world. The only thing on it that needs a charge is the wahoo power pedals, but I can ride it even if it's dead. Proprietary batteries, chargers, charge leads, can be hard to come by.

[Dave]

I've never broken anything in the last 40 years, except when I got T-boned by a car that hit the rider beside me first. That broke a shifter and tacoed both wheels. The errant driver took me home.

My modem drivetrains are not noisy. There's no reason for more noise.

The most difficult internal brake hose routing has to be the new Cervelo with the D shaped steering tube. Stuffing two hoses and two control wires for a mid-drive motor into that tiny space is ridiculous. These all route through the stem, so even a clamp on stem change requires removing bar tape. pulling wires from inside the top tube and disconnecting the brake hoses at the brake levers, so the stem can be removed. The gravel bike version has a different stem and headset cover that avoids this problem.