Originally Posted by
colnago62
when I was going over options and such for my 2016 Madone 9 purchase, the mechanic told me that the bike was designed to function well with mechanical. It makes sense. A manufacturer narrows the frame to the high end market by having a frame that is not compatible with mechanical. It limits their ability to hit the lower price points.
On the other hand, looking Specialized website right now. They have 14 road bikes above $4000, and every one of them comes with electronic shifting and disc brakes. The highest end mechanical shift road bike they sell is a $3600 Ultegra equipped Roubaix and/or $3500 Ultegra Tarmac. They also only have 3 road bikes with rim brakes, the most expensive being the $1350 Allez Elite with 105.
In a few years, it seems likely rim brakes will be gone completely, and electronic shifting will cover the majority of the range.