Tuesday marked the launch of the new Truvativ HammerSchmidt planetary gearing system meant to replace front derrailleurs. Marketed at the freeride and all mountain rider, the HammerSchmidt does away with the front derrailleur and allows riders to have a 2 x 9 gearing system with exceptional clearance, lightning fast shifts (instantaneous) and a less complex set up than a traditional front derrailleur.
HammerSchmidt uses a special bottom bracket system (half proprietary with a double row of bearings with ISIS tool installation, half howitzer), a backplate that mounts to the ISCG tabs and houses the cable actuation lever, and the crankset which houses the planetary system. Everything mounts up as if you were mounting a chainguide, BB and crankset on a more traditional setup.
The HammerSchmidt on a potential OEM bike, a Norco Shore.
The Ride
SRAM made 20 bikes available to the media to ride at their product launch in Pemberton, and no one left disappointed. 35 OEMS are apparently interested in the system and bikes were on the rack from 5 of these yesterday. Our personal test bike had a HammerSchmidt mounted to a brand new Turner RFX. The RFX was also setup with Avid's new Elixir CR brakeset, which was fantastic.
The HammerSchmidt really shines on the type of riding we did yesterday. Steep, technical uphills where you get into plenty of "Oh crap, I need more gear moments" followed by gnarly decents that require some serious downhill gearing.
When you just start to stall out on a climb, a quick flick of the HammerSchmidt lever drops it into the 1:1 ratio (your chainring size) and up you go. The ability to have this variety of gearing without having your chain bouncing around or changing gears on it's own is priceless. When you crest the climb and start to head down, hit the paddle again and you go into "overdrive mode" which will engage the planetary system and give you a 1:6 ratio.
Cost & Weight
SRAM is marketing the HammerSchmidt as a premium product, and as such, it will not be cheap. You'll be looking at about $750 by the time you pick up the cranks, the bottom bracket and the shifter (all HammerSchmidt specific).
SRAM is marketing the HammerSchmidt as a premium product, and as such, it will not be cheap. You'll be looking at about $750 by the time you pick up the cranks, the bottom bracket and the shifter (all HammerSchmidt specific).
Weight is comparable to a regular gearing system with the all mountain setup (about 10g more). For the Freeride system you will be adding about 160g to your ride. The weight honestly seems negligible once you ride it and realize the convenience and advantages you get out of it.
Conclusion
HammerSchdmit is something new. No one has launched a product like this before to the mass market and it remains to be seen how much it will be adopted. For the freeride set it seems to be a no brainer. All the advantages of a small DH setup with guide, none of the issues a front derrailleur brings with it.
SRAM's Tyler Morland puts a HammerSchmidt through it's paces on his hardtail.
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