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Gearboxes, the “fusion energy” of MTB.

People have been saying gearboxes are the future for what, a decade now or more? I think they are really cool and innovative, but they aren't going to see widespread adoption or replacement of current drivetrains. They are heavier and less efficient, the frame also has to be built around it, which means if you don't want it for some reason, that frame is out for you. They are more complicated to maintain, shops don't have the expertise to deal with them widely across regions, and do the smaller brands like Pinion have the facility to deal with large scale...

Bike industry surprises everyone with new tech. Forum discusses its innovative nature and implications. Members start complaining about the relevance. Rinse and repeat.

There are some pretty tough engineering challenges that need to be overcome before gearboxes can find their way into mainstream pedal MTBs. They pretty much have to be fully enclosed, as lubricated gears at BB height would never survive otherwise. That's a lot of material to form that enclosure. Perhaps some use of really tough fiber-filled thermo-plastics could offset some of this weight, but the GB is also the bash guard, and there are a lot of internal stresses that the shell has to handle. Due to material properties of even the most exotic metals, the gears really can't get...

I don't think most people articulate why they dismiss gearboxes very well, or at all haha. For me, I'm not too interested in them for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I don't have the issues with derailleurs that others seem to have, I don't smash them or snag them on rocks, and I race DH and enduro in Utah and Colorado so there are plenty of opportunities for me to do so. Secondly, I like mechanical drivetrains and don't like grip shifts. Unless I have missed something, all mechanical Gear boxes have to use a grip shift to pull cables...

I think part of the problem is that "MTB" covers a really diverse range of riding styles, and for the different styles, a variety of engineering requirements and interests. It's easy for people (myself included) to only consider the style(s) of riding they do when they promote or bash posts. I agree that there might be interesting trickle-down technology from the latest "moped" innovations in MGUs for predominantly gravity-driven forms of pedal MTBs. While the idea of a gearbox that is comparable in weight in efficiency to a conventional 1X drive train is exciting, from the engineering side of things...

Yeti Sixfinity enduro bike from la thuile pits here - https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/yeti-sixfinity-enduro-bike-spotted-… (in its own thread as to not disturb efficiency discussions : )

I am going to be completely transparent here in that I work for FSA, but I will say I worked really hard on making the 31.8 40mm Gradient alloy bar one of the most compliant on the market. and here is the proof: (chart from PB article)

Guys and gals, one less post ride beer will do what a $1k drivetrain can't do. Chill, and go ride your bikes (though maybe not today if you're in the heat zone)

Because they consume 2+ % more of your wattage, and that only gets worse the worse your chain maintenance gets! In addition, the idler produces more noise and potentially a rougher feel when pedaling, which can create a greater than 2% change in a subjective sense. Those losses are from chain link articulation on the highly tensioned top run of the chain: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/tested-how-much-slower-are-idler-bikes-wh… If you find evidence that electronic suspension will provide 2% gains, then it could offset the idler losses, when compared to a non idler/non electronic suspension bike, but you would still be 2% behind a non idler...

"Nobody lifts a finger." is a bit of an overstatement. Plenty of people who were there did what they could, which wasn't much since they had other jobs to do and he wasn't gushing blood. They told him it sit down and called the ambulance. He kept standing and waited. Were they supposed to shut down practice and kiss it and make it better? He didn't seem to have any complaints about how it was handled.

Yes, but I think other people in this thread have clearly explained why those efficiencies don't offer any unique benefits to high pivot, gearbox, or idler-based designs. Yes, electronics would make high pivot, gearbox, and idler-based bikes more efficient, but at the same time they'd be making all the other bikes more efficient, too. If Dave has four apples and Lisa has six apples, and you give them both four apples, Lisa still has more apples than Dave. Now, I guess if you're saying that electronic lockouts give them both the equivalent of 100 additional apples, then I would concede...

I’m going to buy a simple basic FW and then spend the price difference on riding lessons and fitness.

Without looking at any numbers for it, I'd assume the link primarily gets used to control leverage curve and the dog bone primarily gets used to correct geo. You may very well have combos where the alterations to the link would produce undesirable geo on their own so a dog bone has to be used with it to get the geo right.

Hey @Jason_Schroeder wanted to say the video was great. Thanks for asking my question at 12:27!