never thought of myself as a tight wad, but i have just priced up some 9 spd stuff.
pretty expensive.
8 speed stuff costs half as much for the same gear.

i have forgot what 8spd ran like.
anyone run it?

Ton,

I run 8-speed XTR on 2 hardtails and it is fine for me.
I have 12-32 cassettes (230g) and triple rings.
I am too weak to need a 44 x 11T top gear.
XTR 8-speed cassettes are excellent mudshifters and the chains clog and suck less than 9-speed.

I still run 8 speed on my turner – can’t compare it to 9 speed as I never “upgraded”!

Yep, 2×8 on my retro steel loveliness. Shifts wonderfully in any weather.

Its in bits at the moment but my Dekerf has an old 8 speed XT drive train. The shifts are much crisper than newer stuff and I prefer that more solid shift, hence running Sram on the ‘good’ bike. I find modern Shimano too light in it’s action.

Yep 8 speed on a 1997 bike – works as well as 9 speed but cheaper for parts.

Yes an ESP 9.0 SL rear mech made from the dead bodies of my other ESP rear mechs…. 😳

I have 15yo 7spd Alivio on my old mtb commuter. It works flawlessly.

Eeh, they don’t make it like they used to!

Still run a 93 XTR rear mech on my steel hardtail and 8 spd block, 8 spd XT shifters, works a treat!

Yep, 8 speed on the old Rockhopper.
Works fine, bits are cheap.

Gears are like blades on razors:
More might be a bit better, but they don’t last as long and by God you pay for it. 🙂

I’ve still got it on my commuting bike (an old Zaskar), I love the old XT shifters, they were definitely the best quality, everything since feels just a little plastic-y. I never felt 9 speed was that much better than 8, it was always been fiddly to get shifting right (XT again) but I do rate 10 speed over both of them (again XT!).

7spd XT on one of my bikes

Had 8spd Deore/Sram Attack on another bike

Both work well & seem to be a bit longer lasting than my 9spd bikes drivetrains

shame you cant get 8 speed xt or xtr parts these days, or can you?

8 spd on my Handjob. Using old 8spd XT shifters (from when they were still made of metal) so don’t see the point of changing.
It’s fine. 9 spd not really that much of an improvement, just as 10 spd isn’t over 9.

8sp and proud here too… 🙂

some 8 speed for sale on classifieds.

8 speed came with my Spesh, never felt the need for an extra cog.

still on 7 here!

I run 8-spd on my Enduro in freeride spec.
Parts are quite old now and in need of replacement – might just bite the bullet and upgrade with bits from my 9-spd bike which I might change to 10-spd.
8-spd bits seem to be becoming more and more scarce.

I wish I was still running 8 speed, much more reliable and longer lasting than 9 speed. Did we really need 9 speed? Were we all riding around thinking ‘blimey I’d really like another gear here’? I don’t think so, and now we’re being forced to go to 10 speed as all the bike manufacturers start fitting it as standard and have you seen the cost of those components! We’ll probably be doing all the testing for Shimano as we did with 9 speed as well, chocolate chainrings, poor shifting, etc while they faf about designing something else we don’t need.
Newer isn’t necessarily better but it’s always more complicated and more expensive!
Ok rant over, I’ll get off my soap box now 🙂

8 spd on my cross commuter. The steps seem a bit big when on the road, but not noticed it off road. Runs sweetly. Running the SRAM PG850 ( I think, the top Sram 8spd block. Nice and very cheap at 18 quid). Only problem is getting an 8spd block with alloy carrier, if you think you need it to prevent damage to the Hope freehub body.

All my bikes are 8 or 1.

8 speed thumbies (ultegra shifters) on my paradox plus XT rear der. and 2 ring up front.

8speed on one of my bikes, it’s an 11-30 cassette so not quite as low a granny gear as the usual 22×32 but it does ok. XT shifters, all works fine. Not many xt cassttes knocking about but the one I’m running is STX i think and cost £10 – bargain!

8 speed here – can’t say its cheaper though 😳 😆

and now we’re being forced to go to 10 speed

Calm down, nobody is forcing you to buy anything, build your own bike any way you fancy…

Currently 8×2 on my “XC” bike with an SLX 9 speed Mech, I was using an XT cassette now Just using a cheaper SRAM 11-30 still using an old STX shifter…

I almost “Upgraded” last year (Hence the SLX mech) but got part way through, costed it up and just thought, why bother?

What I have works for what I need still, in the end I only needed a new cassette/chain and ring so that’s all I bought, keeps on working…

If the shifter carks it I might go to 9 in say another year, but it’s showing no signs right now, and 8 speed kit is cheap and quite plentiful still….

I’m almost tempted to go to 7 speed on the DH/Hack bike (from a current roadie 9spd setup) just to see how cheap it will be, but I think 7 speed bits are a tad rarer now…

“Old” kit has some distinct advantages still…

8sp Cons

I can’t keep up with my mates with 9sp drivetrains
Lord knows how I’ll manage when they’re on 10sp

8sp Pros

Shifts smoother
Chains last longer
Chains less prone to snapping
Less sensitive to mud and grime
Cheap

My bikes

1999 Marin East Peak with Alivio shifters, XT 9sp mech, HG30 11-32 cassette, PC830 chain

2010 Specialized Rockhopper, SRAM 3.0 shifters, SRAM X4 mech, SRAM PG-820 cassette, PC830 chain.

Another one wishes he’d stuck to 8 speed here – as soon as mud gets on the 9 speed it feels awful, much worse than the 8 speed used to 🙁

I can’t keep up with my mates with 9sp drivetrains

in what way can you not keep up? You using a smaller range and don’t have high enough gears?

Yes, on mine and wife’s commuters as well as my DH/FR bike. Works fine, i suppose its hard if you want shiny shifters and light cassettes but not really a consideration for me.

BTW any ‘9 speed’ mech will work with a 7 or 8 speed cassette and shifter provided you use the corresponding shifter (ie shimano for shimano and sram 1:1 for sram 1:1) so you can still use a slightly nicer rear mech if you wish. Also 9 speed chainsets and rings have been fine.