The Paceline Forum - Classified test ride report

I mentioned in the ENVE/Classified thread that I was going to have a test ride, figured that it deserved its own thread.

Bike was an ENVE MOG with pretty hefty knobby rubber on it (~48), 46 chainring, don't recall the cassette range but was something like 11-34 (32?) so lower than 1:1 when using the .7 ratio. I don't recall which rims, might have been ENVEs that the shop built up.

While not germane to the Classified system, I feel obliged to note a couple of things:

The frame was a 56, large for me, though it was surprisingly comfortable, I didn't feel especially stretched out.
Shift group was a ROTOR, works similar to SRAM mechanical I'm told, have only ridden SRAM once and it was AXS so shifting the rear took a bit of mental energy.

These things mean it's a bit challenging to isolate just the Classified part since so many other aspects of the ride (incl. disc brakes) were different. That said…

Overall the system worked really well, was a no-brainer to adjust to, just treat the blip (which they'd mounted on the left brifter) like a FD control. Shifting was extremely fast even under load (not that I intentionally shifted while giving it full beans).

I'm poor at detecting changes owing to lighter/heavier components, but the additional weight in the rear hub wasn't noticeable at all.

Never having ridden a ROTOR shift group I can't say if the Classified cassette performed better or worse, but the shifting was reliable and predictable.

The main drawback for me is that the only tactile feedback on the "front" shifts comes from the resultant change in cadence. You have to remember/know which ratio you are using, so if you forget or if your legs aren't telling you which ratio you're using, it's possible to shift in the "wrong" direction. That didn't happen to me, but even if it had, the shifts are quick enough that you could correct right away. The shop owner/mechanic told me that they plan to integrate with Di2 which would eliminate this potential issue since you'd use different buttons for the up and down shifts.

Another point that I hadn't considered is that, because the gearing change is relative (70%), you could actually get slightly greater range with a large chainring.

That's all I've got, but happy to try and answer any questions.