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The Vital MTB Crew
You can take transmission's pedal under load single button multishift from my cold dead fingers. Being able to just press a button and go ham on the pedals to get up an unexpected climb is so useful.
And before you mention that Shimano says you can shift under load, just know that I've had multiple xt/xtr drivetrains shit the bed or just not shift under load as advertised. It just doesn't work nearly as well as transmission. Also, Shimano still using plates, spacers, and microspline instead of XD makes me so grumpy every time I have to deal with one of their cassettes. Just use XD already.
Any bike with a SRAM motor and auto shift requires it. I owned a Repeater for a few months (hated it, full power e-MTBs just aren’t for me) and I can say with 100% certainty that it worked that way.
I don't hate electronic shifting, but I'm wondering what the actual benefits are. You save weight on a cable but add it back with a battery. You get precise shifting, but said battery could run out and leave you stuck in the wrong gear. You get an easier maintenance schedule (just charge it and go,) but it's more regularly-occurring.
I'd prefer to do the (occasional) maintenance on a cable system, myself.
Good point. Old axs drivetrain is fine but transmission is a Great Leap Forward.
Its ironic that both PFP and Tom Pidcock won their respective races in the recent 2024 Olympics using Shimano XTR. Even more ironic that Pinarello only sell the Dogma with SRAM electronic. Marketing? Maybe they should read this poll.
Same situation i found myself in. Injured right wrist (tendonitis/carpal tunnel). Had AXS for 2.5 years, no issue. Went back to SRAM mechanical and boy was that extra effort of shifting noticeable in my wrist and thumb. It was rather shocking how much more you have to adjust your grip and thumb, definitely made me realize how much grip you can lose while shifting.
Now, I do believe that Shimano's shifter is much more ergonomic, lighter action, and with the bidirectional upshifting, less taxing on the thumb. But to keep everything apples to oranges, no doubt in my mind that wireless is safer and more ergonomic
Interestingly I was amazed at how flimsy and cheap XT shifter feels compared to X01 and GX mechanical shifters... So much so that Shimano became a non option for me. Plus the cage lock.
For me it comes down to cost, and weight. I am a weight weenie and can't imagine paying MORE for a part that is heavier and more expensive than the item it is replacing. Plus I have seen countless racers not start or take a DNF b/c they forgot to charge their battery. It boggles my mind, you do all this training and prep and then something as small as not having a charge in a battery forces you to DNS/DNF. Plus, I love the way XTR feels ergonomically, and those "pods" don't look that inviting.
I love Di2 on my road bike, but on MTB it's just a scam! especially with gargantuan SRAM mechs....
I had cable 12s mech from Sram, I was hitting rocks or stumps on every ride ! (I have techy and rocky trails), switching to Shimano XT M8000 solved all problems !!!
Things I'm supposed to charge to walk out the door:
iPhone 12 - lightning cord
Suunto Spartan - watch specific USB-C ported clamp charger
GoPro - USB-C (also gotta delete files or swap microSD cards)
Now...they want me to not only remember to pull an exposed battery OFF my silt/mud/dust covered MTB.
I gotta do TWO. Shifter & derailleur. Then...I gotta remember to carry around a multi-port charger.
Or maybe leave it in the house? Maybe leave it in the car & charge there so I never forget a pair of candy sized powerbanks?
My Xterra has 1 cigaratte/12V charger up front, 1 in the hatch,1 in the rear seat
....but no way am I plugging stuff into 2 or 3 ports & trusting myself to remember not to drain my car battery via some glitchy trickle drain.
Leave myself stranded at a trailhead with a charged up bike and dead car?
It's just a LOT to keep track of and move around and cord and un-cord & kill and live and fade & disconnect & reconnect.
ON TOP of all the stuff I gotta charge up these days.
AND....my Oral B electric toothbrush just died!!!
I’m reeling. The guy who absolutely nailed it when he called me a “couple of VWs guy” just casually drops that he has an XTerra. What does this mean?
I think the two of you have to kiss.
Overall I prefer Shimano, but man that cage lock. You don't use it often, but when you do its so nice.
I feel powerless to resist!
Yes cage lock is nice, but I much prefer having shimanos clutch to that cage lock.
It means I live rural, go off-roading, can change clothes sitting upright in my hatch, throw muddy gear on the plastic floor & tow 4k of topsoil in my trailer.
The thing I have in common with a VW owner is it rarely doesn’t have a mechanical issue.
You forgot to charge your dropper.
I prefer mechanical for it's simplicity and reliability regardless of SRAM/Shimano groupset it belongs too once you've attained the necessary mechanical ability to sustain it (still a learning curve in-and-of itself apart from electronic). I have forgotten to re-install the AXS battery and nearly scuttled a ride...luckily there was a spare battery from a friend. But the AXS shift is plenty fast, so it's a wash when all else is equal.
If not for the fact that an AXS X01 Rear Derailleur came equipped on my latest bike (8 mo. riding on it now) I would have previously wholly discounted any pros from the outset regarding electronic shifting (except maybe maintaining shifting speed over a longer period of time thru muddy conditions). Now that I have some field time with AXS I'd share one small "bike dad" trivia regarding it as a system.
If the youngest riders learning to shift had "access" to AXS it would help them SO MUCH...because as the joke goes...if you sneeze wrong AXS will shift! But for those little ones, that's exactly the light touch they'd need. Except it's not back-compatible with 10spd or 11spd officially...too bad.
So once you swallow the cost pill, if you were to throw AXS on a kids bike (and it fit) they would actually learn to shift and level up the trails they can clear because you'd take down the "force barrier" of a mechanical shift...which doesn't exist for pre-teen hands of normal dexterity. If I new then what I know now, I'd have reverted my own rig to a rear mech and bump-down the "electronic crap" to the kids!
Figured I'd share this food for thought onto the interweb. The battery is supplying the actuation force, not the kids hand, so it levels the playing field for them to progress sooner.
Anecdotal Backstory:
A 5.5 yr old could not shift a GX 10spd shifter (a normally used 4 seasons' old Spawn YJ) without a big arm motion (or a stop and Dad would pre-shift) >50% of shifts meant kid rode off the trail. Most of the time kid would not attempt to shift.
A 6.0 yr old can shift a GX 10spd shifter (brand new) with an exaggerated motion.
A 6.5 yr old can just shift GX 10spd shifter (re-greased/lubed & 5 seasons' old)...still an exaggerated motion...but after a single year of kindergarten the increased forearm strength from writing daily helped...but only at 65%!
A 6.5 yr old can shift a GX 10spd shifter (1 season old, in excellent condition)...still exaggerated motion...but less so on when on a better maintained shifter.
Mechanical System's drawbacks:
Kids' mech shifts often cause wobbling off a singletrack trail into brush at 5yr old, less-so at 6 yr old, but by 6.5yrs they just begin to tame learning gears...and that's the experience with a higher-end group (GX) on a kids bike. I've coached other kids and the shifting is worse or not done when it's a SRAM X-4 or X-5 RD. But what could happen in 1.5yrs if you had a developmentally appropriate electronic shift assist? If I had realized this PRO sooner I probably would have spec'd AXS on their initial geared bike (or upgraded) that kids bike as soon as they transitioned off of smaller fixed speed 16" bikes onto 20" geared.
TL;DR
So SRAM; please patch your software to provide 10spd and 11spd compatibility for 12spd AXS mech...do it for the kids!
A 6 yr old child's mech shift is a bit better than at 5yrs but often is still hesitated-enough (because it has to be a pre-planned action... generating the needed force requires preparation and focus that distracts from other actions) and hence the pedaling is usually interrupted and momentum lost... crucial for making a rooty short punchy climb (for a kid on green). My eldest child at 6.5yr could shift the GX when brand new, and at 7.0yr had no issues with it just in time to progress to the next bike size. The actuation force for a 10-spd Shimano XT RD-M786 paired with Deore M6000 10spd shifter is less and would be a cheaper middle-road alternative...the thumb-sweep feels like less angle to 'click'.
I have 12sp XT on one bike, and GX Transmission on the other. If you go mechanical, Shimano is hands down the best, but if you want the best shift every single time, AXS is unbeatable. My only gripe with electronic shifting is, I had GX AXS prior, and that mech laterally fell apart in just one year.
Archer DX can shift any mechanical derailleur wirelessly... Also there are some Chinese solutions coming up.
It's funny. I've been dying to buy their shifter forever yet have no desire for "Transmission".
I wish I had known about that product range! Now looks like the company is shuttering...too bad...that's a great idea, here's the link:
Archer Components
Yep. Same here. I have demo'd an ebike with transmission for a day. AND was very impressed. But I'll be maybe own a used AXS system one day. And thats it for now.
Interesting. I have a Gen 1 Levo SL. My GX mechanical cassette and chain didn‘t last one year of riding and commuting - but I rode a lot of km with the motor turned off while commuting: but hammering just the 12t cog even on small uphill sections. After this I bought X01 cassette and chain: WAY better. Replaced the chains regularly and the cassette is still lasting.
But after this experience I went for XT Linkglide on my new Heckler SL. Heavy. But so much cheaper. Don’t want to spend that much money for the constant drivetrain wear. This season was a desaster for me due to health issues so I can’t really tell about longtime experiences. I am still hoping to safe some money. Range is a non issue on a motorized bike.
It's good, too bad about them shuttering.
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