Originally Posted by
swiz
Ritterview, you are right, we have to really be sure we want to get ride of the triple. My stoker is a slow climber still, and dropping it cannot be taken lightly.
That choice is a pre-requise to the Di2/hydro question.
Some early feedback on XTR Di2 was encouraging, but yes, it looks like an expensive dead end. Maybe it will be sorted out when a more reasonable XT version is out.
jeffs
Horses for courses. The tandem drivetrain needs to be suited to your team on your terrain. A popular local ride is the Western Wheeler's
Sequoia Century. Its beautiful, there's a lot to like.
If your team's time on Old La Honda is over 22 minutes, you are going to need gearing for this:
On Sequoia Century before you'll know it you are on Redwood Gulch, 1.2 miles of 11% grade with pitches of 17%. We did
the metric in 2013 with a 12-29 cassette and 28t granny, for a >1 ratio. On
one 0.4 mile segment our cadence was 55 and our speed 4.1 mph. A cadence slower than 50 is mashing, and a speed less than 4.1 mph is about to topple over. That's desperate. You need
gearing to take on these challenges. Redwood Gulch doesn't
care if you have Di2. All it wants to know is what is your
gearing. Your lowest gear should be at least 1.1. Its hard to do that with a double, and still have top end and not have huge jumps.