Has anyone ever given up modern tech for a simpler bike?

iwillhtfu

at1withmyself wrote: »

Have Di2 on the good bike and yesterday morning made me seriously think about not getting it again when the rear derailleur got mangled in the back wheel. Broke the derailleur and rear hanger so at ~€550 for a new one I quickly downgraded to Ultegra which was still €280, an expensive mechanical!

Very rare for that to happen particularly with Di2 as it's preconfigured electrically so the design shouldn't allow it to over shift. Did you crash or bend the derailleur on something? If nothing out of the norm I'd be querying it.

Weepsie

nqtfarmer wrote: »

What are people’s opinions on tech and cycling? I’m a recent convert from rowing where on the water, your computer told you your cadence and concept 2 indoor told you cadence and watts. I’m overwhelmed with the amount of tech in cycling, at the mo I’ve no bike computer and have a smart trainer. Enjoying the change but in terms of starting out racing what would ye consider essential pieces of equipment for club racing and A4 racing? Thinking of investing in the wahoo element bolt bike computer to structure workouts when outside

Concentrate on bike handling and when groups are allowed cycling in a bunch. Otherwise don't jump into racing

at1withmyself

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Very rare for that to happen particularly with Di2 as it's preconfigured electrically so the design shouldn't allow it to over shift. Did you crash or bend the derailleur on something? If nothing out of the norm I'd be querying it.

Sorry, yep bike had a fall a few weeks ago and forgot to check so once I went into the easiest gear it all went pear shaped! My fault for not checking it.

iwillhtfu

at1withmyself wrote: »

Sorry, yep bike had a fall a few weeks ago and forgot to check so once I went into the easiest gear it all went pear shaped! My fault for not checking it.

Ah bummer, easy happen though.

nqtfarmer

Weepsie wrote: »

Concentrate on bike handling and when groups are allowed cycling in a bunch. Otherwise don't jump into racing

No won’t jump into racing straight away. Used to cycling in groups as it was the cross training got me into cycling with groups locally. I can see the benefit of power meter if you’re up there but once lockdown ends I hope to get back with groups

ednwireland

i dont miss hammering out cotter pins

Large bottle small glass

ednwireland wrote: »

i dont miss hammering out cotter pins

I'd take it over the sh1te that is push fit BB!

Was out today for first decent spin in a while on my Genesis Equilibrium, 7800 groupset, exposed cables, threaded BB, robust wheels, nice tyres.

Simple reliable and nice to ride.

Have zero desire to over complicate that.

On the Caad 10, a friend and very occasional poster has 108k km and counting on one of them

fat bloke

Mate of mine has been a di2'er since it came out. 3 different bikes 3 different new ultegra groupsets. Virtually every winter has cost him a derailleur. Water ingress resulting in non-functioning shifting at the back.

No fix, no recourse except to shell out for a new one.

Had a couple of other shorting issues and loss of charge that resulted in some aborted spins over the years too.

Mechanical all the way for me.

07Lapierre

As a friend of mine once said... “a bicycle shouldn’t need batteries to work”

work

Have a decent belt drive bike for my commute but kept the old chain bike and sadly every time I use the old bike its so much more responsive.
Sad really as I love the idea of a belt.

joey100

I love my di2. Have had the second generation since it came out, about 6/7 years now and it's never had an issue. Have gone back and forward to mechanical and Di2 over the years but all bikes on it now. New mechanical stuff is very good, but just prefer the hoods of the di2 shifters, I only have small hands though and find the mechanical ones bulky.

I thought about maybe going back simple, mechanical for a winter bike but if anything that's a better bike to put di2 onto. Much and grime won't mess up the shifting, no cables to get seized, set it once at set up and it's done. Just charge the battery every now and again and no issues.

Seaswimmer

nomdeboardie wrote: »

I'd have to say I've been disappointed by indexed gears, and the later integrated shifter-brakes (brifters) development

Well I think once you go above 5 or 6 speed you need indexed gears. I tried a non indexed down tube lever for a 9 speed once and the tolerances were just too fine to get into every gear correctly and stay there consistently.
But I take your point. I always liked the clunking and clicking in the old days as you fumbled for the correct gear. But after a while it became second nature.

Tenzor07

Defo on for simpler bikes, though some stuff definitely adds to the experience such as Disc brakes that work much better when it rains out and stops quicker than rim brakes.
Tubeless tyres are great too, gets you home without having to stop and fit a tube...
Electronic gears...nice to have, same as wireless...just more things to go wrong and maintain.


Electrically assisted bikes? They have a place for Commuters and cargo bikes for couriers etc. But for MTB and Road they're good if you have a medical condition, joint issues etc.

However a Bicycle shouldn't have a motor.

fat bloke

Tenzor07 wrote: »

Tubeless tyres ..... leave you stranded because you can't stop and fit a tube...

I'd agree with your post except for that bit!

Tenzor07

fat bloke wrote: »

I'd agree with your post except for that bit!

Ah the Tubeless has saved me a couple of times on the Road bike, but absolutely 100% essential on a MTB, that and tyre plugs...

km991148

I tend to just think about what I actually need.

Last good bike I wanted good frame, wheelset and disc brakes. The rest I'm perfectly happy with mechanical 105 and tubes in the tyres (although I might change that and risk cycling with even less stuff).

I might buy a touring bike next and for that I won't be bothered about rim Vs disc and be focusing on panniers support and comfort.

Next commuter (if we ever commute!) will most likely be single speed.

The money saved on Di2 is a good %age of the cost of my next bike and I see a lot more value in that than being able to configure some buttons for a system I will forget to charge at some point..

nomdeboardie

Seaswimmer wrote: »

Well I think once you go above 5 or 6 speed you need indexed gears. I tried a non indexed down tube lever for a 9 speed once and the tolerances were just too fine to get into every gear correctly and stay there consistently.
But I take your point. I always liked the clunking and clicking in the old days as you fumbled for the correct gear. But after a while it became second nature.

Ah, just realised/remembered your reference to indexing was only for the front. That's interesting re derailleur rub, something that mildly plagues me

The rear downtube shifter on my previous bike had an option to turn indexing on and off, and I eventually just defaulted to off - can't remember how many cogs, though. I've never had much luck keeping the indexed systems working smoothly for all shifts, and when bike shop mechanics have a go the end result is never perfect either...easy enough to get things OK on a stand, but niggles always arise at some point on the road.

CantGetNoSleep

Thanks for all the replies - didn't go for the CAAD10 in the end but having regrets now. If I was a betting man, I'd bet that I'll have a CAAD12 by the summer though.