Originally Posted by
Sy Reene
Perhaps. No removable memory card ability, or their own proprietary charging cord, or non user-replaceable batteries, or taking until generation 7 to make the phone water resistant. Plenty of things consumers would have preferred but sometimes the marketing promised pluses outweigh the negatives.
Then buy an Android. Or buy Mircoshift. Or buy nothing. It all sends a message, though some message are louder than others. And just because we don't get what we want, doesn't mean the company making the stuff isn't getting what it wants. Folks can complain about Shimano's two top tier groups being electronic only and focused on disc braking, but in reality, what I see here is that the folks complaining the loudest are probably not the target demographic for the new stuff, and they're quite proud of that until someone comes along and reminds them.
Just musing now....in the past Shimano's technological development strategy depended on trickle down, I'm baffled as to how this will impact subsequent generations of 105 and Tiagra. Maybe the magic of Shimano shifting was never in the actual mechanical operation of their drivetrains (save the groundbreaking index shifting when they introduced it). Maybe it isn how the chain and cogs interface. If that is so, the new HG+ is a bigger deal than the electronic shifting or 12 cogs vice 11 now. And, once that tech tickles down, 105 and Tiagra get even smoother than they already are, get quieter, and probably get a touch lighter.