#!markdown
Pete, To address your points:
1\. I am not criticizing your efforts, but in the end it comes down the
consumer doing the real testing. Reports will come in over the remainder of
the year that will tell the real story. My point was the hypothetical test I
proposed while telling will not likely occur.
2\. XO1/XX1 are far from a budget component sets..they are the top notch SRAM
stuff. I know they are great, but most people I know now two years out still
aren't buying it and not because they cannot. Thus the reason for a ton of
companies (OneUp, Wolftooth, etc.) coming out with hop-ups for existing drive
trains that provide most of the performance at a fraction of the cost. Don't
get me started talking about ENVE wheels. $3000 MSRP?!? I have ridden a set
and their performance is impressive, but not at that price. The only people I
know that have them either are sponsored racers and/or got bro' deals on them.
3\. SC was a small brand doing innovative things and offering a lot of bang
for your buck. They are no longer the little guys, their prices are
exceedingly high and they are not offering much in the way of great deals as
was routinely touted in their reviews even less than ten years ago. Their
innovation continues, but many have caught up or surpassed them. This is
especially true regarding SC's geometry choices which have until the last year
remained conservative when other companies pushed ahead. I was a huge fan of
theirs and still think they make cool stuff (I owned five of them), but I am
now spending my money elsewhere. Don't feel too bad as I will still wear my SC
jerseys non-ironically.
April 28, 2014, 10:09 a.m. - Raymond Epstein
#!markdown Pete, To address your points: 1\. I am not criticizing your efforts, but in the end it comes down the consumer doing the real testing. Reports will come in over the remainder of the year that will tell the real story. My point was the hypothetical test I proposed while telling will not likely occur. 2\. XO1/XX1 are far from a budget component sets..they are the top notch SRAM stuff. I know they are great, but most people I know now two years out still aren't buying it and not because they cannot. Thus the reason for a ton of companies (OneUp, Wolftooth, etc.) coming out with hop-ups for existing drive trains that provide most of the performance at a fraction of the cost. Don't get me started talking about ENVE wheels. $3000 MSRP?!? I have ridden a set and their performance is impressive, but not at that price. The only people I know that have them either are sponsored racers and/or got bro' deals on them. 3\. SC was a small brand doing innovative things and offering a lot of bang for your buck. They are no longer the little guys, their prices are exceedingly high and they are not offering much in the way of great deals as was routinely touted in their reviews even less than ten years ago. Their innovation continues, but many have caught up or surpassed them. This is especially true regarding SC's geometry choices which have until the last year remained conservative when other companies pushed ahead. I was a huge fan of theirs and still think they make cool stuff (I owned five of them), but I am now spending my money elsewhere. Don't feel too bad as I will still wear my SC jerseys non-ironically.