HAS CLASSIFIED KILLED THE FRONT DERAILLEUR?

AFTER ENTERING INTO AGREEMENTS WITH MAJOR WHEEL BRANDS, JOINING THE WORLD TOUR AND ATTRACTING SOME HIGH-PROFILE INVESTORS, CLASSIFIED'S POWERSHIFT HUB MIGHT JUST SOLVE THE ISSUES OF 1X AND 2X DRIVETRAINS

- MOLLY HURFORD & JON MINSTER

When Classified first launched its Powershift hub in 2019, the concept was revolutionary.

The hub allowed road and gravel cyclists to skip their front derailleur by integrating a wireless two-speed shifting system into the rear hub, in addition to the standard 11- or 12-speed rear cassette. Effectively, it doubled the gear ratio that the rear hub could run, while doing away with a double chainring up front.

While this technology was exciting, it had one major drawback: it was only offered with Classified’s in-house road and gravel wheels. Last year, however, the company branched out and started working with DT Swiss, Mavic, Fast Forward, Enve, Reynolds, Boyd Cycling and Spinergy to bring Powershift-ready wheels to market. And more recently, Nick Evans – the chairman of Rapha, who invested personally in the apparel company in 2006 when it had a staff count of five – has poured €10 million into Classified via his private equity firm Active Partners.