'semi' wireless FSA group

[oldpotatoe]

Oh goody...

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/new-...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]

Originally Posted by CAAD

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]

Originally Posted by CampyorBust

It's hideous.

Exactly...I think we are done here.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by djg21

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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?