Blofeld profile

Wow, Canyon’s commitment to the middle of the bell curve even extended to the embargo date for this bike! I actually double checked the photos to see if Mr AXS v2 was anywhere to be seen, but it seems that the astronomical or release schedule tendencies were simply too powerful to resist.

I went through the first half of this article wondering how tempting it would have been to follow the normal tropes and talk about high school nerds or Rolling Stones lyrics. The second half I spent hoping to hear more about salt pork. I am imagining a notepad from November saying, “This bike has above average stack, below average price. Bathrooms are different here. Nothing further of note.” Anyway, I’m happy you were able to fill in a few more blanks than that.

Thomson stem, custom bars, $90 cog, The Most Interesting Brakes in the Universe…Nothing ‘Min’ about this build IMO!

I think the article should be retagged as ‘About A Dream Singlespeed Builds’.

The revelations in this article are fantastic. It makes me feel like I’m back on my first fatbike ride, wondering if these Farley seatstays will actually rub a hole through my pants. I hope the conditions persist or your travel schedule permits you to test the suspension and tubeless setup on snow. 

My experience (n+1 revelation) has been that 4” tires and snowpack make suspension unnecessary. The trail is a moving average of its summer self once packed and ridden. Roots and holes get covered and filled enough to make the weight addition a poor trade-off. Also, once the thermometer gets to single digits on the F side of the scale, such things don’t work that well, anyway. Sand may be a different beast, so happy testing.

Interesting. I didn’t know about the interference risk between 12speed and 142 hubs. I see an asterisk on the LG compatibility chart for non-boost now that I look as well. I will definitely check out a 9speed LG cassette in person (when I can) to get to the bottom of this.

The cassette being non-series/3 digit and the derailleur/shifter being 8130 is somewhat odd. The rest of the 8130 parts are 12speed superboost. Maybe it’s a choice to make it easily identified as XT if it’s spec’d on a bike. Does this mean the new Saint is just another few years away?

So, let me get this straight, a company that’s known for having WAY too many SKUs is trying to reduce their SKU count by making more SKUs? I guess it could work IF Shimano does drop the other low-end groups. The integration with the low-end road groups may justify the derailleur ratio change as well. I like it. I think.

Does anyone else think it’s weird that there  is 11speed spacing on a 9speed cassette? I mean, that’s still 11speed…is there a two cog spacer or a massive dork disk behind the cassette? Wouldn’t it be virtually the same cost (and fewer SKUs!) to only have 11speed shifters and cassettes of varying sizes?

Also, why didn’t they give the mountain group a new series designation? 8130 and 5130 is needlessly confusing.

That’s a great resource, thanks for posting. May I ask if the numbers you’ve collected are from measurements you’ve made yourself? There are a few values on your sheet which don’t match with anecdotal compatibility reports and  I’m digging in.

In contrast to the article stating LG was “the 1x group Shimano's design team always wanted to make”, I’m now thinking some of Shimano’s choices were more around making something that doesn’t work with any competitor’s product. A direct shot against the SX and NX groups on “cheap” (<$9000) e-bikes.

I’m looking forward to your piece on the shifter pull ratio. I hope you include a large selection of 2004 press releases from the SRAM 1:1 Actuation launch. 

Assuming parts availability gets sorted having two ratios from one brand isn’t an insurmountable problem. I’ll do my best to pick one or the other to keep my gear interchangeable, however, and I’m not taking the e-option right now. On that topic, the lack of a MS driver option is telling in terms of the future of that product line.

I was hoping you’d have thrown in a scale shot for this review that had a full water bottle on with this cassette. What a unit! I feel like a better ebike ratio set from a wear perspective might be 11-11-13-13-15-15-17-23-30-43-50. It would save some grams, too.

The cable pull incompatibility is the deal breaker for me, though.

I wonder if the aluminum nipples are to keep the lead out of the wheelset (to avoid a prop 65 shaming) more than an intentional weight savings? These pontoons have California roots, after all.

Fair point on selling through the RF rims now that they have a house brand alternative. The two brands‘ rims may come from the very same machines, for all I know. I didn’t find anything indicating that park or dh race use would void the warranty, so applying for the ASTM 4 ratings could just have been a means to avoid any potential release date setbacks on a more stringent test.

I am always curious what the weight and price penalty is for a lifetime warranty. Here, I’d guess it’s 80-100g/rim and $100-200/set. Not outlandish by any means. I think the wheel replacement after rim destruction clause is a major plus as it would stave off considerable hub and nipple maintenance.

Being skeptical of everything Pon-glomerate, I also wanted to point out the aluminum nipples, ASTM 4 rating (even on the “dh” rims), and the spec choice of Race Face ARC HD rims (which might be 20g heavier than these) on the V10.

Posted by: Endurimil

Posted by: Blofeld

The ‘standard’ DOOM bars I just looked at are 880mm wide - that might just be be enough to get along with a swept bar at my wingspan. Probably a good chance that I’ll end up like the guy in the Mint Sauce strip, but it might be worth it!

Actually now that winter is hopefully fucking off soon. Have considered trimming the Sunrise bars down a few mm from 830mm.

Nice. Get that RootD muddy!

It always seems to take me a long time adjusting to and deciding on cockpit changes. It’s those little pains that pop up after an unusually long ride or in imperfect conditions. I’m still not sold on a stem I bought in the fall…

Posted by: mrbrett

^ In my fleet of bikes that I tend to work on I have found that the “eagle-link-on-an-HG+-chain-and-a-non-HG+-chainring” fix is chainline dependent. 

Wide chainline: no go, ends up a bit grumbly 

Narrow chainline: probably ok

More sensitive to grit for sure before it sounds problematic. But if you’re not that heavy, don’t have some goofball 55mm chainline on a boost hub, and your bikes tend to stay clean it’s for sure worth a shot.

Trial and error method with a pile of parts that almost are compatible… it’s frustrating to drop cash on a new chainring because the old one is the wrong 12 speed.

This is really useful advice for me as I have been using some goofball chainlines to run wider tires in the winter. One of the first “almost compatible” parts I ran into was the Race Face HG+ ring. They aren’t flippable like the normal ones.

The ‘standard’ DOOM bars I just looked at are 880mm wide - that might just be enough to get along with a swept bar at my wingspan. Probably a good chance that I’ll end up like the guy in the Mint Sauce strip, but it might be worth it!

That’s interesting that the Garbaruk rings are HG+ and SRAM 12 compatible. The other aftermarket brands seem to have justified separate product lines.

I’ve heard tell that a slightly worn SRAM ring will fit an HG+ chain and link but the wear on the system will be accelerated. This may be more or less applicable with a 26t ring as the torque will presumably be really, really low on a 51t cog.

Posted by: fartymarty

Posted by: Endurimil

Spotted this new offering for high rise bars.

https://bikepacking.com/news/wilde-cardinal-bar-intro/

Similar shape to a Sunrise albeit 10mm less rise. Wonder how much it weighs and what you flex is like?

Weight looks similar to the Surly, so I imagine flex is close as well. 

(I hesitate to make too many comments re. high rise bars lest Bronson takes issue again. 😳😉)

Sram makes some 10-44,10-33 and 10-36 12s gravel cassettes (XPLR series) that may technically meet your requirements. I’m not sure if that particular groupset requires robot derailleurs to allow backpedaling without dropping the chain though.

If you could convert to an HG freehub you would have a lot more options for custom cog stacking and economical drivetrain upgrade options. Some of the Specialized Roval hubs use DT Swiss internals and can be upgraded inexpensively. Others use a form of cheese for internal pawl ratchet components and require replacement frequently. Either way, I’d advise caution when making drivetrain decisions based on hub driver standards.

Posted by: Endurimil

So assume this rebirth of thru axle mounted derailleurs comes with some kind of catch for our own good?

Hmmm, the fact that anyone who buys AXS v2 for the increased durability could already afford to replace normal components much more frequently is sort of a Catch-22. Do you mean physically catching the parade of reviewers and (soon) bike shop employees standing on and falling off of these derailleurs?

Posted by: AndrewMajor

I wouldn’t actively dissuade anyone who wants a new King hub from buying it but I’d be buying something else personally and that’s what I say when asked.

I am also skeptical of the new King design. For me, they’ve earned the same 2-year probation as DT Swiss after the gaffs around the 240 EXP launch. I do respect that King has listened to their customers and brought back 6-bolt hubs and largely treated the creak-seekers well. Still, it’s a huge letdown compared to the reliability of their legacy product.

After writing the above I realize that I’ll no longer be able to claim that I did a thorough multi-year a/b test to validate my service interval and drag statements. Fiddlesticks. I just see extra seals in the new system and whenever I’ve looked at sad old King or Hadley hubs the needle bearing is always the most contaminated. I’d guess the 6 series bearing is cheaper to replace as well, although it probably does have less load capacity.

So what is the recommendation in place of Kings now? 321s? Hydras with aftermarket bearings? I’ve been collecting old DT 350s but I know the engagement isn’t ideal for everyone.

Posted by: AndrewMajor
The Chris King hubs are the new version of their hub, just in a 6-Bolt package. They are not the old hub coming back. There’s no needle bearing supporting the axle in the freehub driver.

Are you still seeing those hubs coming in with clanking issues? A few people were writing about it on MTBR last summer, but that thread has been quiet for a while now. A batch of driveshells were out of tolerance, apparently. It didn’t seem like a good reason to scrap the new (less drag, longer service intervals) design. Any other intel to share?

Posted by: fartymarty

Posted by: Endurimil

Posted by: Blofeld

Need gears less? 🤔

I was a little disappointed to see that the whole LG cassette lineup is on carriers or riveted together. The custom stack of 6 or 7 cogs on an HG SS hub idea is appealing. It would give a huge amount of tire clearance…more so if it was 157…and even spoke tension.

Spotted this a while ago,

https://www.rivbike.com/products/cassettes-7

These look awesome.  Need to find someone in UK with them.

That is a great find. The 6mm offset they mention (to run 7 gears at 9 speed spacing) beats LinkGlide 9s and whatever 2.5mm hanger-jamming SRAM was playing at yesterday.