Spinning Out Of Control

Unless you've been pulling a "Rip Van Winkle" lately you've probably noticed all the goofy, cold, ice, and snow this winter, the strange weather in other parts of the world, earth quakes, political battling, and the rumor of 10 speed mountain bike gruppos from Shimano and SRAM.

I tell ya, it is a sign of the Apocalypse.

Well, really...........we all knew it was coming. We just wanted not to believe it. I mean afterall, SRAM came out with XX and did we really think that would be it? No, we didn't, and you know it. But we were all in denial, that's for sure. Even when Shimano brought out that 12-36T cassette at a Deore level, we were all thinking that someday there would be an XT level 9 speed version, and that all this goofy SRAM XX nonsense would just blow away.

Ha! In reality, Shimano was tipping its hand in that by offering that cassette at that level, they were really telling us everything above that would be 10 speed.


And guess what? It is! XTR, XT, and SLX will all be offered in 10 speed versions for 2011. Much of this will be 2X10 gearing too, just like SRAM's XX offering. Looks like that pesky granny gear will be a thing of the past!

(Speaking of which, here is my buddy Grannygear's take on this. )


<==pics from Hagoromo blog.

But this new Shimano stuff will also be available in a 3X10, making it the first 30 speed mtb group. Crazy! I guess that's good news for those wanting that low gear. (Reportedly 24 X 36T)

The 10 speed thing I was never really a big fan of, and to be honest, I wanted it to fail, but SRAM's XX stuff really works well. If Shimano's stuff works anywhere near as well, I think most folks will be fine with it. At least from a performance standpoint.

Costs to buy in and to maintain this stuff is yet to be determined, but I think the more important question is how often will it need to be replaced? Logically the components will by necessity be thinner, (chain rings, chains) and the force applied to those smaller surface areas will not be decreasing. Road 10 speed is not as durable as its 9 speed predecessors, so I can not see that this will be any different with 10 speed mountain bike componentry. Time will tell, but I have a feeling it won't be a positive outcome. Well.......unless you are a component manufacturer, that is.

Then there is the proprietary/new chain ring BCD's which will be another wrench in the works. No one wants this that I know. We are not asking for it, and it isn't "better". It is another way to "lock you in" and take away choices. Really, what was so bad about five arm 94/58 BCD cranks, or for that matter, why can't we have the old 110/74 BCD back? They use it like crazy on road stuff now. You'd think the component folks would catch on to the idea of making things more compatible/efficient not just for us, but for their bottom line.

Oh well. What can you do? Not much, it seems. They keep on rolling out the new "bling" and riders keep opening their checkbooks and using their credit cards. I suppose it will work "okay", but it could be so much better than "okay" and cheaper too.

Finally, I know a lot of riders are not using a big ring anymore anyway, and 2X10 may be seen as a huge step forward to them. If the gearing choices get low enough for those folks, and the stuff lasts a decent amount of time, with great performance, it will be a hit.

And 9speed will become the realm of Altus hybrid bikes!

Spinning Out Of Control

Unless you've been pulling a "Rip Van Winkle" lately you've probably noticed all the goofy, cold, ice, and snow this winter, the strange weather in other parts of the world, earth quakes, political battling, and the rumor of 10 speed mountain bike gruppos from Shimano and SRAM.

I tell ya, it is a sign of the Apocalypse.

Well, really...........we all knew it was coming. We just wanted not to believe it. I mean afterall, SRAM came out with XX and did we really think that would be it? No, we didn't, and you know it. But we were all in denial, that's for sure. Even when Shimano brought out that 12-36T cassette at a Deore level, we were all thinking that someday there would be an XT level 9 speed version, and that all this goofy SRAM XX nonsense would just blow away.

Ha! In reality, Shimano was tipping its hand in that by offering that cassette at that level, they were really telling us everything above that would be 10 speed.


And guess what? It is! XTR, XT, and SLX will all be offered in 10 speed versions for 2011. Much of this will be 2X10 gearing too, just like SRAM's XX offering. Looks like that pesky granny gear will be a thing of the past!

(Speaking of which, here is my buddy Grannygear's take on this. )


<==pics from Hagoromo blog.

But this new Shimano stuff will also be available in a 3X10, making it the first 30 speed mtb group. Crazy! I guess that's good news for those wanting that low gear. (Reportedly 24 X 36T)

The 10 speed thing I was never really a big fan of, and to be honest, I wanted it to fail, but SRAM's XX stuff really works well. If Shimano's stuff works anywhere near as well, I think most folks will be fine with it. At least from a performance standpoint.

Costs to buy in and to maintain this stuff is yet to be determined, but I think the more important question is how often will it need to be replaced? Logically the components will by necessity be thinner, (chain rings, chains) and the force applied to those smaller surface areas will not be decreasing. Road 10 speed is not as durable as its 9 speed predecessors, so I can not see that this will be any different with 10 speed mountain bike componentry. Time will tell, but I have a feeling it won't be a positive outcome. Well.......unless you are a component manufacturer, that is.

Then there is the proprietary/new chain ring BCD's which will be another wrench in the works. No one wants this that I know. We are not asking for it, and it isn't "better". It is another way to "lock you in" and take away choices. Really, what was so bad about five arm 94/58 BCD cranks, or for that matter, why can't we have the old 110/74 BCD back? They use it like crazy on road stuff now. You'd think the component folks would catch on to the idea of making things more compatible/efficient not just for us, but for their bottom line.

Oh well. What can you do? Not much, it seems. They keep on rolling out the new "bling" and riders keep opening their checkbooks and using their credit cards. I suppose it will work "okay", but it could be so much better than "okay" and cheaper too.

Finally, I know a lot of riders are not using a big ring anymore anyway, and 2X10 may be seen as a huge step forward to them. If the gearing choices get low enough for those folks, and the stuff lasts a decent amount of time, with great performance, it will be a hit.

And 9speed will become the realm of Altus hybrid bikes!

This Or That

<====Lets see, replaceable rings that are reasonably priced, solid construction, cheaply priced, standardized BCD and interface. What's not to like?

Wednesday the inner-web was a twitter about the SRAM XX group. Okay, we all knew it was coming. 10 speed mtb stuff. Ugh! Okay, the good thing is they had the sense to do a lower gear rather than fill in a gap inbetween 11 and 34T. The ten speed cassette goes to 36T. Okay, that part is smart, but the rest is just waaaay out there and unnecessary. For instance, SRAM created a new BCD of 120/80 for the XX crankset. Wha?........ Why?? The crank I have pictured above is 104/64 BCD. We have been working with this standard for many years now. It would support SRAM's chain ring sizes. It would be stiff enough, so I ask you: "Why?" (I think you all can figure out two reasons, both starting with "m", ending with "y" and symbolized by "$" and "$") There isn't any other good reason for it. Period.

Then you have the fact it is the first. That always makes it tough on the "rule" breaker. So you have to wonder why they would want 10 speeds. What good is it?

Well, I suppose for racing it might be something that you could argue for. Racers want to have the jumps between gears be minimal. Or so we're told. I dunno.........I've seen guys smoke courses on 8 speeds, 7 speeds, heck..........single speeds! Whatever. 10 speeds? Really?

Then you have all 10 cogs jammed into the same space that we made available for 7 speeds back when it went from six to seven back....oh......in the 80's? Yeah.....so how does that work exactly? Well, wheels were compromised and parts got thinner. Chains got narrower, cogs don't wear as long, breakage happens more. 10 speed? Guess what will happen? And those 10 speed parts cost what? Yeah, open the wallet, and open wide.

Don't worry though, more 10 speed stuff will be coming, and it will trickle down into lower end groups. Shimano will do it sooner than later. Then 9 speed will become the realm of Alivio, Acera, and Tourney. Folks will flock to e-bay to find and trade for ancient, retro 9 speed stuff.

Sheesh! I sure am glad I figured out single speeding!

But hopefully other companies will step in to fill the void. Maybe somebody like Origin 8, who are doing the 2 X 9 crank above. Sensible 29 X 44 tooth rings in the 104/ 64BCD, and all for a MSRP of $100.00. That's smart. While it isn't super light weight, or "blingy", it just works. Maybe more companies will see the madness, and step in to do more "sensible" components that work off tried and true standards. I figure the first company that does a spit polish, finely tuned, lightweight 8 speed group is going to have a hot seller on their hands. That's what I think.

This, or that............

I know which I'd rather have!

This Or That

<====Lets see, replaceable rings that are reasonably priced, solid construction, cheaply priced, standardized BCD and interface. What's not to like?

Wednesday the inner-web was a twitter about the SRAM XX group. Okay, we all knew it was coming. 10 speed mtb stuff. Ugh! Okay, the good thing is they had the sense to do a lower gear rather than fill in a gap inbetween 11 and 34T. The ten speed cassette goes to 36T. Okay, that part is smart, but the rest is just waaaay out there and unnecessary. For instance, SRAM created a new BCD of 120/80 for the XX crankset. Wha?........ Why?? The crank I have pictured above is 104/64 BCD. We have been working with this standard for many years now. It would support SRAM's chain ring sizes. It would be stiff enough, so I ask you: "Why?" (I think you all can figure out two reasons, both starting with "m", ending with "y" and symbolized by "$" and "$") There isn't any other good reason for it. Period.

Then you have the fact it is the first. That always makes it tough on the "rule" breaker. So you have to wonder why they would want 10 speeds. What good is it?

Well, I suppose for racing it might be something that you could argue for. Racers want to have the jumps between gears be minimal. Or so we're told. I dunno.........I've seen guys smoke courses on 8 speeds, 7 speeds, heck..........single speeds! Whatever. 10 speeds? Really?

Then you have all 10 cogs jammed into the same space that we made available for 7 speeds back when it went from six to seven back....oh......in the 80's? Yeah.....so how does that work exactly? Well, wheels were compromised and parts got thinner. Chains got narrower, cogs don't wear as long, breakage happens more. 10 speed? Guess what will happen? And those 10 speed parts cost what? Yeah, open the wallet, and open wide.

Don't worry though, more 10 speed stuff will be coming, and it will trickle down into lower end groups. Shimano will do it sooner than later. Then 9 speed will become the realm of Alivio, Acera, and Tourney. Folks will flock to e-bay to find and trade for ancient, retro 9 speed stuff.

Sheesh! I sure am glad I figured out single speeding!

But hopefully other companies will step in to fill the void. Maybe somebody like Origin 8, who are doing the 2 X 9 crank above. Sensible 29 X 44 tooth rings in the 104/ 64BCD, and all for a MSRP of $100.00. That's smart. While it isn't super light weight, or "blingy", it just works. Maybe more companies will see the madness, and step in to do more "sensible" components that work off tried and true standards. I figure the first company that does a spit polish, finely tuned, lightweight 8 speed group is going to have a hot seller on their hands. That's what I think.

This, or that............

I know which I'd rather have!