We want 8 speed, and we want it good. SRAM has a long history of making killer products, but only since the 9 speed area has SRAM really hit its stride. Thats why its a huge sore spot that there are no high end SRAM 8 speed shifters, save for X7. Shimano has thier XT shifters still available. Why not X.0 8 speed?

8 speed has benefits for a number of riders. The chains seem to last longer. The shifting is cleaner, without random jumping. The range is high enough to make the climbs and bomb the hills (11-32). One less cog is lighter. More importantly, an 8 speed system will put up with far more muck, garbage and lack of maintenance then a 9 speed system will.

We aren't saying that 8 speed will rule the world. We're just saying that it would be very nice to have that option.