#!markdown
There are plenty of people, like Mr Bungle, riding "old" gear and loving it.
There's plenty of 9-speed cassettes, chains and derailleurs knocking around
and I'm sure we'll be able to get our hands on 10 (and 11) speed for some time
to come. But there are probably (another) plenty of people who are *desperate*
to try Eagle. And while we might rail against the timing (and yes, the cost)
we must surely have guessed this was coming?
OK, let's back-track. I was riding a 29er hard tail. I bought a new bike in
2015. It's carbon fibre (my first), came with 650b wheels (never ridden them
before) and SRAM 11-speed X01. Nice. But I didn't buy the bike because of any
one of those factors – the bike felt great, I had the cash burning a hole in
my pocket and the shop was having a crazy sale on new gear… and BINGO! I was
riding an 'on-trend' bike.
Then along comes BOOST. And my half my frame, plus the rear wheel, were old
hat. Oh, and the forks and front wheel if you want to all-in.
I'm rambling now, but I guess my point is – ride what you got and love it.
Maybe you'll get the next shit-hot gear when you buy another bike in a few
years. Or maybe you just can't wait and HAVE to upgrade to 12-speeds. Then you
go for it. Enjoy.
Relax. Mountain biking is a broad enough church to deal with all of us.
May 10, 2016, 10:56 a.m. - Richard Hayter
#!markdown There are plenty of people, like Mr Bungle, riding "old" gear and loving it. There's plenty of 9-speed cassettes, chains and derailleurs knocking around and I'm sure we'll be able to get our hands on 10 (and 11) speed for some time to come. But there are probably (another) plenty of people who are *desperate* to try Eagle. And while we might rail against the timing (and yes, the cost) we must surely have guessed this was coming? OK, let's back-track. I was riding a 29er hard tail. I bought a new bike in 2015. It's carbon fibre (my first), came with 650b wheels (never ridden them before) and SRAM 11-speed X01. Nice. But I didn't buy the bike because of any one of those factors – the bike felt great, I had the cash burning a hole in my pocket and the shop was having a crazy sale on new gear… and BINGO! I was riding an 'on-trend' bike. Then along comes BOOST. And my half my frame, plus the rear wheel, were old hat. Oh, and the forks and front wheel if you want to all-in. I'm rambling now, but I guess my point is – ride what you got and love it. Maybe you'll get the next shit-hot gear when you buy another bike in a few years. Or maybe you just can't wait and HAVE to upgrade to 12-speeds. Then you go for it. Enjoy. Relax. Mountain biking is a broad enough church to deal with all of us.