1x16 electronic and wireless! That's the new Classified x TRP group!
The efforts of Classified to normalize their Powershift hub with internal shifting in order to eliminate the need for a front derailleur have been consistently challenged by the market dominance established by Shimano and SRAM, especially considering the need to use the specific Classified cassette. Now, they are seeking another path by collaborating with the Taiwanese company TRP to integrate Powershift into their new Vistar//Powershift group.
Classified and TRP join forces to launch a new wireless electronic groupset for road and gravel
Classified expands its horizons and applies a new tactic to effectively introduce their Powershift hub to the market. They do so through a collaboration with TRP, the sportiest component brand of Tektro, known mainly for their disc brakes. The alliance of both brands has been consolidated in the launch of the Vistar//Powershift group, which integrates the ability to pair their shifters with the Powershift hub to switch between the two internal gears directly from the levers, without the need for an auxiliary shifter that is required when using Powershift with another group.
The TRP Vistar//Powershift group is actually a 1x12 electronic drivetrain with wireless communication that uses the specific Powershift cassette system, with three available gearing options: 11-30, 11-32, and 11-36. It also features chainrings ranging from 46 to 52, connecting both elements with a KMC chain.
RECOMENDADO
Obviously, the TRP Vistar//Powershift can be used as a conventional 2x12 group by combining the twelve cogs with the two gear ratios offered by the Classified Powershift hub. However, the true potential of this group lies in the QuantumShift function.
QuantumShift is simply the name TRP gives to its sequential shifting function, which is not new as Shimano and SRAM also incorporate it in their Di2 and AXS groups respectively. With this function activated, we only shift up and down gears, and when reaching a certain gear, shifting up one more gear automatically shifts the chainring down and compensates by shifting down several cogs, and vice versa when shifting to higher gears.
But with the TRP Vistar//Powershift group, this takes on a new dimension because, as we remember, the gear ratio change of the Classified hub is practically immediate, so practically we will only notice that the automatic shift will drop a couple of cogs when we shift up.
Just like in Shimano and SRAM, this function is fully customizable, allowing us to set the point where we want the shift to occur and the number of cogs to compensate. In any case, the standard configuration is the most logical to maintain the correct progression of gears based on the chainring and cog sizes we have chosen. This turns the TRP Vistar//Powershift into a de facto 1x16 group, even though it still technically has 12 cogs. Of course, we can activate and deactivate QuantumShift according to our needs to use the group as a conventional 2x12.