When Will the Honeymoon End?
Tuesday, July 6, 2010 at 7:11PM Sure, the romance is fun. She moves fast and sweet and looks great. She makes us feel younger and faster just to be out with her. But, some morning will we wake up and find that she is expensive to keep, unwilling to change, and finicky when life gets messy and rough. Just like that, the honeymoon is over.
I am talking bike parts here, specifically the new drivetrains to come out of the factory doors and shipping crates to the bike showrooms near you. The latest and greatest shiny and spinny parts are taking shifting and pedaling performance to a new high. I have been on the SRAM XX 2x10 for 6 months now and I will never go back to a 3x crank, not unless I decide to pedal across the country or something. It shifts like magic, has been solid and reliable, and is crazy light.
But.
The last 2x9 set-up I had worked really well too. In fact, 8 speed XT was not any slouch. I am no retro grouch and I sure don't want to go back to chainrings without pins and ramps, etc, but carbon fiber in a chainring? Who asked for that? It is getting crazy $$ to replace a new bike's drivetrain. Bikes can fulfill a basic need such as transportation or hauling freight in some third world country. These bikes are simple, heavy and very strong. Parts need to be easily replaced, cheap and rugged. Bikes can also be light and fragile cutting edge racing machines that are never meant to last a long time before they are replaced. In between are you and I, Mr. and Mrs. Joe Average.
We have needs that are somewhere in the middle of beast-of-burden and thoroughbred filly. We appreciate the light weight and fine engineering of a well designed piece of hardware and are willing to pay for that...up to a point...and I do wonder if we are crossing that point.
I did not ask for a $300.00 XX cassette. A nine speed XT cassette is light enough for me and is under $100.00. I did not ask for carbon fiber/alu composite chainrings either, thank you XTR.
A quick check of replacing an XX cassette, CRs, and chain comes out to a whopping $516.00. I have not seen pricing on the new Shimano XTR but I bet it is pretty close to that.
So, while I agree that I am picking on the best stuff and that those levels of components are always expensive, the cost is trickling down as we move to a 10 speed rear cassette, dedicated cranks and derailleurs/shifters world.
Now, if this stuff lasted LONGER than the old parts and gave us more shifting performance in poor conditions, then that may be overlooked. But, that does not seem to be happening. If anything, it is going the other way towards a more fragile and finicky set-up and less and less cross component compatibility.
So while the new stuff is stunning when it is new and working well, I do have to wonder just how good it needs to be? I would have accepted a 9spd wide ratio cog and a 2x9 crank with no issues at all. Give me an XT version of the 12/36 Deore level cassette and a 36/24 or 34/22 crank set with nice, ramped and pinned CRs and life would be just fine, thank you.
Or....
How about an 8 speed rear cassette...12-36 with bigger steps between gears, an aluminum spider, all the little shifting ramps, a wide and cheap ($15.00 for a good quality SRAM) chain, chainrings that have a bigger BCD like the new XX crank for a stiffer shift but thicker for increased life. I could live with that. I could live with spending $150.00 to replace the drivetrain....$70.00 for the cassette, $20.00 for the chain, and $60.00 for the CRs. That would last me a year I bet.
It may be time for an company like SRAM or Shimano to take it backwards a notch....make the new 'Rugged 8' drivetrain. Think it will happen? It should, but what does that say about the latest and greatest stuff that they want us to ride? Is it less than rugged? No marketing guy wants to go there.
And what would Trek, Specialized, etc do with that 8 speed group? It would be a gamble to spec that on thousands of bikes. I don't think that big companies like gambling. What I can see is a bike like the Salsa Fargo being offered with the 'Rugged 8' drivetrain. I can see a lot of custom and aftermarket frames being set-up with a modern 8 speed build as well.
But, I don't think it will ever happen...too much momentum in the other direction to spend money going backwards. 9 is better than 10 and 11 will be better than 10...8 is too yesterday.
It does make me love my SS a bit more and I am sure eyeing the latest IGH stuff. I do believe that hubs like that are a significant future part of MTBs given enough time and refinement. When that happens, there will be a sizable jumping-of-ship by many riders tired of getting ground down at the LBS's payment counter.
In the meantime, I will hope for a company to step up and swim upstream towards the waiting market that has less and less choices. FSA? Maybe Origin? Salsa/QBP? It is a bicycle after all. It should not be disposable or nose bleed expensive unless we choose to make it that way.
I invite your comments.
10 speed drivetrains, 8 speed drivetrains in blogs
Reader Comments (8)
Absotutely! I have a 29SS and a 26" geared bike - a Kelly with full XTR. As the drivetrain is wearing and I am facing 450+ to replace things, I have been contemplating the exact same thing. I have it planned out already as a 1x9, but was thinking about 1x8 if I can find good quality parts inexpensively, but the 1x9 is more available. If this bike was another 29er, I would have already DONE it. But, as it is, I just ride my SS more and wait for the point where I'll absolutely have to revamp the other. The pricing and complexity has gotten ridiculous with no real benefits.
Get on the ball SRAM / QBP!! You know Shimano won't try and fill this gap and if they do, the'll sell it as an "All Mtn Group" that will weigh a ton and have some integrated something or other that requires only one certain component.
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I absolutely agree. And XT or X9 level 8 speed transmission would be my dream configuration.
10 speeds work fine but are totally unecessary. They do wear faster and are more finicky. I'm sure the will be pushing us into 11 speed in a few years down the road. Ugg. Then it is time to go full time single speed!
That sounds like a Q/Surly product -- the Rugged 8 drivetrain. Heck, they already make the Mr. Whirly crank and they also do some pretty cool chainrings. And honestly, Salsa's non-ramped/pinned chainrings shift great for me when the derailleur is set up right. No need for ramps and pins when the setup is on time... Just do a 94mm crank with a 30/42 chainring combo, a 11/36 8-speed in the rear, and roll it out.
Ka-ching...
Absolutely agree, hence I'm increasingly riding my 29erSS and if/when my 29er 1x9 needs full replacement (currently on XTR), I'll likely "downgrade" to XT and my body and wallet will be just as happy. No buyers remorse for me.
I think that the marketing guys are trying to "solve" a non-existing customer need, and given the macro-economic conditions, are going to end up with alot of stale inventory (ha, then they'll have to drop the price to make room for 2 x 11).
Hmm $500 for new drivetrain vs. $150 + $350 for groceries? No thanks, I'll take the latter.
I am buying up 9 speed stuff. I currently run 22-34-bash on my bikes with 11-34 and see no need for more gears in the middle. If you look at the new Shimano 10 groups, you get less range overall (not as low a low gear and not as high a high gear) and a bunch of extra duplicate gears in the middle. Also, the larger gear sizes front and rear add weight and cost. The 10 speed road chains don't last as long as the 9 speed ones did and I am sure it will be worse for MTB's. I could be just as happy with a 24-36 on the front since I rarely use the 22-34 combo. It basically proves that this is being foisted upon us when the new group with a 36 rear sprocket actually doesn't give as low a gear as the curent 22-34 combo.
Mmm, boys we live in a weird world. Partly because, even at the age of 55, I should know better. But, it's difficult not to initially be drawn into the ring of stuff that surrounds an interest, or perhaps should I say lifestyle, as popular as cycling. And to want to have perceived 'quality' product under my bum.
I recently sold my beloved motorcycle and dropped everything for a new Scott road bike. I also picked up a Ragley Ti TD-1 frame because I wanted something simple and light for climbing. And here lies my area of falling for the latest stuff.
All the comment on 10 speed is valid, and so very true. My 'desire' was to wait for the new X0 stuff as it seemed like a good idea and would let the old legs do a better job. I never considered the 2x9 being valid. It now seems I've been too far away from the truth.
That truth being, companies keeping us hooked and us keeping ourselves chasing the same. After all, it is only for fun and fitness?
Why do I now pay more for bicycle parts, servicing than I did for my Ducati stuff? This is the really scarey realisation.
My god, you guys are all so much more aware than I, concerning an alternative. I can't believe I never took the parts we already have as continuing to be fit for the job. I'm sorry, that sounds stupid. Why have parts that go 'fut' after 12 months and cost an arm and a leg to replace, especially the XX stuff? My SLX stuff on my Orange P7 works great.
The market is set up like some monster and has us all by the little one's on the assumption that if 'it' isn't climbing, then we are economically in the pooh and not climbing either. This is untrue, but only after an alternative is exposed. Thank you.
2x9 here we come.
Granny knows best yet again. I could write a book but instead I want to urge my fellow cyclists to support smaller operations that are making real world componentry available to us. I would love to list names but that would be considered tainted, I'm sure. So, do your homework and vote with your wallet.
In Total Agreement here!
What would it take for a product mgr somewhere to see value in this sentiment!
SRAM at one point was a bit more backwards compatible than Shimano, don't know if that's still the case.
Am not crazy about the available options when drivetrain replacement time comes around again.
My Road bike, Gravel Grinder, Commuter and Mtn Bike are all 9 speed.
I like having the ability to swap shifters [Bar-cons or grip shifts] or even cassettes, derailers or what not between bikes.
Hopefully, through sites like this one or twentynineinches.com we can find the folks who value selling parts for a well thought out, durable, simple, and versatile drive train.
Isn't Campy coming out with an 11 speed system?
...shudder...