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At least Shimano went 11-speed without you needing a new hub/freehub.
Thing is though... SRAM 11 speed actually does something different to their 10 speed. It's something they could have done with 9, or 10 speed but the cassettes have a wider range so at least there's some justification to adding the extra ratio, the gear jumps on a 10-42 are very similiar to 10-speed 11-42. So they've made 11 speed their 1x groupsets and 10-speed for everything else.
I'm pretty sure you can use a PG1170 cassette on a mountain bike, if you desperately want 11 speed sram but don't want the wide range. Though tbf that seems pretty pointless
There's now a massive industry in bodge-ups. How the hell did that happen, when bikers have been begging & crying out for it for the last 2 years????
Shimano tend to spend a long time developing stuff and don't change plans or directions suddenly, it's why their kit tends to be so good but also why they're fairly slow to respond to trends. They're also quite conservative generally, whereas SRAM or 'small CNC' type brands have to be innovative and fast-moving to get into the market.
A wise product guy said that a good bike business plan is 'to make anything except the stuff Shimano do'.
Shimano also plan ahead. I saw the plans for 14-speed cassettes more than 10 years ago.
As someone who builds bikes, the biggest problem with MTBs is the lack of compatibility. If I build a touring bike with 1 1/8" headset, 135mm rear spacing and 68mm threaded BB, it'll be fine for decades. Most of the folding bikes, recumbents and other things I do stick to those same basic standards.
But MTB is getting silly. Loads of different headset standards, loads of different BB standards, loads of different rear axle spacings and dropout standards. I built a lovely fatbike frame before Christmas, but will headsets and BBs still be available for it in 5-10 years? It's already obsolete really as it has a 135mm offset rear hub.
Innovation is good, but when it means perfectly good bikes become obsolete very, very quickly it probably puts a lot of people off.
Sorry to be pedantic, but...[quote=bencooper ]I built a lovely fatbike frame before Christmas,....It's already obsolete really as it has a 135mm offset rear hub.No, it has an offset frame and a standard 135mm hub. How many years do you think it will be before 135mm hubs become unavailable?
(170mm hubs are probably the most at risk)
Innovation is good, but when it means perfectly good bikes become obsolete very, very quickly it probably puts a lot of people off.
Or certainly put off from spending more money on the sport.
Sorry to be pedantic, but...
...but it's STW 😀
I guess what I should have said was that it's a slightly older way of making a fatbike, dating from before wider hubs were available. Of course since it's a Rohloff, it'll last for ever anyway so there's no issue.
...and if it doesn't there will be thousands of second hand 135mm hubs available as everyone else upgrades to Boost.
This is where I should probably admit I've never bothered to find out what Boost is - I figured it was probably a passing fad, and I've only got so much space in my head.