njee20 – reckon for 24’s I’ll keep the scale 2*9, but XC racing…I totally see why 1*9 works, you never use the whole block anyway on most courses

Mayhem (as a team) was one of the places I’d have used an easier gear if I’d had one, but like I say, you just dig a little deeper than you otherwise would. Solo I’d definitely stick with a double.

I was just saying on the thread about Shadow Plus mechs that I wondered if you could do away with a chain guide on a 1×10 with one of those, thoughts?

Hmmm – not sure if I’m honest. I’ve put about 100 miles on the bike now and there’s never any noticeable noise from the chain hitting the guide. That said, because its a carbon frame with no protector I haven’t risked not running one for fear of dropping the chain and it wrecking the frame. There’s an awful lot of tension on the chain when you have the clutch engaged so you might be OK. That MRP is a direct mount so weight wise its not too bad. The XCX I had before was pretty heavy for what it was, less so when it fell to bits.

Sods law says as soon as you take it off, you drop the chain. B@stards law says that you’ll be in a race when that happens….

That thing must weight a ton Flange

19lbs on the nose boss – its….nervous..

Surprised it’s that much frankly, mine’s less than a pound heavier with bouncy bits, but we’ve done so well not to get into willy-waving! 😉

B@stards law says that you’ll be in a race when that happens….

To be honest I’m not totally fussed in that respect, it’s more that it’ll be as I sprint out of a corner and swiftly end up on my face!

Mayhem (as a team) was one of the places I’d have used an easier gear if I’d had one, but like I say, you just dig a little deeper than you otherwise would. Solo I’d definitely stick with a double.

Pretty much just answered my question there. Solo…so double!

Surprised it’s that much frankly

You and me both, especially when the alloy Cube it replaced was only a pound heavier with XO cranks and rear mech.

I was a bit sceptical about the clutch thing, but it’s pretty good even if it is just a tighter spring. Has to be said though, the build quality of the 2012 stuff isn’t nearly as nice as the older stuff. My mates XTR 9-speed shifter is finished much nicer than the one I’ve got. Works brilliantly, just not as bling…

IMG_0366 by Northwindlowlander, on Flickr

Pros: Wasn’t very expensive. Weighs very little. Actually rides extremely well (it’s a cheapo Carrera frame with assorted nice stuff bolted to it, probably owes me £500 all in).

Cons: Insufficient gears. Fine for one or two laps but later on, I really want a spinning gear for long climbs. Likewise a wee bit of a lack of comfort. Would make things a bit tricky on some techier race routes.

I’m not a very serious racer as you’d probably guess, not sure what I’ll do for this year- soloing 10@kirroughtree so it deserves a wee bit more effort put into it I think.

Has to be said though, the build quality of the 2012 stuff isn’t nearly as nice as the older stuff. My mates XTR 9-speed shifter is finished much nicer than the one I’ve got. Works brilliantly, just not as bling…

Do you think? I’ve had XTR M952, M960, M970 and M980 groupsets and I’ve certainly not seen a degradation in quality except for possibly front mechs where the 952 Top Swings were excellent, but then they were £80 odd in 1999. Disc brakes have improved each iteration, and I think longevity on bits like chainrings has improved too. Not to mention the fact it’s lighter, and until very recently was cheaper than at any time in the last decade!