Rapha, nice but a bit pricey?

What even nicer is the PS Condor bike with the new Dura Ace electronic groupset, shifting has never been so smooth and precise!

I don't see any advantage unless you're racing and you need millisecond gearchanges. I put them in the same category as the F1 style paddle shift sequential gearboxes in road cars. It's just a gimmck to appeal to people with massive wallets.

well, there's more to it than that, or so i have read in reviews. like the ability to change gear effortlessly on steep climbs

I suppose there's no point in shunning technology just because it's expensive.

For a tour pro doing 200k a day, the efficiency of the shifting may gain him a tiny amount of energy and time, at that level tiny amounts matter.

For a fat banker doing 1 lap of richmond on a sunday, the only difference will be he will feel even more of a loser when a 65 year old bloke wearing 80s club kit passes him on the hills and still has enough energy left for a cheery "good morning"

And suddenly you need electronic as well as mechanical nous when it fails for whatever reason down some godforsaken country lane in the commuter belt.

And another thing, whilst I remember: I sent an email to info@rapha as prescribed, asking for more information (wages/hours) about their order-processing-type-role.

Did I get a reply? Did I fuck. Maybe I've been flippant about their products once too often, and my reputation precedes me…

the battery is already charged, just pop down to Condor, press the shifter and see how it change gear without any kind of force.

since I wrote it down, it does sound like a gimmick, but then I suppose it's those technology that you feel it's pretty redundant until you tried it.

My point was that is it really necessary? Sure it's nice, but are you really going to notice a difference to your overall riding by clicking a button instead of moving a lever. It's exactly like I was saying with the cars, they market it with the whole instant gearchange, don't have to actually push a lever, but the only people who really benefit are like RPM said, racers who need every last second to count.

Electronic shifting = 1000 willy waving points

Forgive my dumb questions, but isn't it just another potential point of failure?
Isn't that why most people ride fixed, to not have potentially failing shifters?

Isn't that why most people ride fixed, to not have potentially failing shifters?

speaking only for myself, no, that's got nothing to do with why i ride fixed.

For a fat banker doing 1 lap of richmond on a sunday, the only difference will be he will feel even more of a loser when a 65 year old bloke wearing 80s club kit passes him on the hills and still has enough energy left for a cheery "good morning"

that argument is beneath you.
that fat banker will get enjoyment from his Di2 drivetrain, and enjoy his cycling. it really doesn't need to go any further than that, does it.

Plus, if fat bankers all stop buying high end cycling kit because they are not worthy,then there will be no more high end cycling kit, because no one else buys it in any kind of worthwhile numbers.

that argument is beneath you.
that fat banker will get enjoyment from his Di2 drivetrain, and enjoy his cycling. it really doesn't need to go any further than that, does it.

Plus, if fat bankers all stop buying high end cycling kit because they are not worthy,then there will be no more high end cycling kit, because no one else buys it in any kind of worthwhile numbers.

It's not an argument, just an observation in response to what Nurse Vacation said. The fat bankers are welcome to buy the kit and enjoy using it, I don't begrudge them. just it won't make them any faster.

++enjoyment = ++speed

rubbish. pain=speed

You've overlooked the whole concept of masochism.

by golly, Sir, I think you're right!

It's lighter too. Eventually they'll come up with technology so awesome it will negate my weight disadvantage and my awesome power will be used to smite skinny fucks left and right. You just watch..

what weight disadvantage? weight is relative to your power, are you saying you lack the power to propel yourself?

size medium

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RAPHA-CONDOR-

It's not an argument, just an observation in response to what Nurse Vacation said. The fat bankers are welcome to buy the kit and enjoy using it, I don't begrudge them. just it won't make them any faster.

ah, but it will, surely. the same miniscule aero gains etc ( obviously not with Di2, but you know what i mean) will still benefit the fat banker/me, but their/my overall time will still be very slow. but it will be fractionally less slow, that's the point.

I've had a play with electronic shifters and they are pretty cool. The price will drop hard, as electronic gear tends to do, and it will hit the mainstream. With the minimal amount of power needed I don't think it will be long before you never need to charge them and they run on dynamos. That would be pretty cool. I can imagine having one one day, when they're cheaper, but I'll always prefer fiddling with oily mechanical parts.

what weight disadvantage? weight is relative to your power, are you saying you lack the power to propel yourself?

You failed maths at school, right?

I'll always prefer fiddling with oily parts.

Don't we all...