So far, 12 gears on the cassette have been the highest of feelings for Sram riders, and the Eagle groupset also offers a usable range with a 10-50 cassette and the aforementioned number of gears. But Phil Wood doesn't want to leave it at that and showed a kind of prototype for a 1x13 gear system at Interbike.

This has been implemented on a gravel bike with a drop bar, in which, as Bikerumor writes, the rear triangle measures an unusual 150 millimetres in width, although a version for Boost rear triangles is currently being worked on. The cassette with 13 sprockets is realized with standard parts from Shimano and One Up, the power transmission is handled by a Shimano 11-speed chain.

A "hack" had to be made on the rear derailleur to move the starting point of the shift cable so that the 13 gears can be shifted. The whole thing is activated by a thumb shifter that is screwed onto the front of the road bike brake lever, which looks very much like a DIY solution and could probably be ergonomically challenging.

On Facebook, Phil Wood is quite relaxed about the tinkerer's innovation and jokes that the 13-speed gearshift was developed without any sense of aesthetics. Also, the 50-tooth sprocket may not be the end of the story; a 53-tooth sprocket is being considered. Phil Wood also countered the multi-speed hype on Facebook by stating that the longest-serving employee could not understand why his 2x5 gears were no longer popular...

www.philwood.com