{"id":1370,"date":"2022-02-24T13:54:57","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T19:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jdewald.com\/design\/?p=1370"},"modified":"2022-04-06T09:25:04","modified_gmt":"2022-04-06T14:25:04","slug":"electronic-shifting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jdewald.com\/design\/electronic-shifting\/","title":{"rendered":"Electronic Shifting (Intro)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Adding electronic shifting to a vintage bike<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"bike
the end of a 1200 mile bike tour<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Challenge<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My pandemic hobby was bicycles. What started out as an innocent challenge from a mentor quickly ballooned into an (expensive) obsession. I had somehow managed to make it into my adult life without ever taking a bike apart. That’s pretty strange for me. Fixing (breaking) things is in my nature: My Jeep? down to nuts and rusty bolts. Computers? with a blindfold. Every device I’ve ever owned that’s stopped working? Yup. But a bicycle? I just never bothered. And for all of the jest in the challenge, there was something that troubled me about never completing even a basic tune-up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, of course, what started <\/em>as a basic tune-up turned into a full-blown overhaul. Subsequently, after building three bikes I’m here to tell some stories about some parts I’ve designed along the way. This post is the background story and the color-commentary to the DIY design work. In other words, the engineering will follow and, for those eager to see the designs, you can skip this content without missing much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Love<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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\"1990s<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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I get a lot of joy from riding bikes. The freedom of being on the road, the work required to get anywhere, and the slower pace of cycling are all elements of meditation for me. Many years ago, I foolishly decided to bike 1200 miles along Australia’s west coast. Afterwards, in the ensuing “adulting”, I totally forgot about how much I had loved that experience. Shortly after building my second road bike I remembered and decided I could do it again. This time with a better bike and (significantly) better equipment. Ultimately, I built a titanium touring bike and rode from Chicago to Dallas. And it was awesome.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Need<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But this is not a blog site about bike touring…although that would be super cool (interested? Start at the American Cycling Association<\/a>). This is an engineering design<\/a> site and this post is the first in a series about electronic shifting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yep, electronic shifting is already available. Nope, I didn’t come up with the idea. Shimano spearheaded their Di2 technology <\/a>many years ago. Hobbyists <\/a>and weekend-engineers<\/a> have taken a few cracks at it also. But I wanted something different. For instance, my requirements were:<\/p>\n\n\n\n