Classified: the most revolutionary bike technology...

Classified’s wireless 2x sifting is presented as an innovative way to ditch the front derailleur while still keeping the benefits. This works by using a single front chainring, combined with internal planetary gears to simulate a second front chainring. This is an idea that is new to the cycling industry, except SRAM (the most popular bike component brand) had a product that did the same thing.

The SRAM Hammerschmidt was released in 2008, and it was a single chainring that had internal gears which allowed it to function like a virtual 2x setup. The way it worked is that you could ride around like normal in what would be the small chainring, then to go faster you can activate the internal gear magic, which would increase the gear ratio by a factor of 1.6. This would simulate a large chainring that was 60% bigger. At the time, this product was marketed for mountain bikes, so the available gear ratios were 22/35t and 24/38t. Gravel wasn't really around, but hypothetically, with a 1.6x ratio increase you could do a 30/50t or a 34/54.4t—both would be a good fit. 

In addition to this technology being much early to market, this system has a notable advantage too. Primarily, that the planetary gears are housed in the chainring as opposed to the hub. This means that the rider is not stuck using a proprietary hub and cassette; avoiding one of the biggest complaints of the Classified system.

Despite the Hammerschmidt beating Classified to the punch by over a decade and a half, there are some reasons why most cyclists don't know about this technology. Firstly, and chiefly, there was a big burden of adding drag especially in the “big ring.” This would be a big issue for the road/gravel market. Although, it is slightly more forgivable because it was designed for MTBs. Surely, SRAM could have improved on the original Hammerschmidt over the last 18 years.

I think that the reason SRAM hasn't shown any signs of pursuing a direct competitor to the Classified system is simply that they don't need it. SRAM has been very dedicated to the true 1x solution for MTB, gravel, and road and are constantly expanding their offerings; even going up to 13 speeds now. If SRAM were to promote an alternative 2x system, it would go against the 1x message that they have been devoted to preaching for years. Besides, SRAM has been crushing the market with their product mix, why would they want to deviate?

So, doesn't this leave Classified in a weird spot? Well kinda. Classified is saying that riders should want more components to get the benefits of 2x, while SRAM (the louder voice) is saying that 1x is good enough. Furthermore, if the market starts to show significant interest in Classified, SRAM would be in an advantaged position to make a better product—one that is better integrated into SRAM's range of products like shifters, their own cranks, or Zipp wheels.

Ultimately, Classified is a premium product and is a relatively small company. Thus, it is not necessary that other big brands validate the niche by making competing products. Classified has gotten good reviews and has been adopted by enthusiasts and even some pros; which is no small feat. It is unclear if Classified is profitable yet, or if they need to scale up to reach that point.

To me, the path forward is not clear for Classified. I have felt less buzz about the technology than when they first launched. This must be a concerning time for the team at Classified. It seems this is the season that we will see if the technology is going to take off, or if it will be a passing trend just like the Hammerschmidt was 17 years ago.