Real world Classified powershift experiences

[raggedtrousers]

I'd be interested to know if there have been any earlier adopters of the Classified Powershift rear hub. If you've used it reasonably extensively - better still if you've bought it - how have you found it?

I'm quite tempted by a Classfied hub with mechanical DA rear shifting... but I can't work out if that's the best or the worst of all worlds

[toutenhoofd]

I'm also curious about this so I thought I'd bump the thread back up.

[Miller]

Reviving this thread because I had a short ride on a bike with Classified rear hub last week. This was at the little manufacturer expo at La Marmotte. Classified had a booth complete with some test bikes and were very happy to let me go away on the pictured Rose gravel bike for 10 minutes. Do I need to go easy when shifting, I asked. No, go as hard as you like, they said.

The bike was built with a small subsidiary buttton attached to the inside of the LH GRX shifter. A press of this button actuated the rear shift. I was super impressed. Shifting was pretty much instantaneous and impervious to load. The reduction ratio of 0.7 works well. The system is very unfussy and straightforward in use, I really liked it.

No chance any time soon of being able to use anything but the dedicated Classified cassette, though. It's machined from steel block and the interior is quite hollow. They need the internal space for the hub gear planetary mechanism. However they claimed that cassette life is very good.

[Matte86]

Thanks for reporting your experience.. did you feel any “substantial” drag while on the 0.7 lower gear?

[Miller]

No, not at all. It just felt like a lower gear.

[calleking]

Very interesting! Thanks for the info Miller. Looking forward to more people trying it out in the coming months.

[aeroisnteverything]

I have for a long time thought this was the best thing since sliced bread. BUT: 1) need some third party efficiency testing vs derailleur setup; and 2) a better wheels choice.

[pmprego]

I have for a long time thought this was the best thing since sliced bread. BUT: 1) need some third party efficiency testing vs derailleur setup; and 2) a better wheels choice.

The wheel choice is a tough one given how the system works. You always need to rebuild the wheel or use their own. This is for sure their main focus right now as I it is also my opinion that this is their biggest limitation.

[crlincoln]

I have for a long time thought this was the best thing since sliced bread. BUT: 1) need some third party efficiency testing vs derailleur setup; and 2) a better wheels choice.

The wheel choice is a tough one given how the system works. You always need to rebuild the wheel or use their own. This is for sure their main focus right now as I it is also my opinion that this is their biggest limitation.

Well it looks like the wheel choice is going to be potentially unlocked... but will depend which wheels their partners let them use...

https://cyclingtips.com/2022/07/classif ... shift-hub/

[pmprego]

I have for a long time thought this was the best thing since sliced bread. BUT: 1) need some third party efficiency testing vs derailleur setup; and 2) a better wheels choice.

The wheel choice is a tough one given how the system works. You always need to rebuild the wheel or use their own. This is for sure their main focus right now as I it is also my opinion that this is their biggest limitation.

Well it looks like the wheel choice is going to be potentially unlocked... but will depend which wheels their partners let them use...

https://cyclingtips.com/2022/07/classif ... shift-hub/

This is for sure an important move for them. I can see this really taking off on the gravel world.

[aeroisnteverything]

This is for sure an important move for them. I can see this really taking off on the gravel world.

Why just gravel? To me, road is just as straightforward an application, if not more so. Aero-weenies should like this due to the loss of the FD, and road is where aero matters a lot more than off-road. And if it integrates with SRAM, then getting rid of the FD is of an even greater benefit.

[pmprego]

This is for sure an important move for them. I can see this really taking off on the gravel world.

Why just gravel? To me, road is just as straightforward an application, if not more so. Aero-weenies should like this due to the loss of the FD, and road is where aero matters a lot more than off-road. And if it integrates with SRAM, then getting rid of the FD is of an even greater benefit.

I once said that sram should buy this to solve their FD issues. I guess now it'll be harder (more expensive) for them to buy them.

As for road, I agree with you but for road efficiency is also more important. I'd still need proof that this is as efficient as current 2x. I'm not saying it is not. Just need some testing.

[wheelsONfire]

This is for sure an important move for them. I can see this really taking off on the gravel world.

Why just gravel? To me, road is just as straightforward an application, if not more so. Aero-weenies should like this due to the loss of the FD, and road is where aero matters a lot more than off-road. And if it integrates with SRAM, then getting rid of the FD is of an even greater benefit.

I once said that sram should buy this to solve their FD issues. I guess now it'll be harder (more expensive) for them to buy them.

As for road, I agree with you but for road efficiency is also more important. I'd still need proof that this is as efficient as current 2x. I'm not saying it is not. Just need some testing.

https://cyclingtips.com/2020/06/radical ... railleurs/

[aeroisnteverything]

This is for sure an important move for them. I can see this really taking off on the gravel world.

Why just gravel? To me, road is just as straightforward an application, if not more so. Aero-weenies should like this due to the loss of the FD, and road is where aero matters a lot more than off-road. And if it integrates with SRAM, then getting rid of the FD is of an even greater benefit.

I once said that sram should buy this to solve their FD issues. I guess now it'll be harder (more expensive) for them to buy them.

As for road, I agree with you but for road efficiency is also more important. I'd still need proof that this is as efficient as current 2x. I'm not saying it is not. Just need some testing.

Totally agree with the last point, though I think efficiency matters everywhere. Also, where I ride around London, I actually use the small ring very rarely, so the times where I would suffer this efficiency loss would be quite limited. YMMV, of course.

Still, by my math, this system will have a net weight penalty over a Dura Ace FD and a conventional DT Swiss 240 hub of around 100g (this is based on their claimed hub weight of 495g + cassette weight of 190g for a 12-speed 11-30, and assumes that we save 40-50g by removing the small chaingring up front). It's a bit less than that if you compare with an Ultegra set up, but more if you have to use a clutched GRX RD to make it all work. I think I can live with that for the shifting benefits this provides and the clean-ness of the setup. I am a lot less sure I would take it if there is also a 2-3% efficiency loss vs a conventional FD-based setup.

[NiFTY]

The makers themselves state over 99% efficient and this will be after drivetrain losses have happened. If this is true it is insignificant. Even if its 2% thats not far off the estimated inefficiency distance between sram axs(bad) compared to any other group.

I cannot see why you would need a clutched RD - there is inheritently less chain slackness at the extremes than a 2x system and in terms of chain drop - you can run a narrow wide chainring so much less likely to throw a chain then 2x +fd.

My only issue, now that wheeltypes are being sorted out, is as a runner of oval rings is the rear hub changes won't change the clocking of the chainring like changing physical oval rings will.