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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

#81

Post by gnarcoregrizz »

tonymet wrote: post #46

The bike is the most elegant mechanical systems in history, elevating humans from earth's least efficient creatures to it's most efficient. Electronic shifting and other boondoggles completely undermine the reliability, elegance and simplicity of bikes. I've fixed my bike while on the side of a mountain a hundred miles from home and ridden home. What happens when my derailleur firmware crashes?

Beyond singlespeeds, I don't think bikes are that reliable or elegant, at least for 2017. The drivetrain is especially bad, I'm open to any proposed improvements there (gearboxes! i'm similarly meh on electric shifting, but it can solve some real problems). There are so many issues - exposed mechanical parts which collect dirt, bad/sticky cable housing, cable stretch, chain stretch, gear wear, floppy derailleur which causes the chain to come off and chain slap which can damage your frame. As for reliability, drivetrains last only 5k miles or so depending on conditions. Chains need re-lube every 5th ride or so. As for design outside of the drivetrain, derailleurs put the majority of the weight on the rear wheel which isn't ideal for suspension or center of gravity. They are also easily broken because of their location

I'm excited for https://pinion.eu/en/gearboxes/. It is designed to last a long time and not need maintenance (we'll see about that...)

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

#82

Post by m0llusk »

mi100hael wrote: post #34

Lots of negativity in here. Most bikes with DuraAce components already aren't the sort of thing you'd leave out on a city street unattended. One cool thing that stood out to me was that these monitors will transmit data over ANT+ or Bluetooth. As someone who already tracks all my workouts w/ a Garmin watch, I welcome the ability to track more metrics like power output. Gives you a good way to objectively track your p…

Change hating old men yelling at clouds can be annoying but are a sign of progress.

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

#83

Post by papa-whisky »

Nition wrote: post #59
pcl wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Just look at your average bicycle light set, even after I don't know how long we still can't make a set that lasts more than a couple of years. You're probably right about the average bike lights. But the good folks at Light and Motion make some incredible products. USB-rechargeable, bright, easily removable, and pretty durable in my experience. http://www.lightandmotion.com/

Since we're talking about it, are there any decent brands still making dynamo bike lights (the ones that are powered by the turning of the wheels)?

There are quite a few, mostly German. For the hubs themselves look at Schimdt SON, Shutter Precision, or Shimano. For lights, Busch & Muller, Schmidt, or Supernova.

Most dynamo lights use a reflector (more like a car headlight than a normal bike light or flashlight) so despite the lower lumen output they can actually provide much more useful light on the road.

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

#84

Post by cag_ii »

CalChris wrote: post #45

Dunno if Shimano is ever going to live down BioPace. At the same time I’m glad clever people kept at it. https://absoluteblack.cc/oval-104bcd-chainring.html

This is the second comment in this thread criticizing the biopace, what exactly was the problem with it? It seems to me that the oval chainring is seeing a resurgence lately (in the MTB community at least).

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

#85

Post by cag_ii »

jeffdavis wrote: post #7

Bicycles are one of the few remaining non-trivial, non-electric machines that ordinary people use. I'd prefer to leave them alone. Seriously, I have a hard time thinking of many machines that fit that description.

We can totally have both "old" bikes and new ones.

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

#86

Post by bamboozled »

ssambros wrote: post #57
jdavis703 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Copenhagen people raise their hand to indicate a stop. I wish we'd adopt this in the U.S.

Do people have three hands in Copenhagen, because last time I checked my bike had two handbrakes, and I have to use both of them to stop safely?

A lot of people in Copenhagen (and other European cities) ride bikes with rear pedal breaks or “coaster brakes”. Which makes signalling easier as you have a free hand when breaking!

Also worth checking out is this signalling guide! [1]

[1] https://roadcyclinguk.com/how-to/technique/essential-guide-r...

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

#87

Post by photojosh »

dasil003 wrote: post #48
hmschreck wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seconding this, they make a rear light so bright my 94 year old grandfather can see it in daylight.

Which I have to say sucks for the rider behind you. If you demand that level of visibility get a high vis vest. Personally I err on the side of assuming every car will try to kill me. It's kept me alive in SF, London, and worse places where most people are scared to bike on roads for good reason (New Mexico).

For maximum visibility safety when riding alone, I turn on the maximum-output, blinking mode (which IIRC is actually illegal in some other countries). But when group riding, dim it down and turn it on to the solid-on mode.

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

#88

Post by photojosh »

mi100hael wrote: post #34

Lots of negativity in here. Most bikes with DuraAce components already aren't the sort of thing you'd leave out on a city street unattended. One cool thing that stood out to me was that these monitors will transmit data over ANT+ or Bluetooth. As someone who already tracks all my workouts w/ a Garmin watch, I welcome the ability to track more metrics like power output. Gives you a good way to objectively track your p…

I'm with you there; love my power meter. But there's a difference between electronics that just give you extra metrics vs electronics that have to be functioning in order for the bike to work!

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

#89

Post by photojosh »

chrismorgan wrote: post #20

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 recumbe…

Mainly because of bike snobbery: mirrors are seen as for dummies. [0]

I have a rearview mirror on my road/commuter bike that replaced the plug on the bar end and it works a treat.

[0] http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#66

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

#90

Post by contingencies »

I live in Shenzhen. We moved from Yunnan about six months ago. Yunnan is one of the best places for cycle touring on earth: huge mountains, beautiful forests, great roads, little traffic, camping available but not required, plenty of people who can help you resolve mechanical issues for change. My mountain bike - XTR Shimano components, no lights or electronics at all - is literally in a shipping box, and the comments on this article have inspired me to re-assemble it this weekend.

On another note I'm planning to take a cycle touring trip through Mizoram in far eastern India over Chinese New Year, probably for around three weeks. Anyone crazy enough to want to join? :)

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