veganbikes

7 speed hasn't been high end since the late 80s early 90s. If you think that is a significant upgrade you are missing a lot of time. The reason one would upgrade is to get smoother more reliable shifting, a more reliable hub using a freehub vs a less optimal freewheel and in many cases better components overall. Yes you can grind away on a big gear or you can get a set of gears that make sense for your riding and also learn how to shift and ride a bike. I will admit it took me time to learn gears but once I did it was awesome, get up down and around hills more easily was fantastic.

I get it new technology can be scary sometimes but I can assure you 9, 10, 11 and 12 speed are quite nice and have improved things over the years it is not just marketing it is people actually advancing things forward. You wouldn't be able to post on a forum on a website without the advancement forward with technology and your computer is marketing hype along with the internet you use but in the end it really isn't.

I will say though when my Dura Ace 7400 works it works quite well and it is 6 speed but at the time was the pinnacle of technology now is quite old and showing it's age, tiny freewheels and massive front chainrings are just not what I call useful.