The MTB thread

[pookie]

Grab some p7 lights which make things a lot clearer Mine should be arriving any day now. So far I've been doing training at night but plan to head over the nature reserve when i get my lights sorted

Originally Posted by ThEGr33k

To be honest, with gear shifter sets I've never really understood spending a excessive amount. The only real advantage seems to be weight, and its a lot of money to lose a few grams. I see it as "if it works who cares"?

Man, im not liking these dark nights... makes actually getting out to use my bike a bitch!

not quite true

the cheaper end of stuff struggles to change up when climbing on ruff ish terrain where's the expensive stuff is more controlled and smooth even under heavy loads also they tend to bounce less when hammering down hill, they also the cheeper end of stuff mostly comes in long cage where for FR and DH youd want medium or short cage to keep it out of the way (i use long because of street riding but should have got medium)

ohh and the shimano shadow stuf keep the mech flush with the chain stay and under the drop out so you dont keep snapping hangers

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by ThEGr33k

To be honest, with gear shifter sets I've never really understood spending a excessive amount. The only real advantage seems to be weight, and its a lot of money to lose a few grams. I see it as "if it works who cares"?

I can see your point, the only difference is that the more expensive mechs tend to last longer, as they've got bearings where you can't see or treatments to make the shifting that little bit better.

But its only worth spending so much, I wouldn't buy Dura Ace when Ultegra is perfectly good for my needs.

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by maviczap

But its only worth spending so much, I wouldn't buy Dura Ace when Ultegra is perfectly good for my needs.

Agree with that sentiment. It's definitely worth paying for a good gruppo on a road bike, it lasts much longer and keeps a quality shift throughout it's life. On an MTB the good kit is better in poor conditions and will last longer, but the cost has to be balanced against how likely you are to break it. I do not as a rule mangle mechs (*touches wood!) but have seen some folk write off kit with great regularity...

An example of longevity would be the Deore-LX kit (equivalent to today's SLX) on my Marin, still good with a reliable shift under power after 14(?) years of use. Compared to the Alivio that was on my daughter's Spesh Hardrock bought a couple of years later, that was mince after three years.

Hmm, I think mine is fairly mid range. Got a X7 (medium cage) rear derailleur and X4 shifter. All 8 Gears! Oh yea

Originally Posted by Luckypants

An example of longevity would be the Deore-LX kit (equivalent to today's SLX) on my Marin, still good with a reliable shift under power after 14(?) years of use. Compared to the Alivio that was on my daughter's Spesh Hardrock bought a couple of years later, that was mince after three years.

I've always found Deore-LX to have the best cost / quality / durability ratio of the Shimano MTB range. Back in my days of riding day in day out, it was roughly half the price of the XT kit, which was again half the price of the XTR bling, and the quality wasn't very far off from the XT stuff, hence my bike being mainly equipped with LX stuff. The only two bits I've found the XT kit being much lighter than the LX stuff were the rear cassette and the bottom bracket, so I went for those.

That said, I am a tart and now have an XT Shadow rear derailleur, because it looks cooler than the rest.

Originally Posted by Filipe M.

That said, I am a tart and now have an XT Shadow rear derailleur, because it looks cooler than the rest.

haha same

[maviczap]

Originally Posted by ThEGr33k

Hmm, I think mine is fairly mid range. Got a X7 (medium cage) rear derailleur and X4 shifter. All 8 Gears! Oh yea

Bought time you upgraded then

Originally Posted by Luckypants

An example of longevity would be the Deore-LX kit (equivalent to today's SLX) on my Marin, still good with a reliable shift under power after 14(?) years of use. Compared to the Alivio that was on my daughter's Spesh Hardrock bought a couple of years later, that was mince after three years.

+1 on the Deore LX compared to Alivio and I've crashed hard enough onto my rear mech to scrape the LX. The Alivio rear mech on my first bike was toast after 4 months, The spring went iirc.

SLX are probably the best value for money range. Not extremely expensive like the XT/XTR set but enough of the technology filtered down for light and strong components for hard use. Unless you're racing or a huge bling tart, XTR probably is a waste of money. Saying that I am a huge tart and want XTR cranks and rear mech.

Originally Posted by maviczap

Bought time you upgraded then

I only need 8, and I cant fit a front mech on so stuck anyway. Can still ride up hills better than a lot of the CX tarts on their pansy bikes ha ha