The only way it's a failure is if: a) someone else does it and does it better; b) 2x sticks around and doesn't concede much ground in road market share; and/or c) the XDR driver standard does not advance for some reason.

are the new cassettes available yet?

Nope, nothing until April.

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https://www.kickstarter.com/...bike-for-the-new-era

Any word on when the cassettes will actually be available for purchase?

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"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson

A 9 tooth cog with a 44t chainring is equivalent to an 11 speed with 54t chaining, so not really going to be anybody on a 12t at same speed, unless they rock a 58t lol.

So little of most cyclists time is spent in top gear if you check the sites that publish di2 derived stats, wear and friction is going to me minimal extra.

Surely the extra chain wrap you mention with a 9T contradicts the chain jump angle?

I sprint the same on a 12T, 11T an 10T tooth on a cassette, on mountain and road. Peaking at 1000w and generally hitting the 700-800w when doing a top gear sprint I have never noticed a difference between 12t to 10t so far, no difference in jumping or excessive wear... so am curious and anxious to see what calamity awaits me on 9T lol!

Overdrive ordered!

The bigger issue is that most bikes will not work with a 9 tooth cassette. The cog is such a small diameter it causes the chain to hit the chainstay.

I know its not compatible with a Canyon Ultimate or a Trek Speed Concept. (doh)

1000w and sprinting should not be mentioned in the same sentence

Well, 3T have released the Strada Due, so I guess that's indicative. It will be interesting to see how this sells vs the 1x.

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29 years and counting

bike upgrade excuse if ever I saw one :)

NP, have edited the original post with a full stop between them

Yes, they have, however they said it was always planned, and to be honest the speed in which the due was brought out reflects that (believe me, I do new projects for all types of companies for a living and established companies like 3T cannot even come up with the name "due" that quickly if it was not planned beforehand).

It seems it was brought out quicker than they wanted to, however, in response to Aqua Blue owner and the odd team rider throwing their dummy out, which is never clever. Its not like they ordered the Due and the team got 1X shipped. They enjoyed a lot of extra press on the back of 1x in the early days as well.

The 3T 1x frame has been sold out a lot of the time I have been looking at it, but "see if it sells better than the 2x" is a relative term, as the addressable market of the 1x is definitely way smaller than the due at the moment, as cyclists are a very traditional lot, and the pros they often look to emulate even moreso... look how long its taken many just to move to 25c tyres lol.

Responding to the last post in this thread, but asking a general question...

I'm thinking about getting a Bailout cassette for use on my gravel bike when riding on the road, to pair along with a 40T chainring and 650b x 47mm WTB slicks. It looks like Excel Sports is one of the few/only US retailers selling these cassettes and they aren't cheap, so I'm curious whether anyone has used one and can offer some feedback.

I use the exact same setup on the road. Cassette works flawlessly. Only issue is you get a little more chatter then with a DA cassette.

PM me - I have a guy that can get you a little better of a deal.