>>1076122(Continued in the morning)
Still, we've seen some interesting moves in the past decade, SRAM awoke the slumbering beast that is Shimano and we're finally seeing some innovation again. I'd be really interested to see some brief disraeligears commentary on the 2007->now timeframe. Shimano finally changing their cable routing and ditching the upper spring pivot, SRAM ditching the slant parallelogram(!) on their 1x derailleurs...
>>1076204I think you missed the point of the comment you are replying to entirely. Ruggedness doesn't mean just mean "durable, overbuilt, tough", it also implies serviceability and repairability.
Thruaxles are a great example. Yeah, they're tougher. But there's such a plethora of "standards"; if I buy into it, am I going to be able to buy replacement parts in 10 years? 20? 30?
1x is the perfect example of GOTTAGOFAST over practicality. Originally a thing that only DH mountain bikers did, the idea has spread to infect almost all facets of cycling. Advantages: less weight (G2GF), mildly better chain retention (doesn't matter except for the gnarliest of MTB descents), simpler shift patterns (useful if you are babby). Disadvantages: less useful gear range. Even the widest 1x11 setup has less range than my old 3x8 setup with an 11-28 cassette. I don't view significantly reduced capability an acceptable tradeoff for mildly reduced complexity, and 11 speed chains are significantly less durable than 8-speed chains.
Adventure bikes were an interesting concept. Sorta like a road bike but with slacker steering and clearance for wiiiide tires? Sorta like a cyclocross bike but with a lower, more stable BB position and clearance for even wider tires? Yes please! But the bike industry is already losing the thread - I could go on at length, but they're basically re-inventing the 90's hardtail XC race bike, except with dropbars this time. G2GF rather than lazy all-day, all-surface riding.
