Bike Build Story: The drivetrain, shifters, derailleur, cassette. As explained in Part One, we're trying to build a bike "Made in Europe." I'm not quite succeeding with the drivetrain. Rohloff and Pinion don't fit the bike or the overall concept. To keep things interesting, I opted for parts from Box Components. The Box parts also come from… read more
Bike Build Story: The Drivetrain, the Chain. As explained in Part One, we're trying to build a bike "Made in Europe." This is achieved with the Connex 11SB. An article just about the chain? Yes, because this part is crucial: no chain, no propulsion. Connex 11SB, Made in Germany, Made by Wippermann. A successful French downhill and freeride rider once said something along the lines of: ... read more
With the new 105, Shimano is converting one of the world's most popular and widely used road bike groupsets to an 11-speed drivetrain, thus enabling 22 gears. The 105 5800 inherits the key technologies and features of the Dura-Ace and Ultegra groupsets introduced in previous years. Among the key innovations of the 105 is an 11-speed drivetrain that… read more
The US component manufacturer will be selling a new groupset starting July 1, 2014. The special feature: The Force CX1, designed for cyclocross use, has an 11-speed cassette, an optimized chainring at the front, and inherits the advantages of SRAM's own 11-speed MTB groupsets. SRAM is thus the first company to offer a cyclocross… read more
