Specialized’s Allez aluminium road bike goes aero for 2016

This 1x11 configuration is one that I think will really catch on. I've been using a 1x9 on a local runaround, which I did mostly because those were the spare parts I had to build a cheap bike for that purpose. But, I like it a lot and the simpler mechanics means it's very reliable.

I wonder if a single derailleur might also be an opportunity for bikes with very cheap electronic shifting in the future.

10-42t cassette on a road bike...
Mind the gap(s)!

I've read that the front chainring will come in 48, 50, 52, and 54. I suspect 50 will become the standard. The cassette is likely to be 10-12-14-16-18-21-24-28-32-36-42

So 50 - 42 is a ratio of 1.19. In 25c tyres, crank length of 172.5mm and 90 cadence that's 8.4mph.

Looking at 34 - 28 which is typical compact gearing, gives a ratio of 1.21. With the same tyres and crank length at 90 cadence that's 8.6mph.

Top gear 50 x 10 is obviously a ratio of 5. At 110 sprinting cadence that's 43.3mph. Using Cavendish type gearing of 53 - 11 (I know he's been higher) at the same cadence that's only 41.7mph which surprised me.

Sram seem to have got it right and I can see the big boys going higher than a 50 tooth chainring if smoothness can be maintained. I'm a little bit excited by this.

its bad enough not having a 16t or 18t in a standard 53/38 11-27t set up.. that perfect cruising gear 35-40kmh..
(some do i know.. but 18t is rare unless on a 11-23 or 12-25... )

The wide range cassettes have chasms between gears.. good for those wanting to develope a broader range of efficient cadence..
ie not many...

I just dont think 1*11 is suitable for my riding, I like dancing up the climbs and then bombing down the other side often at 45 mph+
These just dont have the gear range to comfortably do that
Why fix what aint broke?

It is interesting how two companies using the same technology differ in their success depending on which part of the world you are in!

Merida, who build all Specialized bikes, and who develop most of the technology around frame building that the two use, and who use it before Specialized get it, tend to be rubbish at marketing to the English speaking part of the globe (just look at the TV ads!) and often fail to even mention some of the tech used on their bikes, while Specialized are great at giving things fancy names that us English speakers lap up and are taken in by, regardless of the fact that they were not the first and definitely not the only ones to put that tech on their bikes.

To be fair you can tell spesh are a marketing company more than an engineering company by the way the bikes look too - I.e. Generally very appealing - while Merida only seem to cover appearance as a secondary thought and then not always that well.

One brand sells really well in uk, the other doesn't sell anything like as well, while globally Merida is by far the biggest of the two brands, and this dispute the fact they come out the same factory and share most of the main frame building tech.

Looks like a decent crit, commute or entry level tri bike, but I wouldn't fancy a 10% gradient for too long on a 1x11 set up.