Gizmodo: shimano

Electronic Bicycle Gear Shifting Promises Aerodynamics and Complications

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:00:00 EST

Shimano, makers of high-end bike gear I can't afford, is making a push for its Di2 battery-powered gear shifter. Why make the time-tested bicycle design more complicated and harder to service? Aerodynamics.

The Di2, which costs a prohibitive $4,000, uses very sensitive paddle shifters placed just behind the brakes. The front derailleur has a tiny computer that decides the gear based on the position of the rear derailleur. The problem is that it's powered by a little lithium ion battery, which of course has a limited range; a bike equipped with the Di2 can't run without the battery. The system is designed so that shifting the front gears is taken care of and the rider doesn't have to shift his body, causing wind drag. Allegedly it shaved nearly two seconds off Tour de France rider Chris Boardman's time.

But for us daily commuters, our loyal, analog, manually-shifted bikes aren't going to have batteries in them any time soon. I can shift on my own, thank you very much. [NYTimes]

Shimano's All-Electric Gear System is Like F1 Paddle Shifters For Your Bike

John Mahoney — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:49:42 EDT

Gear and derailleur mechanisms in high-end bikes are among the more impressive feats of engineering around, which makes bike madman Eric Hagerman's report in Wired on Shimano's new ultra high-end all-electric gear shifters pretty interesting. While other companies have dabbled in replacing rickety lever and cable shifters with all-electric mechanisms, Shimano has taken the tech much further than most. And while it may seem like bike-dude geekery at best, hearing the pros talk about the difference makes it sound like an amazing rig to try.

Switching to servos and batteries is like moving from an automatic transmission to F1 paddle shifters, says one engineer Wired talked to. "Mindblowing—you just touch the button and it shifts," says Tour de France vet Frankie Andreau. And all in all the set is actually lighter than Shimano's current top-of-the-line components, which is a must before pros are even going to go near it. No price yet, but it's pro gear. Big bucks—well over the $2,600 you'd drop on next year's conventional Dura-Ace group. It was on a few riders' bikes at this year's Tour, and it will become available to the public in January of '09 More at: [Wired] Thanks, Joe!

Shimano Rolls Out Simple Auto Transmission for Bicycles

Charlie White — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 12:45:00 EST

Shimano, bicycle gearmaker to the stars, has made a three-speed automatic transmission for those who don't take biking quite so seriously. Shimano Coasting Components make a bike smart enough to shift its own gears, giving you a riding experience that doesn't require any attention or input.

Shimano is licensing the technology to bike makers such as Trek, Giant and Raleigh; pricing wasn't announced yet. – Charlie White

Shimano aims for an easy urban ride [Slash Gear]