DI2 Depression.

[Wahine]

Hi Wahine, - et al "purists"
Just to give you a little perspective. I did three upgrades for customers this past summer to Di2. ALL THREE were women with small hands, one with severe arthritis who were really struggling with shifting their road bikes. Two of these customers literally told me they saw the end of their cycling was very near. I feel Di2 gave them a new lease on their enjoyment of cycling.
Sure the "Racer Boys" who run the cycling industry are touting all the "racing performance" of Di2...but performance can be many things to many people.
I'm sure you didn't mean to tell the woman that she is not allowed to enjoy cycling anymore because she has arthritis.
Just a thought.
Seajay

I agree. As a bike fitter I see the advantage to many people. I just don't think that Di2 should be in the same category as a regular bicycle.

Electronic shifting is less of a drastic change than clip-less pedals were. Does anyone else remember when they came in, back in the 80s? At that time, criterium races were started from a standing start - the commissaire fired the gun as you stood at the start line and you tried to get your feet in your toe clips and tighten your straps as you rolled forward. Clip-less pedals were seen as unfair, so many commissaires started doing a rolling neutral lap to level the field. Today many still do, even though you never see toe clips in races any more.

I don't agree with this. Many of the improvements in bike technology are purely mechanical devices. Di2 has an external power source. IMHO that puts it in a different category. Again, I have not issue with it for facilitating riding for people that have physical issues. I'm just arguing that Di2 can't be compared to a regular bicycle, especially in competition.