Bog standard 8 speed set up. Never needs tweaking, chains last forever, nothign seems to wear out and, when it does finaly wear, you can replace the entire drivetrain for about £50.
The biggest problem with it is that, as you never have to touch it, adjusters can seize up due to lack of use!
Or singlespeed....
My 2014 XTC has SLX 2×10. I recently had to replace chain, rings, cassette. Availability of these parts was pretty poor. Not one supplier had both rings, although cassettes were slightly more common. It looked like my options would have been even worse on a higher end groupset.
Make me a reasonable offer (at least equal to postage cost) if you want more chainrings. I'll chuck in the XT front and shifter mech as well
@ton - Spa Cycles will have something 8 or 9sp for you. Give them a call
Chain does have a quicklink
Shifter does allow a double downshift
only a double though. conventional XT allows 4.
Make me a reasonable offer (at least equal to postage cost) if you want more chainrings
Thanks for the offer but I think I'm sorted - found someone who had some Blackspire rings bought for a project but not used. Had to pay a bit more than postage though 😢
In the spirit of recommending what you have, my Surly Ice Cream Truck’s drivetrain is well over 7 years old and still going strong. Surely steel rings ( the outer is now more smooth than pointy but still works), KMC chain, 11 - 36 SLX 10 speed cassette. The jacket wheels had a moment a few days back when the bearing sleeve moved in the jockey wheel but was soon encouraged back into its proper position.
That bike has done thousands of kilometres of riding and not just on the beach either.
By way of contrast, the 12 speed XT set up I had on a test e bike was 100% worn in less than three months.
I have a new outer ring, cassette and chain ready for the Truck when I can be bothered getting round to changing it. So I guess 2 x with steel rings is what gets my vote!
Cheers
Sanny
1x10 Shimano with Radcage, Sunrace wide range cassette (you can go all steel) has been the most bulletproof and best value setup I've had to date. Win win!
All my drivetrains take an absolute pasting and the mechs look battered after a few months riding.
I've found Shimano 11sp (XT and SLX) mech cages get bent out of shape far too easily for some reason!
Rohloff on the winter offroad commuter, I get over 2000 miles out of a £8 PC1N chain.
Summer commuter has 2x10 XTR with Sunrace cassette - very reliable but I'd love a 10 speed cassette with a 10t cog to give me a better gear spread.
1x1
xg1150 cassette- all steel, pretty light, lasts for aaaaaages
The most reliable and faff free drivetrain I had was Sram GX 11 speed. Just did it’s thing and the all steel cassette just went on and on for ever.
with SRAM xg1150 cassette and SRAM chain. My cassette lasted 6 years with 3 chains
Continuing on the theme of durable gearing set up... 11-46t SLX cassette vs 10-42 SRAM XG-1150 cassette - which is more durable?
I suspect I know the answer but seeking reassurance that it'd be worth the additional expense (in the longterm) of buying an XD driver for my hub and swapping my worn out 11-46 SLX and 30t chainring setup, to a 10-42 XG-1150 and 28t steel chainring. My cassette, chainring and chain need replaced soon anyway and comments on the durability of the XG-1150 have piqued my interest.
I've compared gear ratios: SRAM 11-42 (with a 28t chainring) looses out marginally at the low end (18.9 vs 19.5 gear inches) and would gain a 'faster' high gear (79.4 vs 81.5). Slight weight saving and (IMO) a nicer spread of gears towards the top of the cassette with smaller gaps.
Is the SRAM XG-1150 that much more durable to make the change worthwhile?
My mates were breaking chains every ride when 9 speed came out and I was still on 8 speed. I only just switched from 8 to to 10 speed last year and the narrower chain seems just as durable ( I think they finally started using a stronger steel for the side plates), the increased cable pull of Dynasys means the shifting feels just as precise as 8speed did.
If always preferred Shimano to SRAM especialy at lower price points I've found although SRAM is lighter, but only because they use plastic rather than Shimano who use steel. SRAM stuff wears out more quickly as a result.
2x10 (40:28 11:32)is nice on my gravel bike for the extra range at the top end, but 1x10 with a tiny chainring(30T 11:42T) is fine on my MTB, I just coast above 20mph. Its great to not having the front derailleur that stops working when the parallelogram is stiffed with mud and stones.
I build EVERYTHING 1x10 now, as after years of frequent meddling with 3x7 through to 2x10, 1x10 feels like the absolute sweet spot. Providing you use the right stuff, of course. Which is a PG1050 cassette, KMC chain, and XT M786 shifter and mech. Multiple shifts both ways is glorious, and the proper positive shift action just feels so well engineered. I hate sram shifters as I'm autistic and using my thumb for both up and downshifts is horrible. But their cassettes? Fab. I've got 6000km on one of them, and after a good clean it still looks new.
I am guessing that those suggesting 1 x 10 or 11 haven't much to compare it with. Undoubtedly it can last fairly well if maintained but we all know that, quality being the same, the smaller the number of sprockets the longer it will last. It's not the number but the implications. Best bet will be a 7 or 8 speed cassette with a short rear mech and a nice close double chainset. The short mech gives a better shift than a long one and it isn't dangling in the crud like a long one. A front mech is the most fool proof moving part on a bike if you set it up properly. If you can't then tough. Anything 1x gives a poor chain line as any bike chain runs and last best straight not bent. Ideally go for friction gear changing. Nothing to chose between down tube or bar end and thumb shifters are close behind.
Biggest snag is getting decent quality kit as that has dropped off in recnt years. A nice Dura Ace 8 speed mech in good nick will last for ever.
Best of all will be SS or fixed. The latter will even save on brake blocks.
I am still running 8 speed 600/Ultegra and Dura Ace - just works. Also LX/XT on my old MTB that I use for commuting on the canal.
