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Shimano wants to make your bike as smart as your car

outsideonline.com

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Re: Shimano wants to make your bike as smart as your car

#11

Post by reportingsjr »

rhn_mk1 wrote: post #3

I'm not sure who's seriously interested in most of these features, fun factor nonwithstanding. One of bicycles' strengths is simplicity of critical elements, notably the gear switching. How do they make sure that the electronic system doesn't die on the rider when the battery goes flat? How do they deal with increasing slack in the lines? Who really benefits from turn signals? Unless they are mounted on special stalk…

I don't currently have much to add on the simplicity vs tech standpoint, but electronic shifting has been out for a while and there aren't really any problems with it.

Someone I know rides every day and said the battery lasts for about 4 months (looks like newer versions are rechargeable as well). There aren't any cables in the shifting mechanism. It is a set of shifters that are wirelessly connected to the derailleur.

Re: Shimano wants to make your bike as smart as your car

#12

Post by verytrivial »

"It's reminiscent of a modern car, where you can control all the critical vehicle functions from a few buttons on the steering wheel."

So, one then? The horn?

"Critical" clearly means something different to someone tricking-out a push bike with thousands of dollars of marginally useful kit.

Re: Shimano wants to make your bike as smart as your car

#16

Post by fishywang »

taeric wrote: post #6
rhn_mk1 wrote: post #3

I'm not sure who's seriously interested in most of these features, fun factor nonwithstanding. One of bicycles' strengths is simplicity of critical elements, notably the gear switching. How do they make sure that the electronic system doesn't die on the rider when the battery goes flat? How do they deal with increasing slack in the lines? Who really benefits from turn signals? Unless they are mounted on special stalk…

Turn signals can help folks that have to bike up a hill and want to indicate they are turning. :) For the rest, I agree it increases the failure likelihood, but it is probably heavily mitigated in some cases by the fact that most of the power can be generated by the biker. These are not large gears, so the shifting capabilities probably don't require plugging in. And they should "fail to on" such that if they go dead…

Turn signal would be useful. Just yesterday morning I was almost hit by a car when I was merging from bike lane to left turn lane.

Re: Shimano wants to make your bike as smart as your car

#18

Post by KGIII »

rhn_mk1 wrote: post #3

I'm not sure who's seriously interested in most of these features, fun factor nonwithstanding. One of bicycles' strengths is simplicity of critical elements, notably the gear switching. How do they make sure that the electronic system doesn't die on the rider when the battery goes flat? How do they deal with increasing slack in the lines? Who really benefits from turn signals? Unless they are mounted on special stalk…

Turn signals...

Could it just be a small and lightweight LED panel that flashed a bright arrow pointing in the intended turn direction?

With LED, it can be pretty efficient and still be really bright. I would think a blinking bright arrow would be fairly universally understood.

Re: Shimano wants to make your bike as smart as your car

#20

Post by chrismorgan »

The Rearview Radar exists because of how terrible seeing behind you is on a bicycle. I ride a recumbent tricycle, and I simply have a mirror on the side which I can easily keep an eye on; due to my sitting position I conveniently behold the road before and behind me, unlike a road bike where it’s constant effort to do the same.

I really wish recumbent tricycles were more popular. The story of the exclusion of recumbents from races is rather sad.

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