Ten Speed Revolution

By Chris Lesser
According to an online poll conducted by Bike198.com, some 60 percent of mountain bikers are resisting the switch to 10-speed drivetrain. While the poll is obviously unscientific and of unknown focus-group size, it doesn’t take a degree in statistical regression analysis to predict the direction mountain bike drivetrains are going. Most new bikes are coming with 10-speed set-ups and increasingly, riders looking for quality replacement components have only one option: 10-speed.

A poll by Bike198.com says 25 percent of riders have already made the switch, while 60-some percent are holding out.

In case you’ve been hibernating for, oh, the last two seasons, 10-speed drivetrains—long used by road bikes—have been showing up on new mountain bikes with increasing and unstoppable saturation. So much so that the claimed “60 percent” of 9-speed holdouts won’t be able to hold on forever. Not en masse, anyway. Several more seasons with some smart hoarding, maybe. But high-end 9-speed MTB drivetrains are going the way of the DoDo.
SRAM was first out of the gate with its XX flagship component group in the spring of ’09, followed closely by a sweeping adoption of 10-speed technology all the way down to X7. SRAM still offers X7, X9 and some X0 components in 9-speed, but all the new development—and all the bling new finish options—is going into 10-speed specific product.

Mmmm, shiny. You can have it, but you have to say goodbye to 9-speed, first.

Shimano debuted its own 10-speed system, dubbed Dyna-Sys—in 2010 with SLX and XT, and in addition to a 2X front gearing option Shimano also is heavily promoting an updated 24-32-40 triple-ring crank option—aka: 3X (“three-by”)— as well. This season Shimano announced 10-speed would trickle all the way down to Deore for model year 2012—and there you have it, revolution: complete.

Bringing 10-speed all the way down to Deore will ease the pain (also see: expense) of making the jump to a 10-speed component group.

Even back-from-the-grave Race Face is on board, with a full bevy of 10-speed rings for both 2X and 3X options, including its top-shelf NEXT carbon crank. Notably, those still stockpiling high-quality 9-speed chains and cassettes will be happy to hear that Race Face is still making 9-speed as well as 10-speed rings (which are thinner and have tighter spacing than 9-speed rings). While Race Face rings aren’t exactly known for their buttery front shifting performance, the company will likely pick up some sales from hold-outs who think chain suck still sucks less than spending hundreds of dollars to upgrade perfectly serviceable components.
To be fair it’s understandable that someone who recently bought (or has been maintaining) a top-shelf X.0 or XTR 9-speed drivetrain might be hesitant to ditch it just to keep up with the Joneses. Unlike piecemeal drivetrain upgrades of the past, switching to 10-speed is a big commitment. Shifters, derailleurs, cassette, crank (or at least chainrings and some elbow grease) and chain all are interdependent, and the leap must be made at once, not one piece at a time.
One undeniable apples-to-apples benefit of 10-speed is the larger cassette range, with a 36-tooth cassette delaying the drop to granny gear longer, helping keep up momentum and flow. And 2X front chainring configurations wouldn’t be possible without wider-range cassettes to flush out the gear chart.

Pinkbike reported on this prototype 9-36t 10-speed cassette from SRAM, which offers an enticing option (though it's not yet nor may ever be available) for those looking for a functional 10-speed system without the hullabaloo of buying a 10-speed crank, front derailleur, front shifter, etc. Photo: Pinkbike.com

One promising way to buck the system is to run a 1×10 setup. Wait long enough and you might even be able to score a 9- to 36-tooth 10-speed cassette option SRAM is rumored to be working on. So equipped, one could feasibly run a 32 or 33-tooth single chainring with a guide and have a fairly complete gear range with only needing to purchase a 10-speed shifter and a rear cassette (which—thank god—fits onto a standard 8/9-speed freehub body). All you’d need is a 10-speed-specific ring, such as the new options from Chromag—available in every size and in a range of colors so vast that it would make Pantone proud.