GhostRider62

All of my bikes for over 30 years are mechanical meaning indexed shifted whereas in the 80's I had C record, bar cons on my touring bike, and in the 70s, I had Campy Record on my 1972 Masi GC. I still have those bikes. We're talking past each other but thanks for trying to play.

wolfchild

Winning races has a lot more to do with the riders training and genetics and PEDs than the frame material, type of brakes or the type of derailleur that he is using...The main reason why pros have switched to disc brakes, electronic shifting and carbon everything is simply because bike industry coerced them by force into using it. They can't say no because they would loose their career.

Atlas Shrugged

How do you explain the local race scene and other amateur events like Fondos or sporting group rides which are completely dominated by the bikes you describe above. I assume you would consider they are not as wise and able to resist brainwashing as yourself. I have a perfectly restored Marinoni custom made for myself in the late 70’s which hangs in my den, I just see no purpose in riding it when compared to my new bikes. I mention this because I also have nostalgic feelings of the past but recognize they really weren’t that good when compared to current tech.

PeteHski

That and because the competition simply drives marginal gains. You must be deluded if you think bikes have not improved over the last 40 years, but then I guess you probably wouldn’t know.

So anyway are you going back to mechanical shifting? Oh wait, you don’t even ride a multi-geared bike.

GhostRider62

I don't think equipment choice is as critical in mass start racing as it is in professional golf. I am not a very good cyclist, maybe the equivalent of a 10 handicap in golf but I was pretty good in golf (plus 2). The speed of the golf swing puts an enormous premium on the correct shaft and to a lesser extent to ball choice. I miss golf but my back is hosed, my last round had me -8 after 12 and had to stop with two par 5s to play and I thought I'd beat my best of 62. After I had shot that I asked the shop what the course record was.......56.....some guy named ViJay. Pros are in a different universe, I played the US Open course at WInged Foot, Merion, and Shinncock just before the Open with 80, 82, 76 and I played really well. Pros would be 10 shots better but I think I can appreciate how good they are. Long story short, I thing gear choice is a bigger deal in golf but I am not a very good cyclist and it seems tactics and teamwork are more important and that W/Kg thing on the climbs. Equipment in cycling is all pretty much the same.

Steve B.

Got a link at that price ?, I couldnt find anything near that cheap.

PeteHski

It’s not really anything like that.

GhostRider62

List on a SRAM Force AXS RD is $377 and can be found for $300

spelger

i replace the rear shifter cable once per year. when removed i can see that it is well worn near the innards of the shifter. not terribly expensive but it does add up over time. i'll be new to di2 but i would expect the battery to last more than 5 years though based on current battery technology.

PeteHski

I used to think like that until I tried SRAM AXS. It’s not that I had any real issues with mechanical shifting and I wouldn’t bother upgrading an existing bike. But I can tell you all my future new bikes will not have any cables.

GhostRider62

I rarely buy the first iteration of new stuff although my first carbon frame was in 1986. I greatly prefer electronic

I never believed the stories of better descending speeds due to disc brakes and although I have a love/hate relationship with my 2 month old disc brake equipped bike, I have to say that I did a Strava Segment PB on a weird segment that has a lot of very fast technical descents. I wasn't even trying. Or maybe the bike is more aero than my old rim braked Cervelo S3.

spelger

nah, i've learned a ton here on BF. you just have to sift though the chaff, that's all.

GhostRider62

Price/Qualitie rapport is always a personal decision.

My 25 year old truck gets me where I am going just as well as my new 7 series.

Trakhak

Again, as has been repeatedly pointed out here, if he were young enough to be racing now, he'd be on carbon fiber.

That said:

When Indurain retired before his contract expired, Pinarello, in a fit of pique at losing their cash cow, repo'ed all his team bikes. So he went around to his friends in the peloton and asked what bike they thought he should buy, now that he was a civilian. The most frequent and enthusiastic recommendations: Colnago and Cannondale. He bought a Cannondale.

I remember mentioning that story (which I'd read in Velonews or Cycling Weekly) to our shop's Cannondale rep. He chortled and said, "I know. We'd have given him a bike if he'd only asked!"

Trakhak

There's nothing in that article about Indurain's supposed love for steel bikes---only speculation that, at his size and weight (and strength), he didn't want to risk using frames built with new and (comparatively) unproven technology.

Ironically, Mario Cipollini was one of the few guys in the peloton as big and strong as Indurain, and he loved his Saeco Cannondale. In fact, come to think of it, Indurain probably bought his own Cannondale on Cipollini's recommendation, trusting another big guy rather than all the pipsqueaks.

Lombard

Which is why I'm considering it.

Lombard

Nobody said this except you.

Lombard

I doubt e-shifting will trickle down to Sora anytime soon considering it's still an 8-speed group.

smd4

Don’t be silly. Mechanical bikes aren’t going anywhere. I can still get parts for an 1890s steam locomotive. Model T guys can keep their cars running.

Sorry to disappoint you. Mechanical bikes are here to stay.

Lombard

It's a conspiracy! Big Electronic, Big Index, Big Disc Brake and Big Carbon are behind all this. But not to worry because Big Mechanical, Big Friction, Big Singlespeed, Big Rim Brake and Big Steel are fighting back!

smd4

When I’m helping operate an obsolete steam locomotive, I laugh at the guys who think their “modern” diesel is the end-all be-all. And laugh again when they can’t start it because the batteries are too cold.

I remember a 1999 railfair where a steam locomotive sported a small sign: “Y2K Compliant.”

Steve B.

u

Have to wonder though. Maybe Campy will still be making high end mechanical. Shimano has already decided top 3 groups to be electronic, unless they decide 105 should be mechanical as well. SRAM will likely follow Shimano's lead and go electronic only, for top tier groups. So what mechanical groups are you talking about will still be available ?

DangerousDanR

In answer to the original question, I had said that I would not go back to mechanical shifting after riding an EPS group set for the past few years.

Then I decided to convert one of my Lynskey hardtails into a drop bar "gravel" bike. Since I have never been able to tolerate the floppy lever of Shimano or the is it two clicks for up or down from SRAM, l was "stuck with" the mechanical Ekar. Short version is I really like the Ekar.

And now I am considering building up a carbon fiber aero road bike while I am still fast enough to benefit from it, and the penalty for Campagnolo EPS Super Record over a mechanical Record group set is around what Mrs. Dan and I would spend on another tour in Scotland.

I can afford to do both, but I am not sure that the EPS is worth that much more to me. My Ekar says that electronic shifting, no matter how good, is not worth three weeks in the Highlands.

Atlas Shrugged

Ironic you tell anti-technology story based on a massive hoax “Y2K”!

But really, are we are now talking about steam locomotive advantages over diesel/electric just when I thought it couldn’t get more ridiculous.

tomato coupe

You can't make this stuff up ...