Why oh why did I bother with 11 speed?

[Andrew_P]

Have long since stopped clicking on the links from the likes of chainreaction promising mega discounts on groupsets - it's always stuff I personally have no need of whatsoever, is worse for my purposes, and even at the so called bargain prices strikes me as just barmy for anyone but a racer. German retailers are often the answer.

I cannot imagine buying one without a bike attached to it!

 

[screenman]

Have long since stopped clicking on the links from the likes of chainreaction promising mega discounts on groupsets - it's always stuff I personally have no need of whatsoever, is worse for my purposes, and even at the so called bargain prices strikes me as just barmy for anyone but a racer. German retailers are often the answer.

Our of interest do you drive a car that can do more than 70mph.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

If you allowed "thirties" instead of "twenties", part of the answer is: people might still be setting world records for highest annual mileage that last 80 years....

I wish the roads were as free of cars as back then. Now that would be a true upgrade.

 

[bigjim]

Yes I had that impression. And also 8 speed bikes.

But what are those hubs? What quality?

I stress that I am no bike snob and no racer but I need decent stuff - just regreased a pair of XT hubs that are on their second pair of wheels on an entirely different bike - had them 15 years.

Depends doesn't it. Are cheaper hubs heavier and therfore more robust? Is it more about the bearings than the hubs? Maybe if one spent more time on regularly servicing the hubs with good grease and maybe better quality bearings they would be as good as more expensive items? They would not be sealed that's for sure but not a bad thing IMO.

 

[Grant Fondo]

I updated my old Cannondale MTB from 21 speed to 30 speed, that's a shed load of gears. The smallest chainring is like a 26 so completely useless anyway, although it is hysterical on 26-32.

 

[Blue Hills]

Our of interest do you drive a car that can do more than 70mph.

Sorry I don't get your point.

Are you suggesting that with more gears I will go faster?

If so, please explain.

declaration: I have many bikes - none more than 9 speed.

Would be impressed if 12 speed would mean a 33.333 per cent speed boost, even with my wobbly grasp of physics/biology.

 

[ChrisEyles]

Nothing wrong with a 26/32 bottom gear. I'd make use of that on a long slog up an Exmoor hill, especially if laden with camping stuff. Just goes to show it's horses for courses!

 

[Ian H]

I don't see the problem.

MTB stuff has long been used for tourers.

I know. For various reasons that one wouldn't work for me.

 

[MichaelW2]

Yes I had that impression. And also 8 speed bikes.

But what are those hubs? What quality?

I stress that I am no bike snob and no racer but I need decent stuff - just regreased a pair of XT hubs that are on their second pair of wheels on an entirely different bike - had them 15 years.

I used a pair of Alivio hubs for all-weather commuting for years. They just kept on rolling nicely.

 

[MichaelW2]

[QUOTE="Andrew_P, post: 5219069, member: 11849
With the group sets they rather cleverly introduce the new tech in the highest value first so milk the cash rich first and the move it down yearly..[/QUOTE]

The trickle-down model has worked well so far but ran into problems with the introduction of disk brakes to road biking. Pros and elite racers did not welcome the technology but everyday commuters and winter training riders did. It required trickle up which the bike industry doesn't do, so held back midrange disk road bikes for many years. Also, modern high count transmission are made thin so require the advanced metallurgy of high end production. Stamping out 11 speed in cheap steel just doesn't work well as it does with 7/8 speed.

 

[Blue Hills]

I used a pair of Alivio hubs for all-weather commuting for years. They just kept on rolling nicely.

Yes a lot of alivio stuff is fine. I fitted an alivio crankset to my 7 to 8 speed upgrade (original crankset had worn out anyway) and a pal, being daft, said it was a groupset for shopper bikes! The 8 speed shifters I stocked up on are alivio.

PS - did you ever service your Alivio hubs?

 

[User6179]

Can you explain why? I'm intrigued.

Where do I start,

WEAR- on a triple 50/39/28 you can basically use the middle ring 90% of the time, about £15 to replace it and the big ring can last for years compared to a compact where you are in the big a lot more and costs about as much as a whole crank set to replace, I reckon the cost of running a compact over its lifetime will easily be at least double that of a triple of same quality

Double shifting, constantly double shifting on undulating roads on a compact

Cross chaining if you don't double shift

Less gears 22 verses 24

Shipping the chain, because on a triple you are almost always on the middle ring with a ring either side you ship the chain less and when it does occasionally drop of the middle it lands on the small ring anyway.

 

[Blue Hills]

They would not be sealed that's for sure but not a bad thing IMO.

By not sealed you mean not cartridge bearings? If so, I agree. Sealing systems to protect the loose balls are good I think and you tend to get the better seals on more expensive hubs I think.

 

[Smokin Joe]

It’s before I was into cycling, so I am genuinely interested in the tech at Pro level, so thank you for that.

What I was trying to say, with the other point, was that the rider was amazing with 3 speed but if others were on 7 speed (for example) could they have beaten him? That’s basically what’s being discussed in this thread with the suggestion that 11/12 speed is pointless when 7/8 speed will suffice. Just poising the question, not trolling.

Time trialing was a huge branch of the domestic amateur scene for decades and most TT's were held on flat courses, many of them fast dual carriageways as riders chased ever faster times. Five speeds with relatively high gears were all that was required most of the time and it was common to see some riders on a fixed wheel (The 25 mile record set by Chris Boardman in '93 or '94 was on fixed and it stood for sixteen years). So 8, 9, 10, or 11 sprockets would have made no difference back then, but on a hilly course where you need the lower gears to climb and bigger gears to descend the greater range provided by extra ratios would get you round faster.

And in the pro scene some of the climbs now used on the Giro, for example, would have been impossible for most riders with a limited number of gears. Even if umpteen sprockets on the hub make no difference to your own type of cycling they have extended what it is possible to tackle in relative comfort for cyclists in general.

 

[Blue Hills]

Even if umpteen sprockets on the hub make no difference to your own type of cycling they have extended what it is possible to tackle in relative comfort for cyclists in general.

Not seeking an argument with you smokin joe for I like your posts, but is this true? For "cyclists in general" surely it just matters that you have a low enough gear. Am not arguing against big sprockets on the back. My 26 inch wheel expedition bike for instance has a 36T. But the bike is still only 9 speed.