It was revealed on Wednesday that in an online article by "Cyclingtips" that Campagnolo has filed for patents on a 13 speed cassette. Rumors have been flying since June when Shimano released a new Shamal wheel set that is featuring a new free hub body which is backward compatible with SRAM XDR, Shimano MicroSpline, and current and older Campy free hub bodies. Wording in the documents lead one to believe that a rumored gravel group set with 13 speeds dubbed "Ekar" is all but a formality now.
Pricing and finer details are obviously unknowns as of now as is whether or not this will be a 1X group set. Commenters on the article I looked at seem to think that it will be 1X and that it will be priced between Record and Chorus.
Others claim it will also have a 2X option as well. Obviously, derailleurs would necessarily need to be new and shifters as well. The wheels already out show how the patent filings on the cassette would integrate. The free hub body is shortened to allow for the planned 10 and 9 tooth cogs on these cassettes to overhang outboard of the free hub body.
Comments: Companies keep trying to reach a wider range of gearing without using triple crank sets, which seems........really dumb. This tells me that modernized electronic and mechanical patents on front derailleurs must be tied up by Shimano, not allowing for development of modern triples. Either that or we are in a phase of design which almost completely ignores the efficiencies of straighter chain lines.
Think I'm way off? SRAM had a wacky 'morphing-sized' chain ring idea that they filed patents for several years back, which to my mind was also an end-around to bypass Shimano's stranglehold on patents for front derailleurs. Shimano has also deleted triples from their higher end groups, yes, but at some point I think this 1X madness ends and close ratio cassettes with multiple front ring crank sets becomes a thing again- at least for adventure bikes- which tend to not have the complexities of full suspension mountain bikes.
The flared drop bar market has gone bonkers. Fifteen years ago there weren't any to be had besides the pioneering "Midge Bar" from On One. Then it took almost ten years to get a halfway decent selection going. Now, within the last five years, the flared drop bar market has so many choices, it is nigh unto impossible to turn around in a bike shop and not get snagged in the shorts by one of these hooked rascals.
Also, as you longtime readers know, I have been a fan of the long-gone-but-not-fogotten Luxy Bar. The bar with the radical sweep in the extensions and plenty of flare all mated to a minimal drop. Well, no one has ever really made a decent Luxy clone, but now we have something close. The Beacon Bar from Ritchey Design.
This bar, as I say, comes close, but it lacks the straight, 1 1/8th" diameter tops which are integral to theLuxy's design. The Beacon Bar, (why do I see this as 'Bacon Bar'?), has swept back tops, which, I suppose, is fine, but the outer diameter tapers from the center portion, and does not remain a constant diameter to the ramps. It also lacks the outrageous sweep in the extensions which is something I like about the Luxy.
NOTE: Confused about drop bar terminology? See this post.
The Bacon.....er, excuse me- The Beacon Bar, has the great minimalist drop and backward length on the extensions though, and the curve, or radius, of the drops is pretty spot-on, from my view anyway. A hundy gets you some. Sounds like a winner to me.
The seemingly never-ending saga which is the end of the Dirty Kanza name had, what is hoped to become, its final chapter written this past week. In an email sent out by the (now temporarily named "DK") event promotions team, it was revealed that there was yet another meeting between the four current event promoters and members of the Kaw Nation's Tribal Council. The meeting resulted in the parting of ways between the two entities with the Kaw nation saying in a statement that, "We respectfully asked that the name be changed to dissolve the connection to our people, the Kanza.
Furthermore, the promotions team said that through reaching out to various riders, brands, the businesses and government of Emporia, and others that they are "very close" to re-branding the event. Apparently an icon and a color palette have already been approved.
The team tasked with the rebrand has stated that it is very difficult to reconcile the past history and equity built up with the old name and event with whatever they come up with. I would say that I would agree. And furthermore; I might advise them to not even try. Why not?
Easy- The cultural quagmire, which is still being stirred up by certain self-imposed 'influencers' will not let this go away. That said, it will be a lot easier to make a new, fresh start and not have any ties backward to what the old event was. Does this mean changing the format? Maybe. In terms of inclusion and equity, they probably have to do that. More importantly, in my opinion, is that whatever this becomes, it closes the door on the old history and never really does anything- good, bad, or in denial of it - for the future. Apologize to the Kaw Nation? Probably not a bad idea.
But like I said a week or so back- this is a brand new event. Or, at least, it should be. This is an event, with its new owner and new promotions team, which is trying to save the economic impacts and demand it had from riders. That's definitely understandable- but it should not ever be connected to the "Dirty Kanza 200" in a way that is directly comparable in the future, just because that is an open invitation for the wound to never be healed, in my view.
Can it ever be the impactful, iconic event it became under Jim Cummings? Maybe. Give it time. I don't think it is wise to try to make it so immediately, or to think it will happen soon. COVID-19 may still have some say in this as well. But that said, done right this could be bigger and better. Time will tell.........
That's it for this week folks. Summer is on the run! get out and enjoy it while you can!
As someone who lives about an hours drive from Emporia, I'm sorry to say I've never been there to attend that gravel event. From what I've gathered, it seems to me the "event" is about the people of Emporia; the flint roads and flint hills terrain. All those elements remain so some type of event may occur albeit with a name change. It's a shame these old hurts continue to manifest themselves. The best way to let a wound heal is to quit picking at it. In other words, forgive and forget. As my wise old grandmother used to say: "Bury the hatchet".
ReplyDeleteI've got a visionary idea for a new drivetrain... 14! 14 speeds.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about triples. Yes, they do work great (and doubles too), but what I think is most appealing about 1x gearing is simplicity. I don't mind using 2x or 3x setups but having just 1 shifter to deal with is... liberating. Maybe electronic shifting that manages shifts of both deraileurs is what we need here. And sure, 1x comes with the price of non-straight chain lines.
ReplyDeleteWhat I would really like to see a lot more is not larger and wider cassettes, but lightweight IG hubs, like Rohloff. I mean Rohloff beats all these 13-speed setups on chainline, gearing range, gear spacing, number of gears, need of maintenance and chain lifetime. Its only problem is weight.
I agree. I just can’t bring myself to pull the trigger on one (because cost), but the Pinion and Rohloff transmissions are very appealing on a number of fronts.
Delete@Motorcraftsman - Ten years ago a Shimano Skunkworks test rider told me Shimano had working drive train prototypes up to 14 speed. So........
ReplyDelete@bostonbybike - As a Rohloff user myself, I love the simplicity and (almost) no maintenance drivetrain. However, to withstand all those high-peak loading torque situations with little gears and bearings/bushings everywhere, making things lighter would probably make things less reliable. See Sturmey-Archer aluminum hubbed internal 3spds as reference- Or any SA hub used as a MTB wheel component. Not very sturdy!
I'm not saying it couldn't be done, making IGH's lighter, but we'd best be careful what we're asking for. And- efficiencies of IGH hubs are notoriously not as good as derailleur based systems, assuming the derailleur based system is of high quality and clean.
All that said- I'm keeping my Rohloff until I cannot pedal anymore! Great hub and drive train system for a fat bike!
Bars look interesting but am I missing something? The website only has 40 and 42 cm listed, my Woodchippers are sized up to 46 from the stock 44. Cannot imagine going down to a 42 cm bar.
ReplyDelete13 speeds used to be the punchline to a bad joke. Now I guess 14 speeds will be the new punchline. I'm not a huge Grant Peterson fan but he did say something once that stuck with me. "Not every ride needs to be a clickfest". Seems like what they really want is a CVT that doesn't weigh a ton. They will probably bring it out after they've emptied the pockets of all the people who bought new 14,15 and 16 speeds. Are we beginning to see the backlash to the more gears is better thing, the Box 9 group for example?
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteOkay, I've been running a 3 X 9 speed on my older Fargo for a while now, Raceface Atlas crank up front with 46 36 26 gearing, 11 X 40 in back with friction shifting on both ends and I love that I can trim that front derailleur when need be. Very simple setup. I was figuring out the gear inches on this and it is a whopping 640 gear inches. Way overkill and ridiculous as I can easily pull most any hill in 36 X 40 which by the way works out to 500 gear inches and seldom have to use the 26, but when I do it takes a bit of finesse not to wheelie and/or spin the rear tire but really gets the job done. Wheelie kings would love this setup. The point is, I don't care about the weight, not my concern, Rohloff or Pinion gearboxes, would love to have either, but look what these, as well as most 1X systems, carbon fiber, electronic shifting etc. have added to bicycling and the price of admission. My setup cost just pennies by comparison but has pretty much been obsoleted.
@Rydn9ers - They show what is in inventory in the drop down menu, but in the specs, they list up to a 46cm width, measured at the hoods.
ReplyDelete@Phillip Cowan - Ironically, tere already is a CVT bicycle hub. The Nuvinc, or now known as Fallbrook Technologies- is that hub. Heavy and does not have a very wide range. But it works smoothly and almost transparently. It could be really something given the right R7D and money thrown at it.
@Phillip Cowan I really like the idea of the CVT crank; I imagined it a few years back as something that you could set a desired speed or watts and the "chainring" would adjust size accordingly. But you could also have a friction type shifter or even program in some "steps" to act as gear jumps, similar to what cars do. I can't see a way to make this a full mechanical system, or how to get it to not weigh an absurd amount. But going from 11/12 cogs in the rear to one cog would give you a great head start!
ReplyDelete