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by raoulj 324 days ago
Counterpoint - the benefits of wireless are there but the worry of your unit dying in the middle of a ride now replaces the concern of whether your derailleur is tuned and ready to go. It's easy for a shop to assemble, but now I'm worried about shorting the control unit of my di2 which would be a pricey fix. I have two bikes: one with and one without di2. Both work just as well and one costs much more.

I do love disc brakes though.
2 comments
cheeze 324 days ago
You're talking about charging... monthly? With a system that gives clear warnings early that you're low on battery?

I'm already charging my GPS, headphones, bike lights, etc. regularly. This has been an absolute non-issue to me.

If the battery lasted for 100 miles, sure. But I'm getting ~1000 miles a charge.

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mauvehaus 324 days ago
Honestly, routing the cables through the headset introduces so many tight bends, I suspect you'll get better long-term reliability with wireless. Plus, there are no connections to make waterproof aside from the battery.
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crabbone 324 days ago
You will need to take it apart any time you need to change the tube... "no connections" is a fantasy.

I've never seen anything wireless being more reliable than a mechanical analog. Anecdotally, I moved into a house that had a bunch of this wireless garbage: wireless thermostat, wireless doorbell, wireless light over the backyard gate. All this garbage is dead and dysfunctional in just a little over two years.

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mauvehaus 324 days ago
Which tube are you talking about?

I agree with you that all this electronic stuff is doomed for the dumpster, but I suspect that in this highly specific situation, it prevents wires from getting chafed through and failing. And let's be serious: for the time being the people buying wireless electronic groupsets are replacing them every couple years when something sexier comes out. If it makes it three-five years, it'll be long enough.

We agree that there will be no present day equivalent of all the beautiful old Campy Record in the used bike shops of 30 years from now. All this shit will be long since busted.

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crabbone 323 days ago
Tube is the rubber "doughnut" that goes inside the tire. The part that you usually need to replace if you run over a sharp object and puncture a hole. It's probably called different things around the world.
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snovv_crash 321 days ago
Why on earth would the wireless shifting need to be taken apart for a flat tyre?
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