running from a self-charging Li-ion capacitor that can store power for over a year.
This is the way! Get rid of batteries, please.
But as nice as this system sounds, it also sounds oh, so proprietary and complex. I like simple things when talking bikes. LOL
But as nice as this system sounds, it also sounds oh, so proprietary and complex. I like simple things when talking bikes. LOL
Totally fair.
After I watched their video Q’AUTO - Features & Tips | SHIMANO and reread this post’s linked article I’m a bit less enthused as the app and potential patent seems to indicate that this is proprietary :/
Innovation only exists within capitalism as a method of securing future business.
Shimano doesn’t do anything if its not going to make money. I thought it’s known they are ruthless and greedy.
I will never quit the satisfying *CLICK* of my 10-year-old XT shifter!
That aside, I did ride an auto-shifting ebike a few years ago in Vancouver and it was nice I guess. It didn’t use this system of course. It was a Shimano Alfine hub with a STEPS motor.
I think the first iteration of 1x11 XTR was it. Man that thing shifted like butter, didn’t spit the chain off backpedalling in the 42t cog. Everything since has just been a massive disappointment. I’ve got SRAM on my current bikes, and it’s nice having no wires or cables, but it sucks engagement wise.
I’m using that gen. An M8000 shifter with an M7000 cassette and an M8000 derailleur. It’s absolutely incredible. For example, ever since getting this drivetrain I started habitually shifting under power. I recently built a new bike for my wife and I found an M8000 shifter and M7000 cassette for her. I had an M8100 derailleur lying around so I used that with it and it’s not as smooth as the M8000 but pretty close.
The XTR was it though. I had an m8000 xt setup for awhile too, but that m9000 XTR setup, holy fuck. I actually had the m9000 setup first, and sold the bike with it on it, and regretted it ever since.
Even the m8000 xt, which my next bike had and honestly it was a pretty good setup too, but it never quite lived up to that m9 XTR setup. It cost me a fortune, like 1x11 was not even really a thing yet it was just coming out, but I ate shit and needed a new derailleur, and got my shop to pull some strings and get their hands on one. I’m not kidding I think the setup was well over a thousand bucks. But you have to trust me on this, it literally felt like butter. I’ve yet to witness another drive train since that was a smooth as that one. I laughed like a little school girl that first ride, I still remember it vividly (and that’s over a decade ago now).
You know, I looked at my shifter just now and it’s actually XTR. The rest is as stated. 😂
Yeah, I think it’s the mechanical manufacturing precision that takes a great derailleur system like SLX, XT and gets it that extra step to feel magical. With that said, it’s very impressive how good the cheap stuff is these days too. CUES is quite something for the price.
I actually have a SRAM NX Eagle on my Trek Rail right now. That thing eats derailleurs and hangers for breakfast, and the bike shop guy was like legit these are lasting a long time. Hes right btw, it’s lasted, but it shifts so rough, like I’ve tasted the dark side and I want back in
This, along with the new XTR, is sexy AF. It’s also absolutely antithetical to my ideal of the bicycle. Will there be parts in 30 years? Hell, will it last ten years? Can my knuckle-dragging, mouth-breathing dumb ass work on it with the tools I already have and are applicable to all of my other bikes? What happens when it stops working and is no longer supported?
Shimano may have gotten better about this, but the last time I had to rebuild an STI lever, I swore off brifters. Okay, I’ve got one road bike with 10-speed STI, but I got it for $150 from a shop going out of business.
To paraphrase Louis Rossman: if you are unable to repair it, you don’t own it.
Yeah, I haven’t tried the new fancy stuff bc I know sourcing parts would be a pain around here, so I stick with stupidly simple bikes and it’s fine for my daily use
Sound cool, but I wonder how durable it is. I pedal pretty hard and I always lessen the torque when shifting to not degrade the components as fast. If my bike is shifting on its own, wouldn’t that cause more untimely shifts which grind down parts?
Q’Auto is for LinkGlide, which requires pedaling pressure to shift correctly. Hyperglide and Hyperglide+ perform similarly when shifting to more teeth, albeit to a lesser degree. SRAM Eagle is another drivetrain technology that requires more torque to shift correctly. LG and Eagle can kinda shift like garbage when soft-pedaling.
I have test-ridden LG and Eagle, For me, shifts are perfect in the 10 to 25% torque range; full pedaling torque results in perfect shifts nearly every time. And I’m a clydesdale.
Another thing to consider: LG right now is targeted for commuters and e-bikes, although Shimano seems to be expanding the tech. So it’s designed for high load and commuter levels of neglect.
In my experience (>165,000 lifetime miles), HG requires letting up when shifting to less teeth, HG+ less so. The overarching amount of wear comes from a dirty drivetrain and riding on a worn chain*. Keep your drivetrain clean, stay on top of the prescribed maintenance intervals, and the components will last a long time.
FWIW, the only time I have ever broken chains was putting down too much torque when shifting to a smaller tooth count. And that was only with HG. I haven’t broken a chain in decades. HG+ seems to be very tolerant of more torque in both directions.
*This script is getting flipped in some technologies (Eagle, IIRC), with the chain having a much longer service interval than the chainrings.
Thanks for the explainer! I think I am in the commuter neglect category, but I am trying to understand my bike a bit more so I don’t always have to bring it to the mechanic, now I have a bunch of words to search for!
Happy to help! The bikewrench community (https://lemmy.world/c/bikewrench) is really helpful and mostly populated by knowledgeable people. Just make sure to be patient for correct answers.
Non-electric, non-whiz-bang bicycles are inherently knowable to everyone. All the functions are sitting right there in the open. Even the bits inside other bits are still comprehensible to a non-techie person willing to put in a couple hours of learning.
This is in contrast to, say, an internal gear hub (IGH). There are not many people who can work on the internals of these things. I mean actually repair and rebuild them, and make them better than new.
If you’re in the neglectful commuter segment, take a look at Shimano CUES Linkglide. You can get an entire group for something like $350 (don’t quote me on that). There’s a lot more to indicate CUES, but I’ll spare you.
Shimano automatic-shifting
WHAT?!?!!!
I want it
AHHHHHHHHH Pain
Edit:
I’m pretty hard on my bikes so the chains grind uncomfortably against the cassette, I’ll have to replace the cassette, chains, and front shifter cable soon as it’s too short to retension😬So this autoshifter system is perfect for me😍
