Classified’s cassette for 13 speed Campy Ekar…. 11-36?

[Wayne77]

I’m probably missing something…

Classified now has a cassette for an Ekar drivetrain. So thinking about someone who had an Ekar drive train. They can run a 38,40,42, or 44T ring on the crankset, and cassette options 9-36, 9-42, 10-44. Setting aside debates about efficiency with small cogs and planetary gearing, I would think the draw for Ekar folks would be the possibility of getting even lower gearing then existing options, without sacrificing taller gear ratios. The Classified Power Shift hub is either 1:1 or a 20% reduction in gear ratio (like going from a 50 T to 34 T ring up front)

But to use a Classified power shift hub in an Ekar drive train, if one were so included requires their 11-36 13 speed cassette, the only option they offer for Campy Ekar. You loose top end by not having a 10T or 9T cog and you give up far more low end with a 36T cog than you gain by the hubs 20% ratio reduction.

Am I missing something? Why would gravel bike person with an Ekar drivetrain give up range to try a Classified setup? Before I saw the cassette limitation I was thinking a Classified hub could turn an Ekar drivetrain into an excellent bikepacking setup offering more range than the popular 1X mullet drivetrains (1X crank with an Eagle cassette)

Another way to think about this is why would someone with Ekar want to go 2X if their only option was an 11-36 cassette?

This is not complaining by any means…just seems like an odd choice for their first Ekar cassette given the use cases…

[Mark McM]

The classified hub gear ratio is a little larger than that - when the planetary gear is engaged, it provides a ratio of 0.7:1. So when using the Classified 11-36 cassette, engaging the planetary gear give effectively the same ratios as if the cassette was a 16-51. In other words, the total range would be 51/11 = 4.64:1. This is only slightly narrower than the Ekar's widest range cassette, a 9-42, which has a range of 42/9 = 4.67:1, but is wider than the 9-36 (4:1) and the 10-44 (4.4:1) Ekar cassettes. And at the same time, the Classified 11-36 cassette has a geometric average jump between sprockets of 10.4%, while the Ekar cassettes have geometric average jump between sprockets between 12.2% (9-36) and 13.7% (9-42). So with the Classified Powershift hub, you can get a range almost as wide as the widest range Ekar cassette, but with smaller jumps between gears for all ranges.

The one downside is that you will need a bigger chainring to regain the tallest gear size. Some frames may have trouble fitting chainring large enough, so the biggest desired gear ratio will have to be factored into the decision. But if you were happy with a 38 chainring with a 9-36 or 9-42 Ekar cassette, you'd only need a 46 chainring with the Classified system. Or if you don't need a tall big gear, the Classified system can provide a lower low gear than the Ekar system.

[Wayne77]

I guess I was assuming that when the reduction is not engaged, it’s 1:1, like a normal hub, then when you engage it, it reduces by .7, like dropping the front ring from a 44 to a 31. Basically the same as someone with a 44T 1x ring and 9-44 cassette considering adding a front der and 31T small ring…but to do so they would have to switch to an 11-36 cassette. They would get a slightly lower gear but loose quite a bit of tall gear; a 44x9 at 90 RPM is 35.4 Mph, but a 44x11 is only 28.9 Mph. I’m probably missing something in the way it works though. Thanks for explaining.