Eric Hagerman, of Wired.com, reports that Shimano will be releasing a light-weight electronic shifting system for bicycles:
Japanese parts manufacturer Shimano is launching an electronic shifting system for high-end road bikes that it claims will vastly improve performance and reduce maintenance. By replacing the conventional levers that pull wound-steel cables through protective housings with solid-state switches and rubber-coated wires, there’s no chance for road gunk to clog things up and interfere with shifting, or, for that matter, your post-ride beer.
The principle of an electronically controlled drive train is to execute perfect shifts every time, thus “reducing mental overhead,” in the words of Shimano marketing manager Devin Walton.
Bicycle racing is certainly mentally, as well as physically, challenging. However, I dispute that electronic shifting will reduce mental overhead to any real extent. While today’s lowtech cable shifting systems can malfunction, electronic systems also have points of failure (weak batteries, failed motors, or broken wires).
The cost of the hi-tech shifting set has not yet been released; however, it is expected to cost a few thousand dollars.