Horse looking at out-of-fashion tech
Personally i like them quite a bit, the small gear steps, i am using the simultaneous shifting like front 1 up, rear 1 down a lot to find myself in the best cadence.
I know people being happy with their switch over to 1x setups, but tbh i don't see myself doing that at all. I guess 2x, but i wonder how you would get to the small steps, like do you do something like front 1 up, rear 3(?) down, or just get used to the bigger steps?
Do you think 3x drivetrains will ever make a comeback or are they fading out for good?
This right here. Fully agreed. For me, it's not about steps; it's about sheer range, especially for touring and mountain roads. I have a GT Grade with 2x10 + GoatLink and 11-42 cassette; 26-38 crank up front. It gives me a gear-inch range of 16.5" to ~100". But holy hell, it is so fiddly and sensitive. I have to tweak it about every 100 miles.
Shimano CUES is interesting in that Shimano seems to recognize what a mess they've made. With CUES, they are hopefully going to make groups that all just work within the line, instead of the compatibility quagmire it is now. Source: partner works in the LBS.
It's not going anywhere. Sure, the high end Shimano and SRAM groups mostly abandoned triples. But both of the Big Two still make mountain and road triple. Again, other niche manufacturers are stepping in to fill any remaining gaps. You might have to dig a little bit through QBP and very few production bikes come equipped by 3x. But it's very much available. If you want that NOS cred, Yellow Jersey (https://www.yellowjersey.org/) is a vintage dream, but 90s website warning.
Any decent bike technician has encyclopedic compatibility knowledge in their heads and can easily spec you out a modern 3x drivetrain in any shape you want. I bring some good beer to the shop where my partner works, ask the questions, and get the info dump. "Oh, sure. For that bike and target gear range, you want Muffler Bearings, double Blinker Fluid, and then hypernize with extra Elbow Grease." But actually meaningful info.
Yeah, i'm not too worried about finding parts yet. And a more fiddly setup is definitely a major turn off, good point!