Tags:

• 29er
• buyers guide
• drivetrain
• Health
• shifting
• training
• Wheels

Should you buy a chain brand other than Shimano?
Recently I did a report on Shimano v Sramcassette, and my conclusion was that with out a doubt most riders out there would be best off sticking with Shimano cassettes. Price, shifting, and in most cases weight are all in favour of Shimano's line of cassettes. But unlike with cassettes, there are a number of Asian companies competing in the chain market. Yes Sram sell road and MTB chains, but even thier sponsored pros tend to fit other brands so I'm not even going to worry about them!

Hydraulic shifting- the future of shifting??
Will the recently released hydraulic shifting from Acros be the future of shifting? Well I sure think so. Probably the most innovative improvement in bike technology is some time.

29ers vs. 26" MTBs
There’s a new trend going in the mountain bike world, mountain bikes with larger 29? wheels instead of the standard 26? wheels. A lot of big brands are coming out with more and more 29? model in their range. But what differences do they offer to 26? MTBs?

Shimano 11speed 9000 leaked details
Shimano Dura Ace 7900 while maintaining market dominance with strong OEM sales, has never wowed users with the floorless performance 7800 had. While still selling strong some users did change to SRAM. Sram is now coming out with a new lower weight group that shimano 7900 doesn't compete with too well. So what is Shimano going to do? The answer is the Dura Ace 9000 groupset due to be released to OEM during this year, and you'd expect pro teams to be using it at least by the Tour de France. Full commercial details haven't come out yet, but there have been OEM briefings to try and secure sales for the 2013 bikes which will actually start coming on the market in the second half of 2012.