Classified gear hub

Been seen in the wild for road racing, think it might be better when you don’t need neutral service for things like ultra and gravel racing.

If I had the change I’d definitely like it.

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My friend has it and likes it.

That hub makes bad chainline a choice!

Joe

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I’m interested in buying it for my next gravel bike… why do you think so?

[Bad chainline is a compromise in almost all 1x bikes (exception being tt bikes for flat courses). Making a 2x bike 1x with this hub is a choice that creates bad chainline on a bike that formerly had good chainline.

It sounded funnier in my head than on paper

Joe

Ps you also get tiny inefficient cogs for your biggest gear or two

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Thanks for your reply.
I agree that usually 1x provides bad chain line, but in this scenario the cassettes offered have a road range (being the widest at 11-34) one can’t cross chain to much vs when one has a 10-50 or even a 10-44. And starting with a 11cog it’s even better than having a 10 or 9.
Besides efficiency loss (claimed at 1%) is only when one isn’t on the actual big ring.
Do I miss anything?

I would like to see an independent evaluation of the 1% loss claim, in real-life conditions. Planetary gears that fit in the limited space available for this application means small diameter gears, and that brings significant power losses.

I’m not sure what you’re saying about the cogs as far as chainline but you make an excellent point that an 11 tooth cog is small enough, one that I hadn’t thought about.

I guess my bottom line is that this seems like a solution looking for a problem but I fully reserve the right to change my mind :slight_smile:

Joe

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I am considering the Classified PowerHub for my next gravel build. Almost impossible to get a GRX groupset right now. For the shifter, is the thumb sprint shifter the only way to shift? I heard it is not Di2 compatible so if I get the GRX left brake lever, you cannot shift with the GRX paddles?

It seems they are working to integrate it with existing electronic shifting system, but no eta at the moment…

Independent tests would be great to validate it… as usually I take with a grain of salt company claims… nevertheless I’m considering it because I’d like having 2 rings in the front (for my type of gravel riding) + the possibility to remove the front derailleur + with the new Crux you have limited options to run 2x…
I emailed them with some questions as it’s not totally clear which handlebars are compatible and which Sram chain it’s better to use as they don’t specify if it’s a flattop or a ‘normal’ one

Last week I read from somewhere that they will not integrate with Di2… :frowning: Not sure what will happen… I’ll fly a mail to their support and see what happens.

One advantage is that you are supposed to be able to shift the gear hub under full load (well, officially up to 1,000 W). That’d give you an advantage at the top of steep climbs where you immediately go downhill.

Definitely. I’d be very much interested in anyone’s real-life experience here.

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Shifting is flawless my buddy says.

It’s a great option if you buy a bike that has no front derailleur option

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For how long has he used his?
It really seems like a neat solution, and the only downside as far as I can tell is that you have limited cassette options and probably need to have custom wheels built.

6 months
He has a 2nd cassette for the road and one for gravel. The wheel set seems pretty solid he says. Dtswiss front hub and dr Swiss rims

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It’d be great if you could pick and choose your rim and hub of choice and then an official dealer install Classified specific components on it.
Maybe they won’t pursue Shimano integration as they use ant+, while Sram BLE?
Swapping the front ring should be faster/easier to do vs a 2x, so their cassettes with narrow spacing could be just fine…

https://cyclingindustry.news/classified-cycling-launch-partnerships-with-7-wheel-brands/

Partnering with wheel manufacturers. Wondering what the initial prices will be. This is pretty cool though.

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I have a classified system with FFWD Drift wheels on my “1x” gravel bike (enigma esker).

System has been working very well this far (I’m on 5 months now), after a need of a little tune up right at the beggining (hub would go to "sleep"to quickly and waking up would take a little bit, requiring a few button presses).

A few notes:

  • unless you have them modify your shimano di2 shifter (for 50 euros, and voided shifter warranty), you get a single “toggle” button. I personally prefer setting the gear I want (to not have to think about which one I’m already in), and looking at achieving that with 2 satellite buttons, one on right bar selecting direct drive, and one one left bar selecting reduction gear). Waiting to hear from classified, but in the meantime, I have 2 buttons working in toggle mode with a 2.5mm jack splitter. (UPDATE: if one uses a stereo to mono splitter, this can apparently be done. I’ll test in the next few days).
  • the number of “teeth” the reduction gear has less than the normal gear changes with chainring size. For instance, with a 54t chainring, the reduction gear will be the equivalent of a 36/37 (18t difference), while with a 42t chainring, the reduction gear will be the equivalent of a 29t (13t difference). This means bigger jumps than usual when using larger chainrings (not my case), and smaller when using smaller chainrings (slightly sad when having the bike set up with climbing chainrings, as I wouldn’t mind a large jump and bigger range).
  • No Di2 connection, so gear data from ride will be garbage. Gear ratio auto-setup (e.g. on garmin 1040) also won’t really work well (as there will be 2 different ratios for a given cog, one for the normal and one for the reduction gear). No status on computers (but I was told this is being worked on).
  • button placement is important. I repositioned it slightly from initial position so that I can easily use it without moving my hand on both drops and normal position (I have relatively large hands, and can see how smaller ones might struggle with that).
  • The initial “eager sleep” was resolved by using spacers on the thru axle (standard procedure), but I understand it requires a bit of trial and errror.

Things I’d wish:

  • Native support of “set” rather than toggle mode.
  • Option to pick up larger reduction, which would be especially helpful when using smaller chainrings.
  • Try it on a 2x setup, for long mountain days (to get extreme gear range).
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Thanks for your review!
As I’m leaning towards getting one for my gravel bike, it’s good to hear some real life experience as there aren’t many online… and I don’t know anyone personally who has it
I’m planning in using it with a 40t, but I like a smaller gap in the front.
Are you using a chain catcher or a chain guide?
Thanks