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Hi guys and thx for mentioning our CX shifters here in the thread.
The system is designed and developed for cyclocross where it has been doing very well. We have have already had some victories this season by riders with the system and one is leading his masters series. You are certainly forgiven however for being suspicious of their ability. They do just plain look out of place and even standing next to a bike a seasoned rider is likely not going to be able to grasp how they work.
You just have to ride them to find out:
Much quicker shifting than STI/SRAM etc
Less hand movement needed to initiate shift
Ability to run chain to any part of cassette immediately (no multiple back and forth hand motions to get to bottom of cassette for example)
Half the price and lighter than Ultegra
No interference from shift levers for actuating the brakes
$24 for us to re-build a crashed lever if required. (about $200 less than Ultegra).
Serviceable
Option to switch to friction during a race if you tweak a derailleur hanger
We also now do a version with a long pull lever to use with v-brakes which is not possible with any other drop bar systemThey do not shift from the drops but for cx this has been of little consequence. They also look odd so you might have to put up with some disproving looks from techno snobs.
road.cc review was done on our initial run of product. It has since changed in a few ways including an updated bearing bushings that neither the Tektro or Cane Creek version of the R200/SCR-5 have. I think road.cc did a good job but something went wrong/did not gel for the rider. It can happen, they are not for everyone. We have just been reviewed by a magazine that specializes in cyclocross which likely paints a more measurable picture. 'Cyclocross Magazine issue 17' and the review was super with words used like 'LOVE' and the editor even stating that this would be his first choice of shifting system if building up a bike from scratch. Not bad as we are not yet one year old. :)
Hope you get to try them.
Cheers,
The Goats
Retroshift LLC
Portland, OR
miro_o - Yes they did a piece in the August/September issue. We have heard they do a great job for touring especially as they will allow you to run V-Brakes. They are also being adopted for pretty hard core adventure races. This review was done by a long time rider of the Trans Iowa Race (300 miles on back-roads and gravel). He is now the race director;
http://g-tedproductions.blogspot.com/2012/09/retroshift-update.html
Cheers,
Goats