The writing is on the wall…
With Shimano finding more affordable options for electronic shifting for road bikes in the Ultegra group and Campagnolo finally releasing their groupo, the cycling industry is in a race to see how fast they can get affordable electronic shifting options to the road biking community.
What does this mean for mountain biking? Those same companies are probably researching into ways to adapt this same technology for mountain bikes. With cable shifting running its course on innovations (going 10 speed wasn’t as much innovation as it was just something different), the first to the plate with an electronic option approved for dirt is going to capitalize on new sales as riders get shiny new key syndrome.
For a part of the industry that hasn’t seen anything other than super expensive hydraulic shifting options…it will be interesting to see how it plays out over the next couple of years.
But the question remains…
Is the mountain bike ready for electronic shifting?
Here is how I see it. No.
While I do believe this is an eventual progression just by the way the road industry is headed, I do not think the mountain bike is ready for electronic shifting. There is just too much that goes wrong even under the current cable driven system on the trail that introducing a more expensive, more complicated electronic option will prove to be even more problematic.
What happens when you hit that electronic rear derailleur up against a rock? You think you cried when your $250 X.0 derailleur bent?
I was one of the ones that also thought electronic shifting on road bikes was a little ridiculous until I had the chance to ride the Di2 system. However, even if they are able to bring that level of performance at a price people are willing to pay, the durability of an electronic system on the trail is going to come into question.
Even in a pinch, cable driven systems can be fixed trailside and you can even carry a spare shifting cable in your pack should the worst happen. With electronic options, you will be stuck on the side of the mountain with nothing but Flinstone power to keep you going. I don’t know about you…but riding 7 miles on a Strider like bike doesn’t sound very appealing in the backwoods.
Of course, there is the possibility that I could be completely off base in my assumptions and the big players in the industry have no want to bring electronic shifting to the mountain biking industry at this time. I just have a hard time believing they are not at least testing it out and rumors are flying about Shimano playing with a Di2 version of XTR.
What do you think? Is mountain bike shifting ready to go battery powered?
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