Microshift's $600 Electric Drivetrain Is Nearly a Real Thing - Taipei Cycle Show

One of the more interesting finds at last year's Taipei Cycle Show was Microshift's electronic drivetrain that they said would cost around $600 USD when released. It sounded promising, but it also sounded like one of those things that wouldn't actually happen. An electric drivetrain costing roughly a quarter the price of Shimano's Di2 XTR setup? Fat chance, I said to myself at the time. But it turns out that Microshift didn't just have a 'pig in the window' at their booth, as they've spent the last year refining their eXCD drivetrain that is now looking very production ready. It's still about a year out, however, but they have made some noteworthy updates.




The biggest update is the addition of a clutch to the 11-speed rear derailleur, which is pretty much mandatory these days. But the clutch's resistance means that the tiny motor has to work harder to move the chain across the cogs, and Microshift found that was draining the battery too quickly for their liking. The answer, as always, is more power, so they ditched the replaceable AA batteries that were used in the shifter and replaced them with a 7.4v, 2600 mAh lithium-ion battery that's recharged via a USB cable.

The battery change bumped the already bulky shifter, AKA control panel, up in size even more, but the layout remains the same: two buttons on the shifter regulate the derailleur's action, with each button moving the derailleur in a different direction. A smaller button control setup and power-saving modes, a small LED indicator tells the rider how much juice is left, and there's a new gear position indicator as well.




And speaking of batteries, Microshift has also come up with a steerer tube-mounted second battery that is meant to be used either as a spare or to charge up the lithium-ion battery that's inside of the shifter. Running solely on the shifter's integrated power, Microshift is claiming that riders can get around 10,000 shifts with the derailleur's clutch on and 16,000 shifts with it off, which are both way higher numbers than what the system was capable of last year. The derailleur also looks much more refined than what Microshift had in their booth last year, with a slimmer appearance and tweaked geometry that lets it play nice with cogs of up to 46-teeth.

The price sounds appealing, no doubt about that, but I do doubt that the eXCD drivetrain will perform on par with Shimano's Di2 system, or SRAM's upcoming electric drivetrain. The display setup in the booth shifted okay but not great, with the required disclaimer that it's still in prototype form. That said, if Microshift can come even somewhat close to what Di2 offers for shift quality, there will surely be riders who are happy to spend around $600 USD to get their hands on it.

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Reviews and Tech First Looks Drivetrain Taipei Cycle Show