Comments on: Ridden: Dura-Ace Di2 http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/2008/11/ridden-dura-ace-di2.html Pro IS PROGRAM GO Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:17:46 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Albert Herring http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/2008/11/ridden-dura-ace-di2.html/comment-page-1#comment-13899 Albert Herring Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:05:00 +0000 http://66.147.244.157/~belgiumk/2008/11/ridden-dura-ace-di2/#comment-13899 <i>a front derailleur that needs no trimming is something we have all fantasized about at some point.</i><br/><br/>We had those, back around 1980. Sun Tour made a band-on gear lever unit that (for supposedly aerodynamic reasons) had the works on top of the down tube rather than either side of it. The levers were mounted on a cam which was moved when the LH lever moved, so that changing the rear mech simultaneously nudged the front mech across a smidgeon. Worked a treat, and as a bonus you could change either mech with either hand. a front derailleur that needs no trimming is something we have all fantasized about at some point.

We had those, back around 1980. Sun Tour made a band-on gear lever unit that (for supposedly aerodynamic reasons) had the works on top of the down tube rather than either side of it. The levers were mounted on a cam which was moved when the LH lever moved, so that changing the rear mech simultaneously nudged the front mech across a smidgeon. Worked a treat, and as a bonus you could change either mech with either hand.

]]> By: jason http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/2008/11/ridden-dura-ace-di2.html/comment-page-1#comment-13898 jason Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:13:00 +0000 http://66.147.244.157/~belgiumk/2008/11/ridden-dura-ace-di2/#comment-13898 I hope I can get through the rest of my life without uttering the phrase "I can't go riding because my battery isn't charged/died/etc"... That said, I seem to remember Fabian Wegman (a Di2 tester) getting dropped from a '08 TDF break because something went wrong with his shifting. Di2 rings more of marketing than progress. I hope I can get through the rest of my life without uttering the phrase “I can’t go riding because my battery isn’t charged/died/etc”… That said, I seem to remember Fabian Wegman (a Di2 tester) getting dropped from a ‘08 TDF break because something went wrong with his shifting. Di2 rings more of marketing than progress.

]]> By: Mark http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/2008/11/ridden-dura-ace-di2.html/comment-page-1#comment-13876 Mark Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:50:00 +0000 http://66.147.244.157/~belgiumk/2008/11/ridden-dura-ace-di2/#comment-13876 Certainly a technological wonder, but isn't there already enough outlet for creative minds by tinkering with frame materials, tubeless tires, etc. Mechanical simplicity, indeed, but that doesn't mean a bike can't also be complex. Certainly a technological wonder, but isn’t there already enough outlet for creative minds by tinkering with frame materials, tubeless tires, etc. Mechanical simplicity, indeed, but that doesn’t mean a bike can’t also be complex.

]]> By: BYcycles http://www.belgiumkneewarmers.com/2008/11/ridden-dura-ace-di2.html/comment-page-1#comment-13873 BYcycles Wed, 12 Nov 2008 02:46:00 +0000 http://66.147.244.157/~belgiumk/2008/11/ridden-dura-ace-di2/#comment-13873 Electronic shifting? Yuck. IIRC, this has already been tried a couple of times-- Mavic Mektronics? or something like that and I think even Shimano had a version. Neither seemed to take hold. Doubtless, years of research and improved battery technology have made Di2 far superior to these older efforts. Still, to some of us, the appeal of a bicycle is its inherent mechanical simplicity. No Di2 for me, especially at the price it is sure to command. Electronic shifting? Yuck. IIRC, this has already been tried a couple of times– Mavic Mektronics? or something like that and I think even Shimano had a version. Neither seemed to take hold. Doubtless, years of research and improved battery technology have made Di2 far superior to these older efforts. Still, to some of us, the appeal of a bicycle is its inherent mechanical simplicity. No Di2 for me, especially at the price it is sure to command.

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