In late 2001 I bought a new road bike, a Fezzari Empire. One of the reasons I bought it at that time is because that was the last year that Shimano offered its best components (Ultegra and Dura Ace) with mechanical shifting. Since then, they are only available with electronic. SRAM has also gone to the “dark side”.

Why don’t I like electronic shifting? Everyone else seems to love it. They say it works perfectly. Perhaps it does (when it’s not failing due to dead batteries) but mechanical shifting works perfectly too. It’s been perfected over decades and it is simpler, cheaper, lower maintenance, more reliable and durable.

My reasons include:

Electronic shifting has batteries that can die on a ride. To be safe, you need to add a spare battery to your ride kit. These batteries also must be charged periodically, and replaced when they wear out.

Mechanical shifting, once adjusted properly, works perfectly for several years and thousands of miles without needing adjustment or maintenance (other than periodic cleaning, which electronic shifting also requires).

Electronic shifting is less durable and reliable. Consider a multi-day stage ride. Electronic shifting requires you to bring extra batteries or find a way to charge them. It’s extra hassle with no corresponding benefit. Lachlan Morton, who won the Tour Divide in 2023, had electronic shifting. The batteries were a hassle during the ride (charging and replacing), and later it failed, forcing him to jerry-rig his derailleur with a spare spoke.

Electronic shifting is also considerably more expensive.

Electronic shifting has no real benefit to justify the expense and hassle. It’s not lighter, nor more efficient, nor faster, and it’s actually less durable and reliable.

Getting philosophical, electronic shifting contradicts the classic purity of what a bicycle should be: a simple, elegant, purely mechanical machine. No batteries, no electronics, no software. The only power source should be the person riding it.

In short, electronic shifting is a complex, expensive, fragile solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

So why do so many riders like it? It’s high tech, more expensive making it more exclusive, and the latest trendy shiny object. Pros use it, which can make sense since their bike only has to last 1 day, they don’t care how much it costs or how long it will last. But for those of us who aren’t GC contenders in the Tour de France, I’m surprised so many cyclists drink the kool-aid and can’t see that the Emperor has no clothes. And bike companies love it because they can charge you 3 times the price for the equipment, lock you into their “ecosystem”, get a new revenue stream selling batteries, and every few years forcefully deprecate old systems forcing people to upgrade.

No thanks, I have mechanical, the shifting is sublime, it’s simple and user-serviceable, and it will last me the next several decades until (God forbid) I’m too old to ride bikes anymore.