Is Shimano cycling division permafucked?
Let's just move past how they gifted the mtb drivetrain market to SRAM by being about 5 years late to the 1x party. Skip right over their inability to produce a crankset that worked with their hyped 1x drivetrain when it finally did launch. Move past the fact that they hinted at a wireless DI2 version of XTR before the current XTR generation even hit the market, undercutting sales and defying every product marketing maxim known to man. All of this on a backdrop of production delays and laughable incompetence.
What I want to understand is, AFTER ALL THAT is why they have granted exclusive license to their proprietary freehub REQUIRED for the new fucking drivetrain to DT Swiss exclusively and denied access to I9, Hope, Stans and every other hub manufacturer on earth. WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU TRYING TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM BUYING YOUR SHIT?
Fine, you're too proud to use XD drivers (despite the fact that it's been open sourced, free to use and widely adopted) because it's designed by the company that thoroughly dong slapped you and using that tech would be like a mushroom shaped bruise on your face for all to see. Great, design your own shit, retain the rights to your super amazing freehub. But for fucks sake, grant license to use it so the market can adopt a product it's thirsting for.
I need a new drivetrain and I'm fucking over sram and e13. The new narrow range 12sp shimano looks PERFECT and I'd pay retail for it today. But I have I9 and Hope hubs and fuck you if you think I'm rebuilding wheels to try your first worthwhile drivetrain effort in nearly a decade.
Why does Shimano cycling exist? Sell it off to someone who cares and focus selling fishing rods to walmart or whatever the fuck it is you do.
Is this why people ride singlespeeds?