Shimano and the future for current 21/24 speed users.

[Elmer Fudd]

Maybe one for those in the trade.
I see Shimano has a new Sora range of 27 speed for 2008. Does this mean they are moving away from 21 / 24 speed systems ?

This worries me a bit as having 21 speed on my hybrid I may, in the future struggle to replace kit.

Scenario :- Fall off bike, mash rear derailleur. At the mo, nip to shop, get replacement.
In the future I cannot replace the 7 / 8 speed derailleur, so it's a new 9 speed derailleur & cassette, chain to fit these which also means a new chainset and possibly (?) a new BB.
Not an insignificant difference in the amount of kudos to lay out, eh?

 

[Smokin Joe]

I think the geometry of derailleurs is the same throughout the Shimano (and Campag) ranges, so an updated replacement would not be a problem. I would think the 7/8 speed cassettes will be around for some time yet. There is no trouble getting nine-speed Campag cassettes.

 

[Elmer Fudd]

I think the geometry of derailleurs is the same throughout the Shimano (and Campag) ranges, so an updated replacement would not be a problem. I would think the 7/8 speed cassettes will be around for some time yet. There is no trouble getting nine-speed Campag cassettes.

Not particularly worried about 9 speed, just don't want it, quite happy with the 7 I've got. I think Shimano 9 / 10 speed derailleurs are built for the thinner chain that is required for the cassettes.

 

[andy_wrx]

I've happily run 9sp rear mechs on an 8sp system.
The cable pull is the same, 7sp, 8sp, 9sp, 10sp (only exception is pretty elderly Dura Ace) so they will work fine.

The width of a rear der, i.e. whether a 8sp chain will fit in a 10sp mech, that seems OK : I guess the problem might occur with a front mech, but that could be solved by widening the plates with pliers - rear mechs are actually very simple, far less complicated than a front one.

 

[spandex]

Mr Fudd dont get your spokes in a twist just yet you will have to have your bike for a very long time for the industry to run out of bits for it. You can still get the old 3 speed blocks and mechs its hard but if your LBS is good they can get them.

 

[mickle]

This question has been asked on a regular basis since the thirties with the move from three to four speed freewheels. There is, as has been noted above, much cross compatibility between different sprocket numbers groupsets. Elmers fears have some basis in reality, the usual effect of higher speed numbers trickling down to cheaper groups is that quality parts for lower number groups become increasingly more difficult to source. Try finding an XTR quality 8spd cassette for example. The more sprockets you have on your cassette the more future-proof your bike is. Folks running 5/6/7 and 8spd will have to fall back on an ever dwindling stock of lower quality replacement parts in order to keep their bikes on the road.

 

[Elmer Fudd]

Mr Fudd dont get your spokes in a twist just yet you will have to have your bike for a very long time for the industry to run out of bits for it. You can still get the old 3 speed blocks and mechs its hard but if your LBS is good they can get them.

What it is, is that when my front ring wears out (Ooo-errr!) I want to go 52,42,30 up front instead of 48,38,28 as now, when I hit the lowest gear I seem to run out of humph, and in the highest gear I can pedal like a maniac past an ice cream van, order an ice cream and still get me change !! (i.e. very slow) and I panicked when I looked at Shimanos site this avvers.

 

[mickle]

What it is, is that when my front ring wears out (Ooo-errr!) I want to go 52,42,30 up front instead of 48,38,28 as now, when I hit the lowest gear I seem to run out of humph, and in the highest gear I can pedal like a maniac past an ice cream van, order an ice cream and still get me change !! (i.e. very slow) and I panicked when I looked at Shimanos site this avvers.

It may be because (stuck in last century as you are with your stubborn refusal to give up on your obsolete 7spd system) your smallest sprocket is not a lovely svelte 11 or 12t but a horrendously undergeared 13 or 14t. You have just made the argument for upgrading to 9spd.

 

[Elmer Fudd]

It may be because (stuck in last century as you are with your stubborn refusal to give up on your obsolete 7spd system) your smallest sprocket is not a lovely svelte 11 or 12t but a horrendously undergeared 13 or 14t. You have just made the argument for upgrading to 9spd.

Sadly (or not) it is 11t so I can't go any smaller .
Maybe it's new legs I need, c. 85rpm cad is as much as I can hit, a rather pathetic < 26mph, gravity and wind assisted, not too bad for a hybrid I suppose.

 

[mickle]

Sadly (or not) it is 11t so I can't go any smaller .
Maybe it's new legs I need, c. 85rpm cad is as much as I can hit, a rather pathetic < 26mph, gravity and wind assisted, not too bad for a hybrid I suppose.

Oh.

 

[yenrod]

Sadly (or not) it is 11t so I can't go any smaller .
Maybe it's new legs I need, c. 85rpm cad is as much as I can hit, a rather pathetic < 26mph, gravity and wind assisted, not too bad for a hybrid I suppose.

26mph is pretty bloody good to me !

The way Im feeling now 2.6mph would be ok to to me !