Electronic Shifting

The New York Times today ran a story about electronic shifting, which is making a big debut this year ... under the ShimaNO name.  Campagnolo is mentioned, but only to say that their electronic system was not introduced due to the economic downturn (hard to afford a $3500 gruppo when they're repossessing the house ...)

The Times article raises the usual question about electronic shifting: What happens when the batteries run out.  (As the Times points out, that would depend on what gear you're in when the shifters stop working, at which point your 22-speed bike becomes a single-speed.)

It also raises a new issue, which is that a bicycle, even in today's world, is still entirely human-powered.  Even dynamo lighting systems derive their energy from energy the riders puts into the bike's forward motion.  Battery-powered shifting introduces outside energy--even if only a small amount--and that, for some riders, sullies the purity of the bike.

We here at Campy Only predict (once again) that Campagnolo will eventually bring out an electronic shifting system.  Also, regardless of how much it costs, they will sell every single one.  Regardless of how bad the economy gets, there will always be someone who wants to have the coolest bike on the block.