That’s a good point. You hit something on the trail and put 300 pounds of force on the derailleur that’s 300 pounds of force. There is always a weak link but if that is designed to withstand what the worst directionless rider can do then it’s good. I’m sure some rider will break something though. I read this a bit like SRAM thinks gearboxes are dead in the water. People want gearboxes because they damage derailleurs and hangers regularly. You can’t shift many gearboxes under power. This new stuff you can. It’s also claimed to be stronger and we will see if that’s the case but I believe it will be. Gearboxes don’t come out of adjustment (as far as I know) and this new one won’t either. Or not easily anyway. Probably cheaper than many good gearboxes too. And a gearbox cannot be more efficient. Both have a chain drive and both will have a pulley system unless you have a hardtail.
For me electric is a no go. More cost than I want with not enough benefit. I had a cross bike with DI2 for a couple years. While it worked well it wasn’t really any better than my mechanical shifting road bike.
March 21, 2023, 2:15 p.m. - Andy Eunson
That’s a good point. You hit something on the trail and put 300 pounds of force on the derailleur that’s 300 pounds of force. There is always a weak link but if that is designed to withstand what the worst directionless rider can do then it’s good. I’m sure some rider will break something though. I read this a bit like SRAM thinks gearboxes are dead in the water. People want gearboxes because they damage derailleurs and hangers regularly. You can’t shift many gearboxes under power. This new stuff you can. It’s also claimed to be stronger and we will see if that’s the case but I believe it will be. Gearboxes don’t come out of adjustment (as far as I know) and this new one won’t either. Or not easily anyway. Probably cheaper than many good gearboxes too. And a gearbox cannot be more efficient. Both have a chain drive and both will have a pulley system unless you have a hardtail. For me electric is a no go. More cost than I want with not enough benefit. I had a cross bike with DI2 for a couple years. While it worked well it wasn’t really any better than my mechanical shifting road bike.