Is 12 speed a good thing?
SRAM has today released its new 1×12 groupset, the Eagle, and everybody’s talking about it. Some are hailing it as the next big thing (literally) in mountain biking while others are calling it unnecessary and overpriced.
Of course, the best place to find the most polarised opinions on it is Twitter so here’s the best reactions we could find to the biggest news of the week.
1. 12 speed is clearly not enough for Adrian Montgomery
I'm running eleventy speed on my #MTB, top that #eagle!
— Adrian Montgomery (@MontgomeryBikes) March 24, 2016
2. Will Eagle be as iconic as the 1970s Lotus F1 car?
There's something very 1970's #Lotus #F1 about the black and gold @SRAMmtb #Eagle #1×12#EmersonFittipaldi pic.twitter.com/2WM6i04wJ1
— Justin Loretz (@mtbgenie) March 24, 2016
3. We think they succeeded…
think @SRAMmtb are trying to break the internet ?? #eagle #12×1
— Victor Momsen (@momsen_victor) March 24, 2016
4. Ian Alexander, the chief designer at Whyte, seems to be on board
I've actually ridden 1×12, occasionally, off and on, over the last 3yrs or so. It's actually brilliant. #myopinion
— Ian Alexander (@Ian___Alexander) March 24, 2016
5. Mike Davis is distinctly unimpressed by the extra sprocket
1×12 is out, and I'm all out of meh.
— Mike Davis (@pro_elbows) March 24, 2016
6. As is Giles Drake
Good to see Sram wedging yet another groupset in to an already jammed, marginally different product line up… #Yawn
— Giles Drake (@GilesDrake) March 24, 2016
7. We have to be honest, the gold is a guilty pleasure for us as well!
Best comment on @SRAMmtb 12spd: "Screw this, no one needs 12 speeds, that's stupid… oh wait, you didn't tell me it was GOING TO BE GOLD"
— Josh Patterson (@Pattersnap) March 24, 2016
So there you have it, a lot of mixed opinions on the 12 speed revolution, but where do you stand? Is Eagle a game changer or a marketing ploy. Let us know in the comments below.