This might be a bit naive, but I’m surprised to see so many bikes still seem to have a rear mech one or two levels higher than the rest of the drivetrain.

Latest example is 2011 Zesty 714. A carbon bike that costs a whopping £3.8k. It has an XTR rear mech and SLX shifters.

I know SLX shifters are OK, but why not just put XT mech and shifters on? Shifters are more important than the mechs anyway IMO.

I know it’s a bit of a trivial complaint, but I just find it vaguely insulting that bike companies think everyone is still only checking out the badge on the rear mech.

Bike companies think everyone is still only checking out the badge on the rear mech.

Nobody ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the buying public.

I guess sacrifices have to be made somewhere, and going off RRP for shifters (£75 vs £155) there’s a reasonable saving to be had for a bit of kit people probably aren’t that bothered about.

Once you remove the cost of the frame, forks, brakes and wheels (the bits people do pay attention to) the amount left for the drivetrain ect probably isn’t that much.

very poor rant; no capital letters, no obvious spelling errors only “vaguely insulted” by the topic and a complete lack of exclamation marks.

must try harder. 2/10

Shifters are more important than the mechs anyway IMO.

I agree totally. The indexing is in the shifters.

But people just look at the rear mech…..

My Pitch came with an X9 rear mech and X4 shifters. They work, but I’d have preferred X7 both ends…..

You can get a really good bike by not speccing any of that consumable stuff, ie get a single speed.

Deduct the cost of all that kit from your bike price and the actual bike is not that much. Now imagine how good a frame, set of wheels, and crankset you could get if you spent the geared bike price on the ss. It also won’t be worn out by next year or the year after.

Of course most people will still prefer gears, but it’s worth thinking about.

Really? My £800 Unit had a heavy frame, heavy fork and crap spec.

I would sooner have the SLX shifters than the XTR ones. I think the look nicer. that is the ultimate consideration – looks!

mates’ specialized epics (yes 2) came with juicy ultimates, x9 shifters, x0 rear mech and a deore cassette. Any weight saving from the first three parts immediately scrubbed out by the fourth then?

Fairly standard for bike companies to do this I thought, often down speccing hidden stuff like BBs and headsets, cassettes.

Hm I ain’t saying I am right but…….

all of our bikes – built up from parts have higher spec mechs than shifters – the theory being the higher spec mech has better pivots and less slop especially after a lot of usage so gives better shifting – whereas all the shifter does is pull and release cable. Does the XTR mech not have machined bushed pivots? certainly less slop

Works for me anyway. I do buy the stuff secondhand tho so the cost benefit comparison is in my favour 🙂

Yeah, but BBs and headsets are effectively consumables (well, the cheap crap headsets Lapierre use are anyway), what I’m talking about is bike companies still spunking more on the chainset and rear mech because they think that’s what people will notice.

It’s just window dressing really and it’s a bit shabby.

Yes poor rant, ran out of steam while typing.

Wonder if any of the product managers on here (I know at least one was posting today) would like to give the other side of the story? Are customer expectations sometimes more important to you than outright performance?

My Stumpjumper Elite (second one from bottom of the range) came with XT shadow rear mech, SLX shifters & front mech & a really cheap-o Shimano crank. The finish on them had started coming off them during the first ride.
I think the cassette is suitably low-rent too.

I’m happy with most of it, but not sure why they didn’t spec an XT rear mech (or even SLX) and a decent crank.

The finishing kit on it is OK, without being spectacular and will probably be upgraded when I have some spare cash. It just looks a bit bland.

This is why i stopped buying complete bikes a long time ago…

It is a bit annoying. My mrs’ old bike came with an XTR rear-mech and a rubbish fork. Surely a deore rear-mech and a decent fork would be more attractive to any sane buyer?

Bike companies should start sourcing parts on stw. That would cut costs.
I fear there is a flaw in this idea somewhere.

No, that’s quite possibly the best idea I’ve ever read on here.

Imagine the litigation.

There is a school of thought that says that more expensive shifters & a cheap mech are a better combo, as the shifters get more robust & better spec as you go up, and mechs are essentially a disposable.

I’ve got X9 shifters & an X0 mech; I think, on the whole, I’d rather it was the other way round.

Andy

It is easier to up-sell bikes that are specced like that. People are always asking “what is the difference between this one and that one?”, its better to have something shiny to point out than having to say “not much but everything is just slightly better”.

Nearly four grand? I’d want full XTR for that sort of money. What a rip-off cycling’s become… 🙄

cynic-al – Member
Really? My £800 Unit had a heavy frame, heavy fork and crap spec.

If I was in any cynical, I’d say they saw you coming 🙂

I was referring to speccing a bike – it’s one thing to put a bike together from a spec list, and another to buy a readymade product with no choices.