I just rode nine weeks across the Alps with my SRAM X0 Transmission and the battery lasted the whole trip. A spare doesn’t way too much though. A rock hit my transmission hard and it needed slight adjustment. I took less than a second and I did not have to get of my bike. Also, installing the transmission was super easy. All in all, I think it is way more convenient than mechanical shifting, if you are willing to pay the price. It’s probably not worth it for most people.
I’m not worried about one trip soon after purchase, I’m worried about one trip about 5-10 years after purchase. By then, I’ll probably have misplaced the spare or the spare has died, and I’d be SOL.
I rarely ride for pleasure, it’s almost exclusively for transportation, so I’m not going to be doing a ton of prep for each ride. I want things to fail gracefully so I can reliably get home. Having shifting completely fail is a pretty big deal.
I just rode nine weeks across the Alps with my SRAM X0 Transmission and the battery lasted the whole trip. A spare doesn’t way too much though. A rock hit my transmission hard and it needed slight adjustment. I took less than a second and I did not have to get of my bike. Also, installing the transmission was super easy. All in all, I think it is way more convenient than mechanical shifting, if you are willing to pay the price. It’s probably not worth it for most people.
I’m not worried about one trip soon after purchase, I’m worried about one trip about 5-10 years after purchase. By then, I’ll probably have misplaced the spare or the spare has died, and I’d be SOL.
I rarely ride for pleasure, it’s almost exclusively for transportation, so I’m not going to be doing a ton of prep for each ride. I want things to fail gracefully so I can reliably get home. Having shifting completely fail is a pretty big deal.