Electronic Shifting

Electronic gear changing

A few years ago, electronic gear shifting was still an unaffordable luxury used only by professional cyclists. But technical developments have not only improved the quality of electronic shifting systems, but also made them more reliable and less expensive. They're still not exactly cheap, but electronic shift groups are becoming increasingly affordable for the highly enthousiastic amateur.

Why electronic shifting?

Electronic shifting was a bit of a gimmick when it was first introduced. Many people wondered what its advantages were. But since then, the pros have had a lot to say about it. For example, switching gears is faster, more precise and the risk of, say, accidentally removing your chain is lower. But there's even more advantages. With an electronic system, you can shift gears even when your mountain bike's derailleur is covered in mud. You might have trouble doing that with old-fashioned cables!

Shimano and Sram electronic groupsets

At the moment, it's mainly Shimano and Sram who are working hard on their electronic shifting groups. At Shimano, it can mainly be found in the Ultegra and Dura Ace series. Sram has a lot more electronic groupsets: Rival, Force and Red for Road and XX1, X01 and GX for MTB.