SRAM AXS IS WIRELESS WORTH IT?

We can’t talk about wireless bike components without first acknowledging Mavic’s way-before it's-time Mektronic road group.

- Ryan Palmer

It was, after all, the world’s first wireless shifting system. If it doesn’t ring a bell, that might be because its fleeting existence came nearly two decades before SRAM circled back around on the idea. Released in 1999, Mektronic barely made it into the new millennium before dying off. It was actually the only product on earth known to have been affected by the Y2K Bug. Just kidding, however part of the product’s failure is in fact related to a then-emerging technology—cell phones. But, that’s another story altogether.

The existence of Mektronic poses an interesting question: Why did it take so long for wireless shifting to come back? Was it that hard of a nut to crack, to where things like wireless, servo and battery technologies needed 20 years to catch up to the idea? Or was wireless shifting trying to solve a problem that simply didn’t exist? Perhaps it was just too small of a problem to warrant investing in a solution.

One of the most common things we hear when talking about wireless is simply that people can’t see how it’s necessary. And, well, spoiler alert—it’s not. Let’s see a show of hands: How many of y’all have been riding along, thinking, “If only I had wireless electronic shifting, I’d be having a way better ride.” Yeah, didn’t think so. That’s because modern mechanical shifting works really well, and it does so in almost every situation. It is not difficult or confusing, and neither is operating a dropper post, especially since we don’t have front derailleurs to worry about anymore. Nobody actually needs this stuff, but that doesn’t mean robot parts aren’t super friggin’ rad.

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