gears up to our ears
There has been talk on a few blogs lately about Shimano’s planned obsolescence of 8- and 9-speed drivetrains and how distributors are clearing out even 9-speed parts as Shimano bounces 10-speed cogsets down the product line. It’s a serious disservice to customers.
It’s a fact that 9- and 10-speed parts are more expensive, and anecdotal experience is showing that they aren’t as durable. This only makes sense, since the spacing is closer, the chains are narrower and there’s just less metal to take the pressure, so we begin to see reliable accounts of chains breaking after a few hundred miles and cogsets wearing out more quickly than ever. The cynical cyclist might feel like it’s all part of a plan from Shimano and Campagnolo to start seeing these parts as disposable and get cyclists used to a more aggressive (and expensive) cycle of maintenance than ever before. Perhaps this is the case for professional racers; fine, but it doesn’t have to be that way for the rest of us.
There are plenty of cyclocross racers (more serious & faster than me) and other experienced tourists and commuters who (like me) set up their bike with an 8(or less)-speed drivetrain for improved reliability and durability. It’s clear that as you simplify a bike’s drivetrain toward fewer gears and fewer moving parts, the longer each of those parts tend to last. A racer on a 10-speed setup might go through 2-3 chains and a cogset per year (at least $150), while a singlespeed or internal gear-hubbed bike can easily use the same chain and cog for several years worth of the same mileage (even given that a racer on a 10-speed road bike might ride more miles per year).
Despite what you might think from reading the latest big cycling catalogs, 8- and 9-speed is not obsolete. Even 5- 6- and 7-speed drivetrains are perfectly viable, and make a lot of sense for daily riders. The parts are cheaper and last longer, and even though it’s more often the lower-end parts ranges that are available, those parts are in many cases higher quality than the 5-7 speed parts available 20 years ago. IRD has even begun new production of nice 5-7 speed freewheels.
So worry not, fellow cog minimalist, ride on. And if you don’t have a bike with less than 9 gears, make your next bike 6-speed or less and see if you don’t like it so much you’ll contemplate having even fewer next time.