I don’t have any secret spy stuff today.
But I have been trying to get some news out of Sunrace Sturmey Archer. And you’re thinking, who hasn’t? I missed an opportunity at Interbike, as they were only at the outdoor show, and I only attended the indoor portion. Big mistake on my part. So I’m trying to make up for that.
They’ve got road and mountain components on the way, which is really going to benefit cyclists of all levels. The competition will drive all manufacturers to bring better products to the market. There was once a time when the only serious choice for a mountain biker was Shimano or Shimano. SRAM realized that if they wanted to compete, they couldn’t just come up with an alternative, they had to offer something innovative and functional, two qualities that didn’t always mesh at Shimano. And they pulled it off, with gusto in the case of their X0 group.
After they succeeded in the dirt, SRAM took on the road groups, producing what I consider to be better products again. And by acquiring different brands along the way, they are able to offer manufacturers of complete bicycles quite a bit of flexibility in OEM spec. While Sunrace Sturmey Archer hasn’t indicated that they’ll be an OEM supplier, having yet another option will push them all to come up with lighter, stronger, stiffer, better shifting, and better braking components. Hopefully at better price points too.
As someone whose first MTB had Suntour thumbies, and rode a Sachs/Campy road bike with friction shifting and poor brakes, I look forward to seeing what Sunrace Sturmey Archer has to offer, as well as how that affects the competition.
Shouldn’t you be at the big outdoor industry show in SLC? 🙂
I would have preferred that to a funeral, but things don’t always work out as planned.