Originally Posted by
chaadster
what are you guys talking about?! Ekar is not low end…not by cost, not by features, not by materials quality.
Ekar offers 2 more gears than any Shimano GRX. Four years since intro and it is still the only 13spd gravel groupset.
Ekar is the most expensive mechanical gravel group. It costs as much as GRX Di2.
Ekar offers lower gearing than GRX 1x and even lower gearing than GRX 2x.
Ekar offers carbon fiber crankset that is lowest in gravel specofic groupsets, and same weight as 11sp Dura Ace, lighter than 12spd DA.
Ekar is the only groupset with ergo thumb shifters.
Ekar groupset weight is lightest in gravel.
Honestly, what are you guys thinking? Is it soley on the grounds that it’s not electronic? I think that, particularly for gravel/adventure riding, it’s an open question as to whether electronic is the end-all-be-all.
I never said Ekar was low-end , or not innovative. I very nearly built a road bike with Ekar during the pandemic and it was considerably cheaper than SRAM Force AXS or Ultegra Di2 at that time, nevermind Red and DA. The fact that it is not electronic and that they have just released a cheaper version suggests that they are not aiming at the premium market here. I'm not going to get into a debate about electronic vs cable, but the premium end of the market is all electronic whether we like it or not.