Gravel / Gravé / Gnarmac / Groad / ATB

You are reading a single comment by @frankenbike and its replies. Click here to read the full conversation.

•

Chak in reply to @frankenbike
I get your very descriptive point, but...
1. They're a hardware making business. Emphasis on business.
2. Many people have tried hacking Shimano's system. As far as I'm aware, it's not happened yet, and neither does Shimano or SRAM. See point 1.
3. Have you ever spoken to owners of shiny new electronic bikes? Not savvy bike users. Average users? I have. Many of them. They're the same people that will stare at you like a wizard when you tell them you can sync your Di2 bike to a Garmin.
Now let's make an open system and see how it all works out shall we?

•

frankenbike in reply to @Chak

Have you ever spoken to owners of shiny new electronic bikes?

I don't think I've ever even seen one being ridden to be honest

Now let's make an open system and see how it all works out shall we?

Good point. An open source thing would be great, you could have a bunch of people making just derailleurs and/or shifters without having to produce an entire groupset at once. I'm sure all the other manufacturers (FSA, WolfTooth, SunTour, MicroShift, Praxis Works, all the electronics companies doing dynamo hubs and power meters, etc.) would be all over it. I am just surprised that it hasn't happened yet. Maybe in a few years.

•

edscoble in reply to @frankenbike

Good point. An open source thing would be great, you could have a bunch of people making just derailleurs and/or shifters without having to produce an entire groupset at once.

It's mind numbingly complicated and expensive to do so, moreso reliably.
•

Chak in reply to @frankenbike

Sarcasm.gif

You're also missing the point. Electronic isn't mainstream for your average user, so Shimano et al doesn't make as much money out of it as your standard cable pull. Why would they make it open source, and thus...lose profit?

Like @edscoble It's expensive. The R&D alone would make smaller companies balk. I worked with a guy who was doing his electronics something or the other MA. He ripped an etube system apart and hated it. Said it was a fucking nightmare to work with, no bleepy bloop and hey presto. It was multiple signal request/receive handshakes with every iteration. From clicking the button, to derailleur confirming shift sequence.

If you're good at making/doing something, why do it for free? more so, why risk a colossal warranty clusterfuck by putting it in the hands of idiots who can barely remember which way a set of batteries go in?

About

Avatar for frankenbike @frankenbike started