Re: Future bikes

On 1/21/2025 5:03 AM, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:

Am 20 Jan 2025 18:31:43 GMT schrieb Roger Merriman <roger@sarlet.com>:
 

Wolfgang Strobl <news51@mystrobl.de> wrote:

Am 19 Jan 2025 14:33:37 GMT schrieb Roger Merriman <roger@sarlet.com>:
>

In slightly disappointing news I’ve discovered that the Old school roadie
commuter does need to be cleanse or shifting becomes hit and miss!
>
Unlike the old MTB who’s cables run safely out of reach of muck and grime
the roadie runs the shift cables around the bottom bracket, which collected
salt/grime which eventually stopped it shifting reliably to the big ring.

>
Wireless shifting might come to the rescue. :-)

>
I’d expect so or even electronic as well sealed systems, though not really
in the spirt of the cheap roadie!

 Certainly. But I expect that electronic shifting, whether wireless or
wired, will become just as cheap or even cheaper than purely mechanical
parts, in the long term.
 I am imaging a future road bike where a central energy and data bus
supplies energy by internally routed wires to every relevant component,
from lights, derallieurs, switches and control panes.  I'd move an
optional hub dynamo from the usuall location in the front wheel to the
rear and put an optional battery into the seat tube, like Shimano does.
 A suitably dimensioned ultracap at another point inside the frame could
be used to supply the lights and electronics when stationary if neither
a battery nor a hub dynamo are installed.
 Even very cheap bicycles are sold with hub dynamos, nowadays. I expect a
slimmed-down version of the above might become available, too.
 

>
I avoid these conditions nowadays, so I can't report on how the rear
derailleur deals with dirt and especially salt. Most probably not worse
than a mechanical one and perhaps better.
>
Years ago, when commuting around the year, I had both spare cable guides
and cables in my toolbox.  Using a a little bit of grease helps, but
can't help with corrosion on salted roads, in the long run. Replacing
both the inner cable and the cable guide after winter is a more reliable
solution. These parts are cheap.
>
>
<https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=derailleur+cable+guide+bottom+bracket&iax=images&ia=images>
>
>

Wasn’t actually the cable guides under the bottom bracket but muck
collecting between the mech/chainset and the chain stays which clogged the
cable and it’s guide.

 The cable guide is in the open, on a place that is exposed to salt,
dirt/salt/water/mud from the road, so it will collect debris, resulting
in a corroded or stuck cable. In my experience, parts where the cable
runs in the open without a housing/cover are rarely a problem.
 

>
I’ll keep an eye on it!

 Cleaning and a little bit of grease now and then helps. When in doubt,
replace both the inner cable and the cable guide. These parts are cheap
and easy to replace.
 

I agree with you that electronic shift will displace most steel wire control systems but, looking at other consumer products, that's highly likely to go wireless rather than cables.
--
Andrew Muzi
am@yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971