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?