Since MicroShift has generated more interest than other things I've blogged about, I'll try to keep current. The shifters still work. There are two real issues: the shifting of the front derailleur and availability of the product itself. These are clearly four position front brifters. So you can trim on both the large and small chainrings. That's good, and it worked at first. Then, to facilitate racing, I asked my my mechanic (AKA my wife) to change it such that trim on the big ring was effectively defeated. During a race it's kind of hard to tell if you're chain is rubbing, you don't want it to, and you REALLY don't want to look down to see if it is. That's all well and good, but now the front derailleurs requires fiddling so it won't rub on the fourth cog from the inside (a combination I'd like to have for racing). Now the bad thing: no matter what is done at this point, there is no way to trim down from the fourth position to the third. It's as if the spacing between the two stops has gotten larger. On the other hand, this is immaterial for me since I can reach the third cog on the cassette from the outside position on the fron derailleur.
Gripe number two, availability. In the USA it appears to be Nashbar only and the cool new components shown on the MicroShift website (Arsis system and MTB stuff) aren't there. In fact, I can't find the Arsis series anywhere. Some UK sites have something they call the MicroShift 2x10 which looks like the Nashbar offering. The MTB stuff appears to be available in Australia, NZ, Malaysia, the UK and South Africa. Usually a product website will point you to either distributers or retailers, no such luck. So bottom line, Nashbar has two versions of the basic 10s. The more expensive one is clearly the SB-R102Band the cheaper one can't be found on the microshift website, but appears to be the same thing only with the large paddle made of plastic rather than forged aluminum. Pricing appears to be random, I've seen the expensive ones marked down to $150 from $200 and the cheaper ones at half price ($100) on occasion. Imagine that, 10s brifters for $100.
I'd have to say these things are a buy at $100. Compare that to over $300 and up for Ultegra SL and so on. Give me a break, who the hell in his right mind lays out $800+ to shift gears? My wife thinks I'm kind of a kook because I'll lay out $100 for a bottom bracket, but try to save money on brifters or derailleurs. I'd argue that this makes sense since the BB is directly in the power transmission sequence and, as long as the shifting works reliably, it's less critical.
As far as the slightly more expensive model is concerned, I may give it a try. A small improvement may be realized from the use of aluminum rather than plastic on the structure which bears the largest load.
Gripe number two, availability. In the USA it appears to be Nashbar only and the cool new components shown on the MicroShift website (Arsis system and MTB stuff) aren't there. In fact, I can't find the Arsis series anywhere. Some UK sites have something they call the MicroShift 2x10 which looks like the Nashbar offering. The MTB stuff appears to be available in Australia, NZ, Malaysia, the UK and South Africa. Usually a product website will point you to either distributers or retailers, no such luck. So bottom line, Nashbar has two versions of the basic 10s. The more expensive one is clearly the SB-R102Band the cheaper one can't be found on the microshift website, but appears to be the same thing only with the large paddle made of plastic rather than forged aluminum. Pricing appears to be random, I've seen the expensive ones marked down to $150 from $200 and the cheaper ones at half price ($100) on occasion. Imagine that, 10s brifters for $100.
I'd have to say these things are a buy at $100. Compare that to over $300 and up for Ultegra SL and so on. Give me a break, who the hell in his right mind lays out $800+ to shift gears? My wife thinks I'm kind of a kook because I'll lay out $100 for a bottom bracket, but try to save money on brifters or derailleurs. I'd argue that this makes sense since the BB is directly in the power transmission sequence and, as long as the shifting works reliably, it's less critical.
As far as the slightly more expensive model is concerned, I may give it a try. A small improvement may be realized from the use of aluminum rather than plastic on the structure which bears the largest load.
2 comments:
Now Performance sells these with their own Forte brand on them. The 10spd carbon one looks pretty good for the money. So how many miles do you have on them? Are they rebuildable?
Performance offers the alloy paddle version and a new carbon one. Pricing is a little higher, but still nowhere near Shimano/Campy/SRAM levels. Mine have been pretty trouble-free, but the mileage was only about 4,000 since I used them on my race bike and did long miles on my backup (Shimano 9s). Check the comments from my 12-Feb-09 post for feedback - it's all good. Rebuildable? Dunno. Also, I've bought a new racing bike with SRAM Force, which I like better. Look for a review soon. -pat
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