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I was browsing the Shimano website and came across their new Q'Auto electronic automatic shifting system; I'm not aware that we've done this but apologies if we have.
Bikes just seem to be getting absurdly complicated & technical at the moment, although I'm still perfectly happy with my 3x10 manual shifting system. I'm also quite happy choosing my own gears and I think I'd fine automatic shifting annoying.
Anyway, it's all a bit beyond me but for those of you who're interested in cycling technology there's quite a bit up about it on
https://bike.shimano.com/technologies/details/qauto.html
-- Edit --
Found some more info. here.
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/shimano-qauto
Hmm, edits don't seem to be showing.
There's some more detailed info here.
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/shimano-qauto
My mother in law had an auto shifting bike maybe 15-20 years ago, “Shimano Nexus Auto-D Inter-4 Automatic Shifting System with roller brake”, according to google, it was only mildly annoying, and you could switch to manual. On a town/dutch bike.
I was reading this last night on Bikeradar. It's impressive, no doubt; but are "manual" bike transmissions eventually going to go the way of manual car transmissions, reserved for exclusive bespoke builds and nerds looking for the ultimate in tactile control of their progression??
Since most people who are "just riding bikes" and quite a large number of apparently "enthusiast" riders are only mildly aware of what gears they have, how to use them properly and the concept of reading the road / trail and being in the right gear at the right time, I think this sort of thing is a brilliant idea.
A couple of hub gears have used similar concepts in the past.
You can already get e-bikes that'll auto shift by powering the chainring around while the rider freewheels.
You'd think this would be better done in a gearbox, or a nuvinci CVT type setup, rather than mashing a chain up and down sprockets exposed to the elements, but SRAM's powertrain did it I suppose.
Auto shifting makes a lot of sense in terms of reducing warranty claims on ebikes. You can stop people grinding away just using the torque of the motor and make them spin instead.
You'd think this would be better done in a gearbox, or a nuvinci CVT type setup
I was thinking that. Unless this is on a ebike it misses out on one of the main benefits, shifting into the perfect gear while coasting. Be good with some kind of new Alfine/Nexus hub (that doesn't break). Pinion are already doing wireless automatic shifting for their gearbox. Wouldn't take much to run the small amount of power required off a dynamo in the hub or crank/gearbox itself.
My wife would like this as she can't get to grips with bike gears in the slightest!
Since most people who are "just riding bikes" and quite a large number of apparently "enthusiast" riders are only mildly aware of what gears they have, how to use them properly and the concept of reading the road / trail and being in the right gear at the right time, I think this sort of thing is a brilliant idea.
Interesting as it it, I'm not sure that the just riding bikes crowd would consider it a worthwhile upgrade over a standard 8 or 9 speed bike as it's bound to add 2-300 quid onto the price. And when it breaks it'll be expensive to fix. I COULD see it being popular on proper nice euro utility bikes, but as lovewookie says, even better in conjunction with a hub gear. In that case, the dynamo would also have to drive the lights.
Interesting as it it, I'm not sure that the just riding bikes crowd would consider it a worthwhile upgrade over a standard 8 or 9 speed bike as it's bound to add 2-300 quid onto the price.
TBH, where i am the 1000-1500 quid city bike for those "just riding bikes" is a real thing, and popular. Same with e-bikes in the 2000-2500 bracket. People buy them instead of a car, because for probably 3/4 of the population of Göteborg, you really don't need a car. Or you replace the 2nd car with a bike. So adding 300 quid to make it an auto, like the car, is not going to be something people grumble about (much).