There’s not a huge amount of crossover from Road Bikes to Mountain Bikes. Sure, we all use cranks, pedals, derailleurs and the like and they all work in roughly the same manner so that a Mountain Biker can get on a Road bike and achieve forward momentum without spango-ing (my word) all over the road.

But that’s where the similarity ends. Every part is significantly different to cope with the demands of the environment it is ridden in. With that in mind, it’s possible that this piece of news may not only be pointless but very wide of the mark for those that pursue the One True (singletrack) Path.

Campagnolo have been working on the idea of electronic shifters that power the movement of your derailleurs, even trying it out on the recent Tour de France. The benefits, which as usual fail to include more success with the opposite sex, include greater accuracy, being able to change gear under any condition (even when cranking on the power) and easier gear set up.

The system’s battery is integrated neatly into the base of the water bottle holder so as I say, don’t throw yours away yet.

For Mountain Bikers, being stranded in one gear miles from anywhere with no backup battery may be a problem, although such is the nature of the breed that some would laugh in the face of such difficulties.

And others would just laugh in your face. But, if it ever does make the cross over to Mountain Bikes, you heard it here first.

What does everyone think, a good idea or a clunker?

About the author

Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.

Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.

An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.

If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.