Cool, angular, reduced. The new Ingrid rear derailleur looks like a study from the designer's office, rather than a component for tough off-road use. With a great passion for product design, Italians Giulio Mancini and Giacomo Zenobi have developed a mountain bike drivetrain that deliberately sets itself apart from the industry giants Shimano and Sram. After the two engineers developed the Ingrid initially only presented their own cassette, they now offer an entire drivetrain. This makes the small custom manufacturer - alongside Rotor and TRP - one of the few manufacturers to have entered the market dominated by Sram and Shimano. MTB drivetrain market dare. The crank, chainring, rear derailleur and cassette all come with a clean CNC look and in various anodised colours. Custom fans' mouths are already watering.
But does the Ingrid shifting unit work as well in practice as it looks? At least according to the data sheet, it does. The rear derailleur, which is partly 3D-printed and partly milled from aluminium, sorts twelve gears on the two-part cassette. With 10 to 48 teeth, the range of 480 per cent is slightly lower than that of the Shimano and Sram drivetrains. On the other hand, the gear steps should be more homogeneous - an argument for sporty riders in particular. The two-piece cassette is milled from aluminium and steel from a single piece, making it light and durable at the same time. As with the competition, the cassette teeth are asymmetrically shaped to improve shifting performance and prevent the chain from dropping when pedalling backwards. A damper in the rear derailleur reduces chain slap and can be easily maintained or replaced if necessary. The crank and chainring are also CNC-machined. The narrow-width profile is designed to guide the chain reliably over the chainring. The crank arms are each made up of two milled parts, resulting in a light and rigid hollow profile. Shifting is done with triggers from Sram until their own shift lever is ready for the market. The weight should be around XTR level, the price around 1500 euros without chain and shifter.
Interview with Giulio Mancini, developer of Ingrid Components
BIKE: How did it come about that you, as a two-man company, are now making a complete groupset?
Giulio Mancini: The Ingrid project began in 2016, after the cooperation with Leonardi Racing (Italian custom company, editor's note). We were responsible for the design of the drive components there. From this and a mix of passion for biking and an aversion to derailleurs, the idea for our own drivetrain was born.
What do you do better than Shimano and Sram?
As a small team, we can't compete with these giants. That's not our aim either. We want to make a good product, but above all one that is different. More handcrafted, more personal, less commonplace.
You mainly use steel and aluminium. Wouldn't titanium or carbon be even lighter?
At Ingrid, we like metals. We know our way around them. I could also imagine titanium in the future, but it's mainly a question of cost. In the more distant future, carbon might even be a possibility. But you have to remember that there is a suitable material for every requirement. And for our area of application, steel and aluminium have worked very well so far.
The exception is the gear cage. There you rely on 3D printing. Why?
3D printing allows us to create a shape that we could not make with a CNC milling machine or a mould, for example. We use a classic polyamide for printing, which is durable and lightweight and can be manufactured with great precision. However, rigid CNC parts are still used at the crucial points to ensure maximum switching precision.
Adrian Kaether
Editor
