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Comment by supertroop | Hacker News Reader

I’m so done with technology’s “answer to a question nobody asked.” Like bluetooth derailleurs. Utter garbage. The only down side is that this wave of technocrap wipes out shelf space for analog cyclists. Hard enough to find a decent triple front derailleur, let alone 48-spoke hubs with a cartridge. Now this crap.

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Wasn't the triple front derailleur basically obsoleted by putting more gears on the rear? All the talk has been around single front gears and 12-13 rear gears. None of that has to do with electronics.

Even if you put more on the rear you can still get 50% more options if you add a 3rd front cog.

It's not needed on everything but I really appreciate the extra options on my recumbent and touring bike.

Most of those options are overlapping and redundant though. Only the total range really matters, by simplifying the front the whole system becomes easier to use and mechanically less complicated.

Wear on the chain is greatly increased though on a 1x12 versus a 2x10, because of alignment.

Tolerances on a 1x setup are also much tighter, not ideal for long distance cycletrekking adventures.

Also, with a front derailer, dropping the chain to a smaller cog in the front to get to a lighter gear results in much happier shifting than having to lift the chain to a larger cog on the rear derailer when going uphill.

When MTB racing you can really get some advantage out of shifting combination discipline using a front derailer, when going from a downhill into an uphill.

I'm sad it's hard to find a 2x setup on new bicycles nowadays :-/

I'm not sure about the "question nobody asked". Bluetooth is perhaps a gimmick, but in all seriousness an electrically actuated derailleur is a blessing for anyone doing audax / long distance. I have my wrists damaged enough from sitting at a keyboard all day. I don't have to add to it whenever I need to shift gears on a bike.

I see the point of it being a potential e-waste in 10 years, but I'm not sure the mechanical route was much better in that respect (looking at you, shimano shifter-derailleur-brake compatibility table that currently runs a few pages long even before adding all the Di2 stuff)

BTW - "what" do You need a 48-spoke hub for? Are You building cargo bikes in Your spare time? I'm not trying to be snarky - the "all our bikes load limit is 120kg bicycle included" has long been bothering me as well (100kg rider), so... kinda curious about Your side projects

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