Electronic shifting used to be a luxury
The first new bike I ever bought was a Giant TCR, the 2015 model. Coming from the basic mountain bike I had as a child and an old second-hand road bike, the Giant felt luxurious in all aspects with its mechanical Shimano 105 group set. Electronic shifting for road bikes existed back then, but it was so far out of my price range that I wasn’t even aware of it.
For mountain bikes, Shimano’s XT/XTR Di2 was also there, but it was never really adopted by the mass market. It was the SRAM Eagle AXS in 2019 that brought electronic shifting to MTB.
Ten years ago, electronic shifting was new, unproven, and priced far out of reach. Many riders worried about batteries, weather resistance, and what would happen if it failed mid-ride. Today, things are very different.
From dream tech to standard spec
Fast-forward to 2025, and you’ll find electronic shifting on bikes that sit squarely in the mid-range. Shimano’s 105 Di2 and SRAM’s Rival AXS have made it accessible to anyone spending around the price of a decent carbon bike.
Both systems now offer near-identical performance to their premium siblings, the same shifting precision, the same lightning-fast changes, and only minor weight differences. The technology has matured: it’s reliable in rain, mud, and cold, and firmware updates have ironed out early quirks. What once felt like a luxury has become simply how good bikes shift now.
Why I fell in love with it
Set it and forget it
Once set up, there’s virtually no need for realignment. No stretched cables, no indexing tweaks every few months or after every rough ride. It just works, ride after ride.
Fast, accurate, and consistent
Every click delivers the same crisp response. It’s easy to underestimate how much this consistency changes your riding until you try it.
Cleaner cockpit, fewer cables
With wireless or semi-wireless setups, the front of your bike becomes uncluttered. Fewer cables to replace, fewer rattle points, and a sleeker look overall.
Smart shifting options
You can customise button functions, sync front and rear shifting, or even control your bike computer. I really like being able to quickly change to the map on my Garmin without taking my hands off the brakes.
The downsides
No upgrade is without trade-offs. The first and most obvious: charging. You have to think about batteries, at least until it becomes second nature. There were a few rides where I forgot to charge, but thankfully, I could swap my dropper seat post battery for the rear derailleur one, so the ride wasn’t ruined. After a few months, it’s just another thing to charge in the routine alongside your lights, Garmin, radar or power pedals.
For ultra-endurance riders or those heading far into the wilderness, battery life can still be a concern, but in regular use, it’s a non-issue.
Then there’s price. Electronic group sets are cheaper than ever, but a mechanical setup still wins on value. And today’s mechanical groups, even the newest Shimano 105 or SRAM Rival mechanical, shift far better than their 2015 equivalents. So, electronic is still something you pay extra for, so the benefits have to be valuable to you.
More gears, more options
When talking about shifting, I also have to mention that one of the quiet revolutions alongside electronic group sets is how gear ranges have evolved.
A decade ago, most mid-range road bikes ran a 50/34 compact crank and an 11-28 cassette, usually with 10 speeds. Today, riders can choose from a huge spread of much more capable combinations.
- Gravel-inspired 1x setups with up to 10-44 cassettes, perfect for mixed terrain.
- Modern 2x drivetrains offering 10-36 in the rear with 12 speeds, giving climbing gears that make even alpine passes feel manageable for the average rider.
These broader ranges, paired with smooth electronic shifting, make modern bikes not just more advanced but genuinely easier to ride well.
So, is it worth it?
Electronic shifting is one of those upgrades that might seem unnecessary on paper. But once you experience it and interact with it on a few rides, it’s really hard to go back. So, the short answer is yes, you’ll notice the difference. Electronic shifting isn’t a gimmick; it’s a decade of refinement that delivers a significant jump in shifting experience.
What I also love is how this once-futuristic technology, reserved for professionals, has become accessible to everyday riders. And if that’s still not enough to convince you it’s time for a new bike, the next article in this series surely will.
