Hi All,

After a pretty eventfull nights riding I now need to replace (or bend back into position) my trusty old 9 speed XT rear derailleur.

I’m trying to decide between persuading old faithfull back into place or upgrading the groupset to 10 or 11 speed, but since this is the first groupset upgrade I’ll have done since 2k9 I am slightly out of the loop on current standards. (It’s a rapid rise mech, so cross compatibility between currently available mechs is an issue.)

My wheels are 2005ish Mavic Crossmax SL’s that I’m happy with, so don’t really fancy changing them at this point.

What are the restrictions I am facing?

Should I be taking this as an opportunity to buy into the big wheel revolution and increasing N by 1?!

Cheers for any advice,

Dom

Of course you should buy a new bike 🙂

9sp XT mechs are still available http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/derailleurs/mtb-rear-derailleurs?f=2258,4294963681

ime they are quite tough and it’s nearly always the hanger that’s out of line

Thanks Rocket man,

I haven’t checked the hanger to be fair, so I’ll do that when I get home.

The mechs on CR don’t seem to be rapid rise, so I’ll need new shifters as well in that case.

You won’t need new shifters, yours will work fine with a non-rapid rise mech. There wasn’t a rapid rise shifter, it was only the rear mech that differed. You will have to re-learn shifting though as the lever you normal use to go up the cassette will now go down the cassette and the one you go down the cassette with will go up it.

Thanks Mr P

I didn’t realise that. Well that is a lot cheaper than a whole new groupset!

Still considering a 29er, been a few years since I got a new MTB…

Dom

Also worth asking your LBS (or ringing round a few) as there are still some RR mechs kicking around as old stock and most places tend to be glad to be shot of them!

You can also pick them up occasionally on ebay, normally M95x XTR series ones but they tend to hold their value on there. I’m down to my last spare XTR RR mech in the loft and you can pry it from my cold dead fingers!

It won’t take you long to re-learn though if you go back to a normal mech.

9sp XT shifters as well http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/gear-shifters?f=2258,4294963681

Or push the boat out and go 9sp X0 it’s a lot crisper than 9sp Shimano ime

the price of 10sp kit is now so cheap it might make more sense to switch to that and then flog the 9sp kit

These are all good suggestions that I’ll be following up.

Has anyone got any ideas on going to 11 speed with my wheels? I don’t follow trends so much, but when I do make a leap I try and go for the absolutely latest working on the theory I won’t need to change for years to come.

Admittedly my jump into RR didn’t go so well.

11 Speed Shimano cassettes will fit straight on to your existing hub. SRAM would need a new freehub which might/might not be available.

Has anyone got any ideas on going to 11 speed with my wheels? I don’t follow trends so much, but when I do make a leap I try and go for the absolutely latest working on the theory I won’t need to change for years to come.

if you want to upgrade to SRAM 11sp you better brace yourself as its not cheap. the cassettes alone range between £2-300 but CRC have a slae on and theyre less than £200 at the moment.
if i assume you’re on shimano currently then you’ll need the chain, shifter and rear mech. you will also need a new freehub body which will cost you around £70 (XD freehub for SRAM)
if you wanted to go onto 11sp Shimano XT you woud be able to get the cassette, shifter, rear mach, chain for about £200…less if you shop wisely. you’ll still probably need a new freehub body for your mavic wheels and again this will be around the £70 mark. if your rear hub was a shimano unit then there would be no need to replace the freehub.

Thanks guys,

I am currently running full shimano set up and am happy with it. Up until this point it’s been robust enough for me.

Other than giving money to a different company, are the benefits of moving to SRAM limited to the “feel” of the gear change? Anyone noticed better performance in mud or cold for instance?

SRAM 9sp pulls twice as much cable as 9sp Shimano there’s a noticeable difference. Whereas 9sp Shimano is arguably better when it’s working it needs more maintenance to keep it that way esp with interrupted outers. SP41 with the sealed ferrules helps but it’s still a faff and feels mushy compared to 9sp SRAM

9sp SRAM X0 is like 10sp Shimano is now but with a heavier feel. Not particularly fond of 9sp X9/7/5 tbh they’re all pretty much the same but still relatively maintenance-free in mud etc compared to 9sp Shimano.

Thanks rocketman,

Hmmm… To stay with 9 speed or take the plunge then…

Dom

10 sp SLX/XT is better than both of them 🙂

It still has a light feel but ime it’s crisper and more fault-tolerant than 9sp XT and yet not as clunky as 9sp SRAM

Plenty of choice in terms of 10sp – now might be a good opportunity to update your bike. Quality 9sp kit is not as common as it was even 12 months ago

Check that hanger first though eh 😉

HTH

Haha,

If the hanger is bent then that means I need a new bike.

I’m already hatching a plan of buying an XT groupset, buying a new 29er (mid range, with a good frame) to have as a quality XC bike then transfering the OEM parts across to the 26er to build up a bouncy bike to use when I’m in the mood for less distance more jumping.

…

If the hanger is bent then that means I need a new bike.

not necessarily…there are plenty of manufacturers who can probably replace the mech hanger with an identical one if the frame is an older model. if its not too badly bent then you can probably straighten it out yourself if you do it carefully. if its a steel frame then it should bend back without snapping off, but again do it carefully!!