I was tooling around Pink Bike yesterday when I saw the article…First Look: Acros A-GE Hydraulic Shifting.
At first glance, everything looked very interesting. Beautifully machined components…new technology for mountain bikes incorporating mineral fluid as the force to actuate derailleurs…not just a prototype but ready for shipment. All good things you want to hear about new technology to hit the bike scene…until you read the price. $2,306?!
Acros is a German components maker that has come up with this unique design that is unlike anything else we have seen on the market. Touting that Acros’ shifting mechanism that uses mineral oil via a UNI-FORCE two line system creates least amount of friction, the A-GE system is able to produce light, accurate shifting across the entire gear range without the need for stiff return springs. The thumb paddle design of the front shift allows you to change up to 3 gears at once in either direction by simply pressing up or down on the paddle. Want to switch from “top-normal” to “low-normal”? Just switch the hydraulic lines.
Much like with hydraulic brakes, lines have to be bled to be free of air to achieve optimal performance. With this closed loop system, it should be a one time bleed and go after you adjust the line length to your frame. While at first glance, the question of durability becomes an issue, I don’t see why these wouldn’t hold up exactly like the hydraulic lines that already stretch the frame for our brakes.
The real draw I see for this type of system is for extreme conditions where cable performance degrades significantly. If you are riding in extreme cold or mud, the closed hydraulic system will not freeze or get clogged up with mud while you ride. Still…that is probably a small percentage of situations even for riders that see those extreme situations often and a large price to pay to have more shifting security.
So if you have ever wondered what over 2 grand worth of shifting components for one bike looked like…Acros now has your answer. While I do not see this kind of technology really taking off unless it is actually price competitive with other comparable (cable driven) options, it is good to see the envelope being pushed in an area that has basically seen nothing but more gears as innovation since the conception of multi-speed biking.
- Shifter (each): 64.85g
- Rear derailleur: 159.84g
- Front Derailleur: 79.15g
- Hydraulic line (R): 24.26g
- Hydraulic line (F): 17.16g
- Fluid (R): 9.00g
- Fluid (F): 7.25g
Price: $2306 USD (est)
Contact Acros about the availability of the A-GE transmission