Originally Posted by
Chris_W
Is no-one going to mention all of the reasons why SRAM's "WiFLi" idea is a bad idea on a road bike? The gaps between the gears on a 10-speed 11-32 cassette are way too big for serious road riding. I agree, it could work on a commuter or cyclocross bike, but not on a true road bike. I already hate the 11-28 cassette for road riding because the gear spacing is too big, this is just making it worse. For 10-speed stuff, the SRAM 11-26 and BBB 12-28 cassettes are the widest that I think are sensible.
I'm worried that many people will not realize the inappropriateness of this gearing setup for a road bike, and will buy it because they think it is better than a triple crankset, when it is clearly not when talking about road biking.
I already don't like SRAM's DoubleTap levers (two shift levers are always better than one), and the fact that they don't offer triple derailleurs or shifters (even though their subsidiary Truvativ makes triple road cranksets). Promoting WiFLi instead of offering a road triple groupset has made me dislike the company's general philosophy even more.
BTW, can anyone confirm the cog-size combinations on the 11-32 cassette? The OP said they were 11-12-13-15-16-17-22-25-28-32 (which was also stated in the article on
BikeRadar, and SRAM's website doesn't list this detail at the moment). The spacing in the middle section of that cassette is a complete mess, I think it might be just the 16 and 17 that are mis-prints and should be 17-19, making the correct combination 11-12-13-15-17-19-22-25-28-32. Can anyone confirm this?
Apex is targeted at entry level riders, commuters...anyone who might use a triple, really.
Luckily, manufacturers don't build or not build products based on what you personally hate/don't hate.
Except for loaded touring, a triple is pretty much worthless on a road bike. Again, good thing they don't listen only to you. The vast majority of people prefer a double (even MTB'ers these days), so if someone is so set on a triple that they can't consider everything else, then they deserve to stick with Shi+mano.
No, no one can confirm the cogs on the cassette as there is no actual cassette in existence at this time, other than prototypes. It was *just* announced in Europe yesterday, FFS.
For everyone else who isn't a whining DB because of the lack or a triple, or who thinks DoubleTap should cease to exist because *you* don't like it....
http://www.coveredbridgecyclery.com/.../SRAM_APEX.pdf