We often hear from high-ranking riders and media outlets that the basic mountain bike has evolved to near perfection, and that we should not expect much in the way of meaningful or ground-breaking technological improvements in the future. That may be true. Since tire and rim makers have dialed in tubeless, most riders can count their flat tires on the fingers of one hand. I went through the entire 2016 season without one. We have come to expect that suspension components will continue to go up and down for at least three years before needing a serious look at their internals. Wheels don't exactly stay true, but disc brakes (another famously reliable part) ensure that wheels can be functional as long as the tires can clear the frame and fork and the spokes are in tension. The derailleur drivetrain has been tamed. Headsets and bottom brackets go around and around without adjustments, and frames rarely break. So, is this it? Should we call the mountain bike good, or does it have one or three components that are crying out for either a redesign or an alternative?
And then open the mind to current technological limitations. Imagine a completely sealed gear box/sprocket/chain/shifter system that weigh's no more than the current setup, but is small enough to fit unobtrusively into the frame and creates the same or less drag on the chain/belt. Mix that with Di2 and that is likely what the future will look like in another 20 years time (it'll take that long because just look how similar drivetrains have been over the past 20 years...).
And with the proliferation of electronic shifting and improvements in sensor monitoring, there's a chance of automatic shifting/ damper control.
And then when I come back to earth - I ask why bother making those improvements? Haha! But if it's technically feasible and improves the times of elite racers (both road and off road), why not? Let's face it most companies only make improvements to help them win competitions - and then sell the technology to us mere mortals who don't benefit from the tech anyway!
The global corporations that run the industry want bikes that you can't work on yourself. Fit a gearbox, behind a guard with proprietary cover and bolt, and force people to service there bikes at an interval determined by the manufacturer and pay for the privilege.
The increasing desire for new and "better" is leading the industry towards a more controlled future. Direct to market brands are squeezing all independent brands that seek to support LBS. The big three get bigger. And it's dressed up as progress and followed by naive individuals who think they are either clever or ahead of the curve. It's a shame their "foresight" precludes them from seeing that they are being manipulated and are being lead to a future that doesn't represent the things this side of cycling always stood for. Not strava KOMSs or "who has the most expensive bike". It appears that in order to create the future that suits them, the trade is going to turn most of you into wannabes, like they have done with roadies.
Enjoy your latest tech, brag to your mates, ride your polished turd as much as you can. But when you can't change a chainring on your own bike don't blame anyone but those so keen to embrace a future not pushed by the sports own front runners, but by the gloabal corporations sponsoring them.
You get it. Just ride your bike. When "insert pro rider name" tells me I need a gearbox on my bike I will kick him in his sponsored sprockets.
While you are at it name a gearbox produced by SRAM or Shimano... (IGHs don't count)... that's right neither have one available for purchase and probably wont for a long time.
It's the little guys pushing it because their hands are not tied and they understand good engineering / design.
Maybe lets talk in 5-10 years - we will probably all be riding E-29ers with E suspension.
I guess we'll know soon enough.
At least if it is a nail in the gearbox coffin we can stop obsessing about it and get on and clean our SLX mechs
Although everyone I have "talked" to with Pinions would never go back to a mech so I still hold out hope.
Silly.
I'd have said spokes...
Can we lose the tin foil and recognize how absurd this has become?
What supports shops are the things like the times when a shop charges $15 to change a flat tire. It's a 5-minute fix and a new tube costs less than a dollar in bulk. Even for a head mechanic who might be paid closer to $20 an hour, the fix costs the shop around $2.50. That's a huge markup and more people do it than most cyclists realize.
Even if every $10,000 bike became suddenly impervious to everything and never needed to be fixed, bike shops would survive on service alone because people either don't have the money or don't see the value in buying a product that will last longer. The gearbox won't change that.
P.S. @bustacrimes every bike shop who has access to QBP has the ability to send parts into them for service. Very few, if any, bike shops exist that can't get parts serviced- whether it's by themselves or by sending them in. There are also very few manufacturers who make parts that aren't user-serviceable. Fox is the only one I can currently think of (and that's only their shocks, which have a nitrogen charge in the damper).
And if you want a gearbox - buy one,
If you don't want one - don't buy one.
I love it how simple life is.
Replies like yours makes me remember why I quit giving my opinions online like and why I only save my opinions to friends and such, I was giving my input in a relaxed manner and someone which I don`t know across the world starts talking politics in a mountainbike site, stating that he/she is beginning to understand a multifactor very complex subject because of a comment, I guess CNN will contact you shortly.
@PLC07: Reduced service intervals is typically a double-edged sword. You get a more complicated service in exchange for having to do it less often.
Gearboxes are a great example, because changing a gear will be significantly more complicated than changing a cassette.
I, personally, tend to choose easier service over longer intervals, one exception being closed bath dampers. They're not so much harder to service that they aren't worth the reduced oil volume.
@mikecawsey: I wonder if gear box designers have gone with a constant mesh set up? If so, why? That would mean every time you turn a pedal, you are turning every gear in the gear box. I wonder if some of the drag could be reduced if we either went away from constant mesh or just chose a gearbox system with less inherent drag (they do exist).
For me a gearbox is the right solution for a mountain bike. Where as a mech and cassette are the right solution for a road bike.
As you say they have invested heavily in deraillers and its easy to add another cog to the cassette and work with what they have. Gearboxes throw all that out the window and it's not worth it for such a small market (high end mtb).
If I was a big company looking to keep my profits up, derailleurs would be the last thing I would improve. They are so expensive yet break so easily, need a lot of maintenance, and even well maintained will wear out fast. Its a market guaranteed to make lots of money.. what manufactures for bicycle components can compete with sram/shimano? and if sram/shimano stopped making derailleurs, where would their companies be?
Gearboxes make sense to me, less chain wear, less exposed kit, less unsprung weight, less rear wheel dish...the latter will be important on 29inch DH bikes!
I also think we'll see them sooner than 20 years because the technology is portable to e-bikes...not eMTB neccessarily, we're a small bit of the global bike market, i'm thinking more the 1bn potential e-cyclists in China!
Gearboxes on the other hand last for a very long time and need very little maintenance.
I am sure once S+S are on board we will have some great efficient light gearboxes.
So as long as keeping the weight down on bikes, and making them mechanically efficient are more important than reducing maintenance in MTB- gearboxes aren't going to catch on.
Unless, of course, there's a radical change in how gearboxes work.
Frames that are offered as 650b+ verses the same as a 29er often have 1cm difference in bb height, but are otherwise identical. You could do away with the need for multiple frames with an adjustable BB.
There are LITERALLY not enough upvotes in the world for that comment!
No "IMO" needed - this is precisely what is happening.
factoryjackson.com/2016/12/28/zerode-taniwha-pinion-gearbox-bike-first-ride
"The Pinion 12 speed whirrs away beneath you as you effortlessly spin pedals along the fire road. There’s very little resistance and feedback – far less than expected."
Name the last time one of the big drivetrain manufacturers told me gearboxes are the future.
Name the last time one of the big frame manufacturers told me gearboxes are the future.
Name the last time Pinkbike or another bike publication told me gearboxes are the future.
Name one top 5 or top 10 factory racer using a gearbox.
Sorry, but the big drivetrain manufacturers have majorly resisted gearboxes and consistently reaffirm their stance that derailleurs are the way to go. Not a single one of the big frame manufacturers makes a gearbox mtb (not e-bike). And all the articles about gearboxes have either been just "here's some pictures of the latest gearbox we say at Interbike" or articles blatantly expressing reasons why gearboxes won't be the future. All the top factory riders are running derailleurs, unlike what you seem to think.
The reality is YOU are brainwashed. All the major corporations are pushing the narrative you are repeating. It is RIDERS that want gearboxes and tiny startup brands building gearboxes and gearbox frames.
Yes, there are current downsides like weight and drag, but many upsides. The amount of money thrown into their development is tiny. There was a time people like you resisted disk brakes because they were more complex and heavier.
Going from u-brakes to v-brakes was evolution. Going from rim brakes to disk was a revolution.
Going from 3x10 to 1x11 was an evolution. Going from derailleur to gearbox will be a revolution.
Current drawbacks will be sorted when you quit resisting and we finally have development money funneled to advancing the technology.
1x11 is the symbol of DEVOLUTION of bikes and riders.
DISAVANTAGES:
- Drivetrain parts need replacement 5 times as often. Including rear derailer. BINGO for the bike industry.
- Extreme chain angles are energy consuming.
- Large cassette range but also large gaps between gears. If you want to keep cadence, large gaps are not good.
- NW tooth profile takes energy away from the pedal stroke. It is minimal, but it is there.
- Same weight as a double, besides what they want you to believe.
- Unresonable cost (especially SRAM $500 cassette LOL)
- Chain drops
ADVANTAGES:
- It is easier for beginners to learn how to shift.
- Don't need to learn how to set up and maintain the front derailer.
1x12 it is not only the drivetrain involution, it is also the rider involution.
You also forgot the rigid to full suspension revolution. Gearboxes will happen, maybe not for XC race bikes but for everyone else.
As to conspiracy, I agree, it's bollocks. However 650B has shown that companies can cooperate on a higher level. It required synchronisation of frame, fork, rim and tyre makers.
So I don't think it is a matter of trying to be ahead of the curve. Some people want something that works reliably and doesn't destroy instantly because of a rock or stick. Yes of course you can break a gearbox as well, but it takes some neglect and then you know already you have yourself to blame.
We're not talking about the world's largest particle accelerator or a quantum computer here. It's just a gear box.
Funny how the Mike Levys of the world (or whoever it was) like to cite the lil' PB polls where X # of peeps didn't have a derailleur prob in over a year blah blah w/e. Cherry picking info like some kind of fundamentalist religious twit. Well here you go Levys. Have a look at these #s. Booya!
1. Compatibility issues. Of course we've been enjoying these compatibility issues with other components as well. Brakes, headsets, bb interfaces, hubs, rear shocks, seatposts... Plenty of good components will not fit your new bike. The market has already accepted this more or less. Yes there is still some resistance but nowhere near to when Manitou came with the onepointfive standard for their incredibly long travel (150mm) single crown forks. So much so that Marzocchi jumped in to introduce their Z150 forks with standard steerer tubes. But standards will (have to) change if the compromise would otherwise be too severe. And I expect those gearbox manufacturers to see that compatibility is going to help them eventually. If they can be compatible, they will. But not at the expense of everything. Pinion has the quality to be quite compact. They won't commit to a standard only to suit the Suntour gearbox.
2. Efficiency. It is surprising to see how much of a deal this is. For racing yes it is. But if I have a time slot of 90 minutes on a cold muddy day to ride my bike, I could ride for 75 minutes and need 15 minutes in the cold to clean and lube the drivetrain before I can safely store it and go back inside. Or I can ride for 85 minutes, do a quick 5 minute clean and lube and I'm done. That's worth it. I might be slightly slower in pedally sections but for coasting and pumping it doesn't matter one bit (provided the hub has a freewheel). I actually got a mountain unicycle for these conditions. You can ride it, store it dirty and it will be ready the next time you take it out. It would be lovely if I could do the same thing with the bike. See, we're not all racing XC (or racing at all). It is worth a minor sacrifice in the pedaling department only to get more time riding in.
I think as long as companies base their decisions on labtests and input from racers (riding clean and intensively maintained gear) gearboxes don't stand a chance. Maybe with sponsored non-racing groups like 50/01 that will change. We'll see.
There can be some weight optimizations, but it features a 2-stage gearbox with the minimum places for friction losses (seals, bearings and cog pairs) and is in the ideal position. Compared to Eagle, it has a similar range, the same number of gears (12spd Pinion is the flagship enduro-class box now) and is heavier and has more internal losses.
As for electronic shifting, the idea is nice, but why? Why is the problem with a cable and housing? Does it not work? I have no idea when i broke a cable the last time.
A gearbox is a nice concept and it would open up some freedom in frame design, but with Sram's 1x11 and now Eagle i thinkt he last nail in gearbox's coffin has been shut.
Yes, we don't all race, but would you rather climb to the top of the descent and be ready to go down or be knackered? The chain and sprocket drivetrain has a few percent of losses regardless of the gear you are in. The gearbox in itsellf will have a 90 % efficiency if not even less, BEFORE you get to the chain and sprocket drivetrain.
This is my opinion of why I like the idea of a gearbox:
-Centralized mass
-practically silent!
-belt driven to the wheel (potentially)
-stronger rear wheel (no cassette, more spoke space)
-less likely to be damaged in a crash
-stays cleaner
I hope this doesn't upset anyone. Change is good!
As for the efficiency, i was taught in my engineering classes that a bearing has a ~99 % efficiency, just like a gear pair and i think we said it's about 98 % for a contact seal. These numbers hold true for very ideal conditions, smooth surface, tight tolerances, good lubrication, etc.
With Pinion's design, the main loop has, i suspect, 6 bearings and 2 gear pairs to get the energy from the cranks to the chain with some additional (smaller) losses in other bearings and gear pairs, that are not powered (it's a constant mesh gearbox). Ignoring the seals, this is a 0,99^8 efficiency, which is just 92 %. Without the whole gearbox taken into account, without the seals! (which are the biggest drag in the system) and assuming IDEAL conditions. You can easily see, how the efficiency numbers can be 90 or. even closer to 80 %. For illustration, a 2-stage plastic drivetrain can have efficiencies of only about 50 % or sometimes even less, so 80 % is not that bad actually.
My mountainbikes have regular 1x9 drivetrains, the BMX 1x1 obviously and I've got two "regular" bikes to get the kids to school, go to the shops, to get to work etc. The cargo bike (Batavus Blockbuster) has a Nexus 7sp geared hub. With two kids on it and some groceries, the speed tests on the side of the road indicate something between 22 and 27km/h. The bike I ride to work (Koga Citylite) with a Shimano Nexus 8sp geared hub usually goes somewhere around 30km/h. These are not race bikes and I'm not riding these in race mode, both have a hub dynamo which should sap some energy too. More importantly, on the streets they don't feel much less efficient than the mountainbike. It doesn't spoil the fun for me at all. Koga does make a similar model with a derailleur drivetrain. I haven't ridden that, let alone back to back. I'm not the labtest kinda guy, see. But my point is, no one is going to ride nearly similar bikes back to back unless you're doing that professionally (pro riders, journos, product managers etc). A gearbox is not going to kill the fun for you by sapping some of your energy. What I expect it to give you is more riding, less cleaning. Which, to me, is well worth it. I'm not calling for a complete replacement of derailleur drivetrains by gearboxes. Just like on these street bikes, they can coexist. But I think it would be nice to have an affordable option. A Nexus 7sp hub mounted in a large tube inside the front triangle shouldn't add more than 300 euros to the price of a similar bike with a regular drivetrain. That's worth it. But currently the price for these gearboxes is what's holding it back. That said, Pinion is introducing some cheaper options so that might stir things up.
My dropper on the other hand (more precisely, under the other thumb) has to go up and down maybe 10 times per ride. Why should it ever break?!
@Gassymagee: as a saddle drops from ideal pedalling height (as a general rule) it should tilt backwards to match the angle of the riders pelvis as the rider drops. There are many benefits to this which have been discussed at length in the past here on PB. But I'm not opening that can again, I just want it to tilt.
You're using it wrong. Compress it first, then there's nothing TO slide off.
The only part of my bike that regularly fails are my tires. Even with tubeless, chunky tires and wide rims I regularly pinchflat.
My transmission nearly never fails, I killed a few derailleurs years back and every now and then somebody breaks a chain, but as long as you carry a spare chainlock you're safe.
Schwalbe Procore didn't catch on at all, the Huck Norris thing looks promising but still a little underdeveloped, etc.
With all the awesome products right now (look at how good suspension got the last few years), I can't believe tires still fail that often.
Think about how much more gearboxes can be improved. Add to that the improvement and trickle down of electronic shifting ( I got carried away on another post about eventual automatic shifting - but then I thought about the EI shocks that Lapierre introduced a few years back - didnt really catch on - but if someone improves it and nails it, it could be a thing!).
Tyres are top three for improvement - slash proof materials have just been invented that are millimetres thin but can with stand a sharp blade - this needs to be used in tyres once it is light enough.
Dropper posts get my vote, why nobody makes a post that lowers and raises on it's own by now is beyond me. (Shimano, I'm looking at you).
I weigh 65kg and run 2bar of tire pressure. On my tight, rooty, technical hometrails I don't get too many flats, but on high-speed rocky alpine trail it happens more than I care for.
My Sram X1 drivetrain hasn't had a problem all season, I rarely have to adjust the tension, that's it. And even if your chain breaks, you can just piece it together. I had to throw away 2 tires that had 2-3 runs on them because they had a huge cut, this year alone.
I now switched to Specialized Butcher GRID tires, because they are way cheaper and a bit heavier, so maybe that'll help.
Any time I see a sketchy situation coming up, I worry for my tires and rims. I don't ever think about whether my fork, frame, or drivetrain (FFS??!!!) will get through it. Everything else on the bike can keep up with the rider taking risks.
Good place to look. They have a patent on it.
Yes to our eyes things might not seem to be moving forward but I am pretty sure there are some revolutionary changes to your bike that you haven't even noticed but some engineer, somewhere, will see a bike with the tiny tweak he worked hard to develop and a tear will well up in his eye
Btw, @jaycubzz , look at all the designs for clipless pedals, or how refined flat have become (bearings, concave body etc...). The concept is the same since day one , so is a frame or a fork.
Granted... it took 15 years for something to beat the good ol' Minion and it was a nervous first outing on my DH bike when I put the Mary's on it.
Love them both though, Minion kills it for a grippy but hard wearing rear tyre too.
in a way its a win-win: they need new stuff to make money (and if its not gear box it will be something else anyway), and a lot of people want this concept to be really tried out
For one however, I'd like fadeless-air-shocks, better tires for the weight, better all around reliability/wear (not having to service the shock every month, change the chain every 2 month, etc.)
Will it be a game changer once they know how to properly build things with it? For pro bikes and bikes without budget restrictions, yes. But for the average Joe; as long as the price tag of $50 per gram doesn't change it won't.
It will take a while but one day it will come for sure.
The Trail 4 is already a great value for only €750,-, but dropping the front derailleur and suspension fork would probably drop the price back to €600 for a very proper bike.
We can get a rocketship to space, but we can't keep air in a tire. Take a second to think about that.
Also cars don't need babysitting, they don't need any goo bulls~ mess, just pump them up when swapping and check for pressure every couple of months or even just twice a year.
Cars also run 4+ ply tires on rims that weight more than your entire XC bike.
Ever pedalled a DH tire for 30 km? Now make that 3 times heavier. On the plus side, you'll never have to worry about flats!
Also the poll should include a all of them box, or reliability, or who cares I ride my 20 year old kona full rigid box
I always buy new (then "eBay service" them).
I circulate pretty much all brands and have little preference, but none of them survive long-term (like stay good for more than 6 months).
Maybe its the wet, sandy conditions here in the Peak District?
Some are generally a bit better (probably Shimano are about the toughest) but they all let go relatively quickly.
I'd say Hope and Sram are among the worst in my experience.
My next brake on planned circulation are Magura, but I'm not very optimistic
I bought the second set off ebay a couple of years ago because the first set developed sticky pistons in the calipers that I couldn't seem to resolve.
And in April last year I bought a bike with some Zee's which needed bleeding (previous guy clearly never turned the bike upside down, as all pressure was gone after when you brought it the right way up again) and the resin pads being burnt and thrown into the sea for being so shit. Otherwise, so far so good, pretty much service free.
Might add that I've been living and riding in the Peak district since May also.
Is there a brake that has serviceable master cylinders? I'm unaware of one. Changing piston seals or constant bleeds is lip service and not actually curing any problems.
And as you say, as soon as it costs more than about ÂŁ30-50/half an hour, it's cheaper/easier to just replace the whole brake. And I really don't like this kind of wasteful thinking
scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/319294_10150372886850499_1960526244_n.jpg?oh=0ad4c8fb13db0b9537d70117aee8d156&oe=5919DF31
What a pain that job was!!
I've had the same set of Hope Tech 3 E4 for the last 3 nearly 4 years years on multiple bikes and they've been spot on, like any DOT brake system I flush the fluid one a year. Other than that regular clean and setting them up properly keeps them tip top and powerful.
Certainly better than the Plasticy Magura MT7/5s my son is so fond of, The hopes will be replacing the Zees on my Sender once his new Maguras arrive.
Sometimes you do get a set that have amazing reliability, but there doesn't seem to be a singular brand that everyone is unanimously hailing as ultra-reliable. And as I say, I'm struggling to find one that even seems to be slightly better than the rest, although Shimano's do seem to be among the cheapest generally so I tend to favour them over all.
@bishopsmike mentioned warranty'ing brakes. Hmmm well yeah I have tried before, with some success, but it's difficult. Shops will usually tie the lever down with an elastic band, leave overnight and if the lever isn't touching the bar they will deem it as "working". It doesn't solve the "brake comes on at a different point in the lever travel every time it's applied" problem - which is a faulty master cylinder that I'm talking about (ie the reason for most failures).
If they do try to fix it, they usually just bleed and slightly over fill the system with fluid, which kind of cures the problem for about 1 ride or so. So in summary, it's usually more fuss than it's worth
So that's - what? - Three people, then?
Nobody likes them but they work.
Only brakes I've had real issues with were Magura MT7s which were a pain to bleed. I ended up strapping the brake lever back halfway to pressurise the system, forces the air to compress and make its way to the highest point and then just top up the fluid, It was the only way to get a decent lever.
Not saying it would actually be worse, but these are some arguments against it.
Personally on my road bike I would prefer it if more companies would make like 16-36 cogs instead of 11-23 cogs, combined with a bigger ring in the front. It's been tested to make you faster even though the extra weight and aerodynamic drag.
Also there's the possibility that the teeth on the chain rings would become to small to handle the forces it's being put through.
Why?
Well, bicycle market is one of the most fast changing and every component and technology is always improved (maybe headsets and similar are always the same but they work very well!).
But the end user, in my opinion, is the one wich is not developing fast as the bikes do, in terms of mentality, adaptation and training!
Don’t get me wrong they are in need of a REVOLUTION. Don’t just optimize an inherently flawed concept. Go back to the very start see the task of shifting and engineer the optimal solution, which i think would be some sort of gearbox transmission. But for now i am pretty happy with the performance weight and price of the new SLX 11 speed group.
Next question, what makes you think that you would need to?
Car and motor bike gear boxes can both be serviced if they ever fail, but they rarely do need servicing.
Even when they do come to market you can be sure the industry will not unlike the motocycle industry agree (for theyre own agendas) on a frame std to fit all brands when they offer it!
One other point, while the cluch mech is in theory a good idea it is also a crutch for the excessive chain movement caused by the negative points suspension terrain and the derailuer system causes, (also note damage to your frame ) more crutches / frame rubber protection or a condom for your bike to protect it from your weak transmission, with Shimano switch your clutch off notice the difference in drag, so exccessive drag robs you of horspower via the cluch design, increases stress to the derailuer for less life and ultimatley reliability, so yes improvments have been made, but all these arguments which are not new have been around in mountain biking since the beginning are still there, so for the progress we have also regressed! but its good for the industry giants because you are spending more for expensinve drivetrain systems for less benefit, the sheep continue to chew the grass which is not grass because they buy into the BS fed to them.
We who arent sheep just need to keep voicing our disgust and some of the sheep will become wolves and the pack will grow pressuring the industry to change, Zerode imo has made a great start in changing this, just for reference theyre first too batchs were all PRE SOLD before leaving the factory, who else now or ever has achieved that!!!!!
GEARBOX sheep heads!!!
its mostly all good now,.no screw up headsets with quill stems , no cup and cone bottom brackets, cantilever brakes gone. v brakes gone .cage and straps (on pedals ) gone and steel frames ( mostly ) even cheep suspension forks are good compared to the old elastomer forks .soft in summer stiff in winter
mtb's also dragged road bikes out of the gutter, oh wait a minute
"our new enneadecagon wheels will smooth out trails and offer a 99% increase in bro, and a 11% increased roll-over angle of attack traction synergy effect. now on Treks $16,000 hardtail. pedals not included. "
Idk why it hasnt took off yet??
The nicer DH Gearbox"s looks like a bitchn dirt bike without a motor! I love it hands down the best idea ever in bike history!!!
DREAM BIKE... Canyon sender with a gearbox!.. Hey Canyon, you can go use my Billion dollar idea now... Please
With the addition of battery powered gadgets (communication devices, action cameras, wearable gps to drivetrains) I want to know when each one of my pedal strokes can go towards creating energy to repower those gadgets, or when my bikes paint can capture the sun's energy to do the same. I don't want to pack extra batteries or solar panels to repower what I bring for the rides I don't want to make it back where I can 'plug in'. I want to stay connected, but not dependent on conventional power sources to recharge what I bring when I'm making power alllllll day. That's what I want to advance. (And I'm serious.)
The drivetrain has gone through numerous refinements over the years, it is very "evolved". Tires on the other hand, are not. They have remained being a ring of rubber inflated by air for decades.
I voted BB too. It's the area that they can solve easily if they're prepared to lose 0.025% of their margins.
You remember roller bearing bb's that used a cotter pin to hold the crank arm to the spindle?
Bb's have changed a lot in 100 years.
Also it seems like not a single bike manufacturer is smart enough to put wider saddles onto bigger frame sizes bikes. Someone who has an XL frame size will most probably not fit a narrow 135mm saddle...
So many people ride with saddles that are too narrow for them and don't know why they are either having numbness or why the saddle is so extremely uncomfortable. They try softer saddles and better bibs but it doesn't fix the problem if the saddle still falls between the sitting bones instead of underneath them.
Also when you need a 150mm wide saddle for road and 160mm for mtb as in my case (got this measured professionally), the amount of decent saddles I can choose from is very limited. For example Selle Italia doesn't even have a road or mtb saddle in my size... Looking forward trying the SQ Lab 612 soon. Sadly the widest version of that one js also only 150mm, so only good for my road bike.
In this day and age when you're spending 2000+ bucks on a bike, you'd expect an anatomic study to be part of the buying process (just to be sure to get the right size) with a few choices of saddles to try, but no, you have to buy a few, some cheap, some very expensive, until you find the right one.
It has potential in various applications across the bike from suspension to dropper posts, transmission to your lights, particularly when you think about synchronisation between components - press one button to drop your seat and run your suspension full open for example. As soon as a great application drops in at a lower weight whilst making life easier for the rider then people will start signing up. At the moment it's all too expensive and untested, but despite everyone's protestations I've no doubt it will catch on in the future (even if it is not this generation but all the kids out there).
I'll throw my hat in the ring and say I wouldn't buy anything electronic now (bar my lights and GPS) but 10 years from now I think a good deal of high end kit will have some form of electronics in it...
Weight is an issue for these sheep, regardless of the facts they wont get it, wont accept it, Weigth and lerception 2 key issues for them! but its where the weight is postioned in the frame, that is important not acutal weight, have both though and you can have your cake and eat it.
Zerode have done this well on all theyre bike designs re weight distribution, so yes while the gearbox itself is heavier the ride is awesome, weight is taken off the rear off the wheel, stronger wheels, no affect to suspension performance ( prob the most single important fact of what you want from an FS bike design) no chain line issues, yet the limited crank options for the Pinion, weight and perceived drag which is less than the poor chain line you get from a derailuer frame design! Is what the industry and sheep hold cling too..
The recent industry post re gearboxs vs derailiuers just made me laugh and enforce my distrust of industry and rep insiders, while as a derailuer fan of the one ring and great to see it evolve, its limiting vs a gearbox for the most obvious yet misunderstood reason of all, the industry insiders whould have you believe drag in a gearbox is robbing you of horsepower, yet we were all taught that big ring to small ring cross over was not only bad, it causes excessive wear to chain cassette and front ring, higher chance of a broken chain and more importantly increased drag robbing you legs of horsepower and draining you energy on longer rides, esp extended climbing in the big rear rin, look at your chain lines for anyone esp using 1x driver trains but this is and always has been an issue even with 2/3 drive bys, less but then the FD changing and wear and chance of dropped or jamming removes any advantage a better chain line is offered! pto
From what I read ...the Riders' Brains.
also, adaptive electro magnetic suspension like originally on just F1 cars but you can now get on an Astra opc..
Couple this with frame storage - Specialized finally is meaningfully addressing this, but why can't we integrate tools and supplies that riders commonly need an use into the frame somehow? I hate frame bags but I think I hate backpacks even more, yet I've lived with both for most of my adult riding life.
Last, the drivetrains of today are great for the design they are built around, but internal drivetrains seem like the most logical choice or step ahead - especially with the emergence of e-bikes, I could see this kind of technology surfacing in the next 10 to 20 years
Every time i see one of those stupid internal geared bikes i think hmmm interesting how much does this 10,000 dollar hardtail internally geared bike weigh?? 32 pounds! it's completely pointless until they can make an internally geared sub 28 pound bike
Keep the chain, cassette and derailleur, find a way to make it less exposed in some way shape or form, keep it cross compatible and user friendly and I don't see what else you could ever want.
As it is now, I have xt m8000, and I don't see, from a functionality standpoint, how much more it could be improved with an enclosed gearbox. I don't think i would give up user serviceability for marginal improvements in shift quality. If your drive train is holding you back then your not going fast enough!
Dropper posts. My suspension fork and shock are rock solid and survive thousands of cycles every ride. Why does the dropper post, with very similar internals not have nearly the same reliability?
To me, dropper posts are still a joke. How can making something go up and down be so unreliable? Fox appears to have made strides in the reliability department, as has 9point8, but weight and complexity remain an issue. I think there's opportunity for some cool innovation there.
Imagine performing a four-wheel alignment on a 2017 BMW M4 using your eyes (hold your two hands out in front of you, both in the shape of an L, one 90-degrees from the other, close one eye, look through the "picture frame" made by your hands while looking at the front wheels, and say, "Yea, that looks about right.").
It's the same procedure, whether it's a $100 Wal-Mart bike or the $10,000 one you just bought at Bling Bike Shop.
To give some idea, a 180 pound person weighs 800 or so Newtons. A magnetic field of 1 Tesla is a powerful field - MRI machines might generate up to 3 or 4 T strength fields. Passing a 1 amp current through a 1 meter straight wire resting in a 1 T field generates a single newton of force, in optimal conditions.
And you'd need 800 times that much just to support your weight.
Preliminary findings: To quote Wikipedia:
"Fundamentally air bearings require some form of power consumption during operation to supply the high pressure air, unlike mechanical systems which may operate without any power input (except mechanical forces)"
It sounds like you need a constant supply of pressurized air for these to work. In other words it's not just a sealed volume full of air (that'd be an air spring). Don't know about you but I don't want to carry around a pressurized air tank for my hubs.
ANSWER: Drivetrain.
SOLUTION: Gearbox with a hemetically sealed chain a la Millyard Bike www.pinkbike.com/news/allen-millyard-part-1-2008.html
Tubeless Tyres
Pressfit BB
Derailleur gear systems are a fairly easy system to keep running. It's not just the time you spend on these tasks but their complexity
Most of my time is dealing with either suspension setup, flat tires (or pressure adjustments), or disc brake alignments. I'm sure some people will say they never touch their brakes, but I'm pretty picky about how perfectly my discs run. I can't stand any drag or noise.
Thankfully I don't have a press-fit to deal with. Threaded for the win!
It's the 5-10 minutes wiping off the drivetrain and re-lubing after each ride that gets me.
Answer: Suspension
Solution: Don't buy shocks with 6 different adjustables which i have no idea what they do and will i ever notice when im riding across a flat bridleway?
Feel you on the drive train. I got a bad habit on that.
err.. i dont clean mine! Just thrash it and replace with SLX stuff every 6 months!
I run a no frills 1x10 because its cheap to replace every year. Running a ÂŁ12 NW ebay chainring.
Why?
Research results: To quote Wikipedia:
"The dampers are filled with magnetorheological fluid, a mixture of easily magnetized iron particles in a synthetic hydrocarbon oil."
(So they do have fluids)
"[3] This system consists of four monotube dampers, one on each corner of the vehicle, a sensor set, and an ECU (electronic control unit) to maintain the system."
(So you need electronics, as supposed).
Bring cash
Can lithium batteries be recycled?