Are You Ready to Go Electronic?

The future of bicycle shifting technology as we know it has finally arrived.

After five years of development, secret field testing under some pro riders, spy shots of the next big thing, and finally its formal introduction to the public at last fall's Interbike Show in Las Vegas, the most talked-about product of 2009 is now in stock (or at least order-able) at your bike shop: Shimano's Electronic Dura Ace.

Rather than using cables to connect your shifters to their respective derailleurs, Shimano Electronic Dura Ace, or Di2, operates using electrical wires and an electrical rather than mechanical signal to shift. 

This may seem simple, so simple that you might wonder why no one has thought of it before?  People have, the most famous failure being the Mavic Zap group in the 1990s. 

There have been many hurdles in making electronic shifting for your road bike.  Durability, ease of setup, and battery power have all been issues that Shimano has faced in the last five years of development.

Bikes are exposed to the elements, including rain, cold and warm weather, and maybe snow or mud.  Mechanical cables have proved their worth time and again in all the roughest conditions perfectly.

But electric wires?  Chances are if you pour water on your electrical socket, bad things will happen.  The ability to hold up to weather just as flawlessly as mechanical wires was a hurdle.

Ease of setup and battery sources were another consideration.  Road cyclists are notorious for being extremely conscious of their bike's weight.  The most innovative system in the world is useless if it is huge and ungainly on the bike. 

Despite housing impressive technology, the electronic drivetrain still needs to look and weigh the same as a mechanical drivetrain for it to be a real competitive advantage.

New technologies have allowed Shimano to use an extremely small battery source, one in each shifter and in the front and rear derailleurs to make the system compact and light, just like a mechanical setup.

Since Shimano is introducing the electronic road group, it is safe to say that these challenges have been met.  So how well does it work?

The shifters have been completely overhauled from the mechanical Dura Ace to meet the specifications for electronic.  The shifters look very similar to Dura Ace but work very differently.

Many people familiar with Shimano will know that you press in the inner black lever for up-shifting (out to your taller gears) and push the entire brake lever sideways for downshifting (in to your climbing gears).

The electronic levers, however, work by pushing the inner "button" in for one up-shift at a time, and pushing in the outer button for downshifts.  The brake lever is fixed and does not move sideways. 

Each button takes the same amount of effort to push as a computer mouse button, a complete ergonomic departure from anything Shimano, Campagnolo, or SRAM mechanical systems offer.

Those button pushes initiate rapid shifting.  Shifting is reportedly 30 percent quicker than mechanical systems, resulting in rear shifting that is instantaneous, quiet, and reliable.  The rear derailleur can knock off as many shifts in succession as quickly as you can move your fingertip to shift, without hesitation.

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