Apr 26, 2007

COASTING & THE AUTOMATIC SHIFT

{click graphic to enlarge}

There have been some questions floating around this blog and some other forums inquiring about the performance of shifting with Shimano's Coasting groupo. Here is a question one of our readers left in the comments page of this past post (THE PERFECT SPEED).

Q}It seems to stick in third when I start up a hill. I know this bike is supposed to be a "no brain-er", but am I doing something wrong?

A} No, you aren't doing anything wrong - the auto-shift engages as you slow down going up the hill. The common thing for us to do when starting up a hill is to try and keep our momentum from the flats. So, we push the pedals a bit harder to maintain that speed which makes the shifting box think you want to stay at this speed (hence no down shifting).

With the Coasting shifter you should keep your same pedal rhythm (or COAST) while starting up a hill, the bike will naturally slow down going up hill allowing the RPM gauge in the front hub to shift down to 2nd smoothly.

Plus, an added bonus is you can adjust your gear shifting timing (see graphic above). This knob is located on the box that sits on the seat tube.

Hope that helps and please keep the comments and questions coming. Enjoy.

4 comments:

Yokota Fritz said...

Ah, that's very good to know! Thanks for the tip.

Anonymous said...

If you keep your same rhythm it WON'T shift. You want to maintain your same pedaling FORCE and let the rhythm (cadence) slow so the system automatically shifts. No?

Anonymous said...

I am considering the purchase of an Autoshift but I read a design review where one of the Shimano designers indicated that this Coasting/Autoshift was not designed for inclement weather... my question is: If you trailer hitch bike rack these autoshifters will a rain storm while traveling mess up the computer chip... or should the chip box be somehow protected by a plastic bag ??

Anonymous said...

I have the old sc-auto 4 speed and have ridden it in extreme cold/ wet snowy weather. The electronic hub is enclosed well and so is the shift panel. However, I still put plastic sheeting over the panel and the box. The manual for the auto shift hub actually said it's designed to withstand extreme weather. But I wouldn't ride it in rain other than a light drizzle.

I tend to stay in manual mode when going uphill and keep it in first gear. That is a definite flaw in the style. I would actually prefer the newer 3 gear model, because the 4th gear just causes a nuisance when riding on a straightaway.