Like it or not, electronic shifting is quickly becoming an integral part of the cycling industry. Many old men in rocking chairs are still shouting at Shimano's Di2 and Campy's EPS to get off of their antiquated non-synthetic lawns. But with eTap, drivetrain giant SRAM has announced to the industry not only that electronic drivetrains are here to stay, but that the bike will never be the same because of it.
Some might not understand the excitement around SRAM's eTap, since electronic drivetrains have existed since the early 2000's. The point though is not that SRAM has created another grandparent-bamboozling computer for the bike, but rather the way in which they've actually tried to instill real change in the way that we as riders think about shifting and the bike as a whole.
This isn't the first time SRAM has challenged our drivetrain perceptions - most of their component groups these days seem to be centered on it, in fact. Doubletap makes absolutely no sense when you first try to explain it to someone for the first time, but somehow it works. In the same way, eTap functions with a right shift operating the rear derailleur to a smaller cog, a left shift moving the rear derailleur to a larger cog, and both at the same time moving the front derailleur to wherever it's not.
I'll let SRAM explain what they've done from their perspective:
This isn't the first time SRAM has challenged our drivetrain perceptions - most of their component groups these days seem to be centered on it, in fact. Doubletap makes absolutely no sense when you first try to explain it to someone for the first time, but somehow it works. In the same way, eTap functions with a right shift operating the rear derailleur to a smaller cog, a left shift moving the rear derailleur to a larger cog, and both at the same time moving the front derailleur to wherever it's not.
I'll let SRAM explain what they've done from their perspective:
If you're at work/in a public restroom and don't want to turn up the volume, I'll summarize. What SRAM has done with eTap is completely reject what industry buzzwordists are calling traditional "shift logic." Essentially, the idea of one lever controlling rear derailleur and one lever controlling front derailleur has been completely done away with for eTap since, well, it can be. With electronic shifting, and even more so with wireless, conventional shift paradigms don't need to apply because we aren't pulling cables all over the place. Basically, physics no longer apply because the levers are no longer purely mechanical.
Okay, so yes, Shimano did offer a similar idea with the user customization of Di2, but SRAM has taken it a bit further in their complete ditchery of all that is holy about the traditional antithetical shift levers. Think about how often you used your respective shifters on your last ride. What eTap has done is bring a kind of balance to the road bike cockpit. For the first time, your shifters can finally be seen as equals. Left, right; both shifters work in harmony to get you where you need to go.
Okay, so yes, Shimano did offer a similar idea with the user customization of Di2, but SRAM has taken it a bit further in their complete ditchery of all that is holy about the traditional antithetical shift levers. Think about how often you used your respective shifters on your last ride. What eTap has done is bring a kind of balance to the road bike cockpit. For the first time, your shifters can finally be seen as equals. Left, right; both shifters work in harmony to get you where you need to go.
It's an interesting move from SRAM seeing as their 1x revolution seems to be accomplishing the opposite, putting all the emphasis on a single shift pod, but for road bikes it just make sense to keep that extraneous lever on the left.