DI2 Depression.

[thekarens]

I guess I don't see the problem. Ultimately the legs determine how fast you are and if someone doesn't like Di2 they shouldn't get it. No one is forced to. Yes, the pros use it, which makes it popular, but that's true of a lot of things in cycling.

[Catrin]

+100 on what Wahine said. It really isn't the same thing as a traditional bicycle, and if someone wants one then that is fine - but it can't and shouldn't be compared with a full person-powered bicycle. I think they are great to help those get out who may not be otherwise able to ride. BTW, I also love a manual transmission - but that isn't related

[Crankin]

I kind of agree about the E bikes. Good for people who wouldn't otherwise be out there, and maybe parents lugging kids and groceries up big hills. One day as DH was commuting to work last spring, some guy dressed in street clothes passed him going up a hill. DH sprinted to catch him and the guy told him it was an e bike. Not fair, at all. In this case, it didn't matter, but still. The guy did not have any disabilities, either (he told DH this). Not sure about the DI2. I'll never get them, for sure. At one time, I could have seen DH wanting them, but not now. It does not seem fair, as Wahine says, to allow them in races, where not everyone has this technology. But, I am not sure how much easier it makes the shifting and how that translates to seconds shaved off of race time. I know how important this is, from my son's brief racing career, but again, a lot of people can't afford it.

[pll]

I don't buy the 'it's not fair, not everyone has the technology' argument on DI2. There is LOTS that people don't have (and cannot afford) and is allowed in races on the same footing: lighter bikes, nice carbon wheels, amazing TT bikes, properly fit bikes, components that are higher grade than others. Some even race with powermeters and heart rate monitors, aero skin suits, aero helmets. I won't go on. I don't see a fundamental problem with electronic shifting in this dimension -- the playing field isn't level already. Electronic shifting does not propel the bike and, at the end, a strong rider in a clunker can drop the fanciest equipment ridden by a bad rider.

[nuliajuk]

...Electronic shifting does not propel the bike and, at the end, a strong rider in a clunker can drop the fanciest equipment ridden by a bad rider.

Yup. At the Pan Am games in Winnipeg in 1999, a Cuban rider on an old steel Colnago track bike won the men's kilo on the track. The second place rider was on a state of the art carbon fibre wind-tunnel tested wonder-bike. The rumour was that it had cost his association almost $20000 to develop.

[pll]

At the same time, it is sad when $ buys better results for riders within similar skill levels. I know there was a discussion about not allowing TT bikes in the Nature Valley Grand Prix time trial, but, overall, it was good for smaller teams that cannot afford to travel with at least two bikes per rider (and some teams do not have more than one bike per rider). That's an attempt to level the playing field.

[Wahine]

I don't buy the 'it's not fair, not everyone has the technology' argument on DI2. There is LOTS that people don't have (and cannot afford) and is allowed in races on the same footing: lighter bikes, nice carbon wheels, amazing TT bikes, properly fit bikes, components that are higher grade than others. Some even race with powermeters and heart rate monitors, aero skin suits, aero helmets. I won't go on. I don't see a fundamental problem with electronic shifting in this dimension -- the playing field isn't level already. Electronic shifting does not propel the bike and, at the end, a strong rider in a clunker can drop the fanciest equipment ridden by a bad rider.

All very true. But there is still a supplimental power source that replaces part of the physical effort of effectively operating a bike. No it doesn't propel you forward, but it is part of what allows you to move forward efficiently. I think that actually makes a difference. Having said that, advances in technology like lighter frames, better none electronic shifting, brakes etc don't bother me at all. I'm not trying to claim that my objection to Di2 is fully rational.

[pll]

That does not bother me. In the early days, people had only one ring and two cogs, and had to get off their bikes to shift to the other cog. Talk about taking some of the effort out of the equation. So, electronic shifting does not bother me at all. It is a continuum of changes along different dimensions. <But having to apply a software patch to my bicycle would be perturbing to me. So much for rationality.>

[rebeccaC]

"Don't upgrade, ride up grades"

Campy 10 index has work well for me for a number of years now so I don't feel any need to change to electronics and I'm not luddite enough to want to deal with the nuances of friction shifting. Electronics can offer something positive in a number of ways for some people and no matter what that want is influenced by I'm fine with it.