The tracks of my gears

[Bicykell]

As I either between bikes (I think I might feel sad when I actually pull the trigger and buy one) I was thinking about how Shimano 105s now have 11 gears x 2 as opposed to the 2014 version having 10 and the veloce having 10. Which makes the newer one better.....except that on a ride with 13% and worse grades, I only seem to use 8 or 9 out of 27.
Am I missing something or is it marketing strategy similar to having more and more pixels on a camera?

 

[Katherine]

Don't know but I love the thread title!
... Radio 2 fan?

 

[mickle]

Yah, great thread title. I was happy with 8 speed and then just as happy with 9 speed. Is 10 and 11 better? Mr fecking Shi**no seems to think so.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

As I either between bikes (I think I might feel sad when I actually pull the trigger and buy one) I was thinking about how Shimano 105s now have 11 gears x 2 as opposed to the 2014 version having 10 and the veloce having 10. Which makes the newer one better.....except that on a ride with 13% and worse grades, I only seem to use 8 or 9 out of 27.
Am I missing something or is it marketing strategy similar to having more and more pixels on a camera?

I dunno. Shall we compare photos taken on my 4.5MP Nikon with that of your 15MP Casio?

You may be on to something.

 

[Bicykell]

Raydeeeaugh too? Isn't that the new name for the Light Programme?
Whoever looks after the back catalogue of Hot Chocolate has Radio 2 sewn up tight.
If I change gears I want it to make a difference. If I have to go through fistfuls of gears it seems pointless, but Im a newbie so could well be missing something important.

 

[Bicykell]

A 4.5 mp Nikon can take a great picture. So can a 15 mp Casio - though I don't own either. Both can take crap ones too, because what matters is subject, focus, light, colour, stability.
A Nikon D800 wouldn't go amiss either.

 

[MichaelW2]

It is exactly like pixels. In the main (USA) market, reviewers, marketing bods and salesmen love numbers, they are easy to sell. It is simple, the biggest number is best.
The downside to cramming in more are simply ignored by most of the market. Calls for pixels with more dynamic range are met with a blank look, not even a "what is dynamic range".
More gear sprockets mean thinner sprockets, chainrings and chains, but the issue of wear is never raised. In the high-end groupset, wear-rate is solved by advanced and expensive metallurgy and by frequent replacement. Lower down the groupsets, where high-spec meets mass production, it is not an issue.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

In the high-end groupset, wear-rate is solved by advanced and expensive metallurgy

Some fit a few titanium sprockets to the cassette, shortening its life even more.

and by frequent replacement.

That makes a lot of business sense.

 

[Milkfloat]

A genuine question here - looking 10 years down the line do you think there will be more spare and compatible parts for 11 speed than 10 speed? This is one of the factors that is making me wait for a 2015 105 groupset or hunting down a 2014 Ultegra rather than getting 10 speed. I care more about the range of the gearing rather than the increments in between, but am also worried about being able to replace parts easier further down the line..

 

[Yellow Saddle]

A genuine question here - looking 10 years down the line do you think there will be more spare and compatible parts for 11 speed than 10 speed? This is one of the factors that is making me wait for a 2015 105 groupset or hunting down a 2014 Ultegra rather than getting 10 speed. I care more about the range of the gearing rather than the increments in between, but am also worried about being able to replace parts easier further down the line..

No, we can still get 5-speed stuff without a problem.