I understand what you're trying to say, sure the wheel is old and we think we have "revolutionized" it by placing most of the weight at the hub to decrease the moment of inertia, but again it's an old idea re-visited. In the same manner planetary gear systems have been around for a long time now(circa 87 BCE). I'm not certain what you mean by a domination of gear hubs on commuter bikes in the bike world, as they have always been an option on commuter bikes for quite some time now. Shimano is just waiting in the wings for the mountain bike segment to demand it from frame builders and manufacturers alike, they don't need anymore advice from bloggers like us. I agree that once the masses (the mtn. portion of it) get a taste for it, there will be no turning back, however the industry unfortunately looks to pros and their manufacturers for what is "new" and fancy. What needs to be kept in mind is that we don't have to buy it. What I am keen to know is what kind of feedback was given by Greg Minaar when he rode for Honda? Why was this 2 year stint suddenly ended? Honda definitely has the backing to make it an affordable venture but what was happening at the race tents after Minaar had thrashed the bike on all the UCI courses? Perhaps it would be good for Pinkbike to do an interview of all the top racers and mechs out there to gather data on what they think about racing a g-box bike? Since there seems to be a cross-over of MX racers into the DH world, like Gwin, I would like to know what they think of the rear derailleur too. I'm with you on the revolution part of it, you're preaching to the choir here, but it won't happen until the mtn. bike masses are educated about their options; 1) being that they don't need to buy it and 2) support g-box companies like zerode, rohloff, etc...

Any of these systems, the g-box (more appropriately a planetary gear transmission) or the rear derailleur are old systems. The only thing being done is refinement. Everybody seemed to like the Hammershmidt and that is based on a planetary gear transmission, however it is what the market will tolerate and ultimately pay for. Hammershmidt riders are considered a niche market. Volume is what sells, and it is what ends up on the shelves as your options (and we are NOT the volume market, look at China and India, those are the TRUE bike riders out there). The Alfine has been around for a long time now, my dad even has a 3 speed version on his bike that still runs perfectly smooth and he bought his bike in 1978. If you want it, then demand it by pressing the bike manufacturers (there are really only 3 out there, the rest just put stickers on cataloged frames from Star Engineering). I don't mean to burst any bubbles, but it just makes what was "old", new again. Similar to this whole Carbon fiber craze again. It will disappear and re-surface again in 10 years. By the way Rolls Royce tested carbon fiber propellers after the first world war, so it's nothing new, it's just becoming cheaper to manufacture now. Billet Aluminum is just a bit more costly right now. Rohloff, Honda, and now Zerode are just putting this hub in various locations on the bike. Either way, the choice is always yours if you make the bike manufacturers more responsible for accomodating these transmission types. Here's a little vid on how the Alfine (ahem, planetary gear transmission) works. Keep in mind the planetary gear system is OLD, probably older than the rear D and much heavier, but far less maintenance and can stand the test of time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pebS1TXG6jw&feature=related

Awesome vid! Anyone know the name of the tune at around 23-24 minutes?