So this just happened on Facebook – Phil Wood posted a photo of a hub that to our eyes looks like it is carrying a 13 speed cassette. Is this a sign of things to come? Or perhaps a one off teaser meant to get us excited for Interbike? Start the speculation below…
I’m in high school, a senior. I work at Phil Wood after school and on weekends. I’m here Saturday morning helping sort out production parts. They let me ride the bike (as long as I didn’t crash it). It’s a 222mm wide 12mm-thru-axle rear hub with 13 awesome gears. Peter at Phil calls it the “Bakers Dozen”.
Oh boy! a 13 speed chain should last, what?, about 500 miles? as if 11 speed was not stupid enough. The bike industry needs to stop designing ways to making more expsensive (oh, look at that) parts and make stuff that lasts more than a season.
No one needs 11,12 or whatever speeds. But the moronic masses will buy whatever the latest gizmo is and deal with whatever stupidity comes with it. Road discs, road tubeless, stupid light carbon frames, electronic shifting, bikes that cost more than motorcycles that are as fast a GP bikes… Interbike should be renamed Stupidbike
Chain line would be a nightmare on ordinary roadbike length chainstays but might be okay on the long chainstays that fatbikes have. Still, as many have said, it is a bit irritating that progressively less reliable and practical things are coming out of the “top end” of development. Nothing has equaled the reliability, durability and flexibility of the first Shimano 8 speed drives. (Where youe could easily swap out individual cogs.)
@Bryin
11 speed chains don’t wear faster than 9 speed chains. This is a myth, and people need to stop spreading it. The part of a chain that wears, which is the pin under the pivot and the rollers, has not gotten narrower than 9 speed. Not even significantly narrower than 5 speed. What has gotten narrower are the sideplates, and the part of the pin riveted to the sideplates, which are not what wears on a chain.
In fact there was a test published showing 10 speed chains lasted longer because of improved manufacturing techniques.
Arguably, an 11 speed chain is a little weaker than a 9 speed chain, and if you manage to abuse your equipment, might break more easily. But really, they don’t break under normal use, and I know you don’t put out more watts than sprinters in the pro peloton that use 11 speed chains.
@MB @Jack
It probably works fine for a 1×13. The extremes wouldn’t be worse than cross chaining a double.
@bryin
I just removed my 11 spd 1171 chain after 4439 miles on it. The chain wear still measured less than .75 on the park checker. Previous best with ultegra 6600 chains was 2600 miles or so. This experiences squares with my teammates as well. Most of us have found the 11 spd chains lasting close to twice as long as 10 spd.
@Psi Squared, if Andrew meant “unsprung mass” instead of “rolling mass” then that would make a little sense for full suspension MTB applications. But when many “Enduro” tires are pushing 900g, adding 100g to the hub is kinda academic 🙂
This just screams “FAT BIKE” to me…you would have to run such a wide Q-factor for your heels to clear the chainstays that you may as well run big rubber as well. The fat bike guys also seem to love ’boutique’ parts like this that serve no real purpose other than “because we can”;)
