4 ms·

I'm not sure that's true. SRAM already went with their own non-compatible design with their latest road groups (AXS road). Bottom bracket "standards" have prol

I'm not sure that's true. SRAM already went with their own non-compatible design with their latest road groups (AXS road). Bottom bracket "standards" have proliferated over the last 20 years (all 8 of the bikes in my garage use a different system). Hub spacing is non-standard too (100mm/130mm QR, 100/135 QR, 100/135 TA, 100/142 TA, 110/148 TA, Superboost, DH, and a few other niche standards). Even within a brand, there's no guarantee shifters and detailers are compatible. Basically, the industry has "standards" but only keeps them long enough to develop the next. Gotta keep us buying $5000+ bicycles somehow.

ip26 6y ago
It's true that bikes are a pretty sad story when it comes to standards. I think axles is going to settle down soon though. QR seems to be on the way out and standard TA for road with boost TA for mountain seems like the direction we are headed... (Disc brakes in particular are not a good match for QR)
- alistairSH 6y ago
  Trek is already moving to SuperBoost on their trail bikes. This appears to be DH width, but retaining the 12mm/15mm axles (vs thicker used in DH). It's a mess. And really annoying for anybody who breaks parts a lot - while almost everything is still available in some form, the newest best stuff is often only available in the latest standards.
brudgers 6y ago
I'll cop to $5000 bicycle unfamiliarity and preferring to own one bike at a time. I guess the era of standardized chains is past. So I stand corrected. Thanks. My current bike a late model Brompton, I am familiar with the extents to which other bespoke components is possible and a deliberate choice over something by Bike Friday.
- loeg 6y ago
  Chains at the same nominal width (e.g., "11 speed") are approximately compatible (Shimano/SRAM).
rconti 6y ago
They're standard-ish. My road bike and mountain bike are both 12 years old, which means I've learned the ins and outs. SRAM likes to abandon old derailleur tech, but SRAM and shimano chain spacing are MOSTLY similar. On road bikes, the Shimano 9/10spd are the same, if I remember correctly. I think the 11 and 12 speed stuff use narrower chains, BUT conveniently front chainring spacing seems to not matter a whole lot. 10 speed ultegra chains and cassettes work fine with an "11 speed" generation front crank, thankfully.
loeg 6y ago
The threaded BSA BB has been standard for low-middle end bikes for a long time. Sure there have been a lot of different kinds of pressfit shell, but I would avoid them all except BB86/92 (Shimano). Hub spacing in QR is standard at 100/130 for road, 100/135 for mountain. Thru-axle is somewhat new and I think we'll standardize on fewer than that eventually. I think some of those are a lot more popular than the others.

ip26 6y ago

It's true that bikes are a pretty sad story when it comes to standards. I think axles is going to settle down soon though. QR seems to be on the way out and standard TA for road with boost TA for mountain seems like the direction we are headed... (Disc brakes in particular are not a good match for QR)

alistairSH 6y ago
Trek is already moving to SuperBoost on their trail bikes. This appears to be DH width, but retaining the 12mm/15mm axles (vs thicker used in DH). It's a mess. And really annoying for anybody who breaks parts a lot - while almost everything is still available in some form, the newest best stuff is often only available in the latest standards.

brudgers 6y ago

I'll cop to $5000 bicycle unfamiliarity and preferring to own one bike at a time. I guess the era of standardized chains is past. So I stand corrected. Thanks. My current bike a late model Brompton, I am familiar with the extents to which other bespoke components is possible and a deliberate choice over something by Bike Friday.

loeg 6y ago
Chains at the same nominal width (e.g., "11 speed") are approximately compatible (Shimano/SRAM).

rconti 6y ago

They're standard-ish. My road bike and mountain bike are both 12 years old, which means I've learned the ins and outs. SRAM likes to abandon old derailleur tech, but SRAM and shimano chain spacing are MOSTLY similar. On road bikes, the Shimano 9/10spd are the same, if I remember correctly. I think the 11 and 12 speed stuff use narrower chains, BUT conveniently front chainring spacing seems to not matter a whole lot. 10 speed ultegra chains and cassettes work fine with an "11 speed" generation front crank, thankfully.

loeg 6y ago

The threaded BSA BB has been standard for low-middle end bikes for a long time. Sure there have been a lot of different kinds of pressfit shell, but I would avoid them all except BB86/92 (Shimano). Hub spacing in QR is standard at 100/130 for road, 100/135 for mountain. Thru-axle is somewhat new and I think we'll standardize on fewer than that eventually. I think some of those are a lot more popular than the others.