Shimano brings electronic shifting to bikes.

There haven't been too many big advancements in the mechanics of how bikes work in a long time. The whole chains and gears and shifters thing has been working pretty well for a while, so we've stuck with it. But bike component maker Shimano has been hard at work on a huge leap forward in shifting technology for a few years now, and it's finally ready for the primetime.

The Di2 shfiting system makes shifting completely electronic, making shifting from gear to gear both completely effortless and much less prone to getting gunked up. It replaces "the conventional levers that pull wound-steel cables through protective housings with solid-state switches." What results is a perfect, clean shift every time you touch the button. Look for it this January on expensive bikes everywhere.

Via Boing Boing Gadgets

If you just do a little preventive maintainance then this would never be a problem anyway, and I bet quite a bit less expensive!