The end of the front derailleur?

[Cycleops]

A new company in Belgium has come up with a very clever replacement hub gear that does away with the front derailleur. It's controlled by Bluetooth and can even shift under full load:

View: https://youtu.be/UFMhUYoqFyc


Could this be a game changer?

 

[Arrowfoot]

Thats really clever.

 

[Twilkes]

Isn't it £50 Vs £2k? If they want to subsidize me the other £1,950 I would be happy to use one.

 

[classic33]

A new company in Belgium has come up with a very clever replacement hub gear that does away with the front derailleur. It's controlled by Bluetooth and can even shift under full load:

View: https://youtu.be/UFMhUYoqFyc


Could this be a game changer?

Nice idea, but I doubt it'll knock the front derailleur of any bike. Cassette seems specific to their hub, further making it less attractive as an alternate.

Bluetooth just adds a complexity that's not required.

 

[si_c]

I can see the benefit of it - a sealed shifting system kept free of dirt and debris. Just waiting for a DI2 shifted Rohloff hub - that'll still be cheaper probably.

 

[icowden]

These things tend to start off expensive then become affordable with economies of scale etc.
What happens when the bluetooth battery goes flat? (Or does it have a dynamo...)

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I can see the benefit of it - a sealed shifting system kept free of dirt and debris.

If front derailleurs regularly broke and required regular maintenance. But as it is, front derailleurs work, and just keep going and going, with little to zero maintenance.

 

[Cycleops]

Isn't it £50 Vs £2k? If they want to subsidize me the other £1,950 I would be happy to use one.

Yeahbut that also includes all the kit including carbon wheels (it's actually£2300) It's being specified as OE on a few bikes where it makes more sense financially and I'm sure others will follow.
Shimano has plenty of takers of its Di2 system so I can see a market for this.

 

[Teamfixed]

Bluetooth? MMM imagine the fun hacking into your mates gear selection

 

[DCBassman]

Solution without a problem!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

It’s also moving away from a bike you can maintain yourself.

 

[Darius_Jedburgh]

Shimano, Campag and Sram with all their resources still haven't come up with a fully functional and totally reliable electronic shifting system.
Why should one man and a dog in Belgium suddenly hit upon the solution?
This looks like an answer looking for a problem.

 

[si_c]

If front derailleurs regularly broke and required regular maintenance. But as it is, front derailleurs work, and just keep going and going, with little to zero maintenance.

That was kind of my point, poorly expressed, that if you were going to go with a sealed system at the back, a hub gear is a better overall system - no front or rear derailleur, no cassette, completely sealed.

Given that you seem to need a bike built entirely for the system why not go with a Rohloff setup - it's proven, works really well, solves the same problem better, and is cheaper. I just need an electrically shifted road version.

 

[Cycleops]

Solution without a problem!

Cross chaining, more efficient, changing under full power?

 

[Drago]

Could this be a game changer?

No.

Not at the price they will ask. 300ish sheets is about the lowest youll pay for a decent, genujnely useable new bike, and we won't be seeing this on that level of machine, probably ever.

The front mech will still be alive and kicking long after ive met a glorious death (protecting the nuns and orphand by fighting a terrorists in a leaking nuclear reactor), as will 26 inch wheels, rim brakes, and flat pedals.