Is electronic shifting soulless?

Is electronic shifting soulless?

From Geek Warning by Escape Collective

April 9, 2026 · 50 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of electronic shifting on bicycles and features a review of Canyon's new Endurace CFR.

A recent r eview comparing SRAM XPLR AXS to Shimano GRX Di2 1x brought up an interesting comment from a reader: does electronic shifting kill the soul of a bicycle? It’s a topic of discussion in this week’s episode. Also in this episode, tech editor and industry reporter Suvi Loponen rejoins Geek Warning to talk about Canyon’s somewhat confusing new Endurace CFR release . You’ll also hear about some other bits of new tech. Meanwhile, the PSA this week doesn’t mince words, calling out a new product on Kickstarter as one to avoid. Of course, members of Escape Collective also get access to Ask a Wrench, where this week Dave is joined by pro wrench Colin Williams to answer a number of your questions. Time stamps: 02:41 - Is electronic shifting lacking a soul? 16:36 - New Canyon Endurace CFR isn’t an Endurace 31:59 - New things from Easton, Vittoria and Surly 41:28 - PSA: You can’t lube a chain with nonsense 50:00 - Ask a Wrench with Colin Williams (Member’s Only) 52:00 - Should I clear coat raw aluminium? 57:35 - Mystery Di2 chain dropping issue 1:05:00 - SRAM dropbar sticky pistons 1:10:20 - Bringing a bike out of winter storage

People in this episode

Host: Dave

Guests: Suvi Loponen, Colin Williams

Topics covered

  • electronic shifting
  • bicycle technology
  • Canyon Endurace CFR
  • new tech
  • Ask a Wrench

Keywords

  • electronic shifting
  • bicycle soul
  • Canyon Endurace CFR
  • SRAM XPLR AXS
  • Shimano GRX Di2
  • Ask a Wrench
  • new tech

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Escape Collective

Products: SRAM XPLR AXS, Shimano GRX Di2 1x, Canyon Endurace CFR

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