lassified Cycling with their Classified Powershift Hub has put together a new style of hub which promises to combine the benefits of a 1x system with the additional gearing offered in a 2x setup.
This is accomplished by moving the gearing experience of a 2x system into the hub itself and thus eliminating the need for a front derailleur and a front double chainring.
Classified is promising that their hub allows instantaneous shifting while under load, comparable weight to an existing 2x electronic setup, and better protection from the elements among other things.
This all sounds like a pretty good option if you like the clean look of a 1x system but want additional gearing, however this doesn’t come cheap as you can expect to pay €1,399 or around $1,529 for the upgrade alone.
We’ll dive further into the details for the road/gravel version of the hub in the following sections so you can see if it’s worth your money as a future upgrade or as an addon with a new bike or wheelset.
How it all Works?
The Powershift Hub operates wirelessly, by leveraging their own wireless shifter which can be mounted to your handlebars (if you have the right type). This communicates with the hub through their custom thru axle which contains the electronics and battery of the system.
When you shift the hub moves between the two gearing ratios (1 to 0.7) which mirrors the typical difference between the double chainrings on a 2x system. For example, let’s say you had a 42t front chainring on your 1x setup. With the Classified hub this would essentially act as if you had an additional smaller 30t (42 x 0.7) chainring at the front.
In addition to the new hub and shifters, you’ll have to use their own custom cassette which is included in the €1,399 cost ($1,529). They have a number of different gearing range options available as seen below.
Finally, the hub battery is claimed to last for about 1000 shifts or 4 months before it needs to be charged via a micro usb. The handlebar battery uses a coin cell and should last a full year according to the site. So like any electronic drivetrain system if the battery dies you’ll be stuck with the current gearing setup until your next charge.
Cost and Weight
Classified offers a few ways to purchase their hub, which are listed below:
- As part of their own wheelset for €2,599 / $2841
- As an addon for one of their partner wheelsets for €1,299 / $1420
- As a standalone for install for your own wheelset for €1,399 / $1,529
This pricing in my opinion puts it into the more premium or higher end category of upgrades, which may be worth it to you if the benefits of this new type of hub suit your specific needs.
Now for the weight the combined system comes out to 736g
- Hub - 493g
- Shifter - 14g
- Thru Axle - 72g
- 11-Speed Cassette (11 - 27t) - 157g
As noted above they have a variety of gearing options so the weight will adjust accordingly based on your current drivetrain setup. You can find the individual cassette weights here.
For weight comparison, let's take a look at a reference hub such as the DT 350, which comes out to 253g and a comparable Shimano 11 speed, 11 - 28t, cassette which starts at 284g for the 105 version. Now add in a DT Swiss thru axle for 65g and our system comes to 602g with the 105 cassette.
This gives us a difference of 134g, however this is not the complete picture. We should account for the fact that with the Classified Hub we're moving from a 2x front crankset to a 1x setup and removing the front derailleur. This could possibly close the weight gap.
Taking this into account, if we were to look at Shimano GRX 600 2x vs 1x cranksets as a comparison we'd see a difference of 60g (GRX 600 2x11 46-30t at 814g, GRX 600 1x11 40t at 754g). Removing the front derailleur that's an additional 96g as well, bringing us to 156g.
So adding this in, the weight gap is now -22g ( 134g - 156g), which now puts the Classified system under the traditional 2x setup here.
Please do take this with a grain of salt as the gap could be further adjusted based on the components used. For example, if we used an Ultegra or DuraAce cassette. Lastly, I do want to mention that according to Classified in their weight comparisons with a GRX Di2 setup with and without their hub they saw a weight difference of +/- 10g.
Compatibility
If you’re not buying a complete bike and looking to add this as a wheelset or as an upgrade to your existing set of wheels, there are some things you’ll want to check to ensure proper compatibility.
Below are what I’ve found so far from reading up on the product:
Frame Requirements
- Center lock disc brakes only
- Flat mount disc brakes only
- Through Axle only
Drivetrain Requirements
- You must use their cassettes
- They offer SRAM, Shimano, and Campagnolo drivetrain compatibility
- To use the wireless shifter, your handlebars must be Di2-spec compatible as these have a hole already in the handlebar to accommodate wiring for the wireless triggers.
- The shifter may work with Di2 if you get it with a bike setup up with a Classified Hub from the factory. If not, enabling this may void your warranty.
- The shifters cannot connect with SRAM wireless shifters
Cycling Computer
- The hub may be able to connect to most cycling computers that support Ant+ connections
My Thoughts
I think this is exciting tech and like that Classified is trying to change/improve the mechanics of bicycles.
For current 1x drivetrain users that ride a lot of road I can see this as an interesting option if you desire more gearing than what you currently have and don't want to move to a 2x system. For users with a 2x setup I would think this becomes a more expensive proposition as you'd also need to change the front crankset to a 1x which further adds to the cost. However, if you really care about aerodynamics or someone that drops their front chains a lot this could offer a solution to those issues.
Overall at it's current price it’s a bit up there and there are a number of upgrades I can think of that I’d probably look at first for this type of money. However I do think this could fill an interesting gap and I'm looking forward to seeing these out in the wild and hopefully trying out one myself in the future.
What Others are Saying About it
Lastly I wanted to share some videos of what others are saying about the hub to give you some actual feedback of riding a bike with the Classified Hub.
I particularly like the initial reviews from Just Ride Bikes, David Arthur, and from Cade Media, Francis Cade which I've included below.
So what do you think now that you've learned more about this hub. Would you consider this for your bike?
