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1 bike has X.0
Another has XT
The third came from the parts bin and Decathlon.
Am I a bell end?
STR - No matter how much you spend on it, it's still a Specialized
😛
If your bikes spotless, you must have an awful lot of time on your hands. Life's too short I'm afraid
Not really, but I don't waste my time watching a bunch of overpaid primadonnas run around for 90 minutes. That's plenty of time to clean a bike! Life's too short to fancy a bunch of 'men' who don't even know who you are, I'll stick to riding my bike, that's more healthy!
What are these "rear mechs" of which you speak ?
People on this forum really are a bunch of smug tools sometimes
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Oh, and...
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cynic-al - MemberSTR I think you're a bell end if that helps?
Ha, not really, but made me chuckle. Love you too al
Bike will be filthy later and stay that way until I can be arsed to get it out of the shed again
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Still the same bike binners
Houns - mebbe so, they make good bikes 😉
Personally I resent you low life pond feeders who take advantage if those of us who stump up for top end kit. While we have the decency to pay proper money for leading edge new technology, it makes me mad to think tthat, in just a few years time, that technology will have filtered down to the "plebs" groupsets just so the masses can get their dirty little hands on stuff that works almost as well... AND I bet you wont even keep it spotless will you!!!?
SRAM shifters are all shite though, that's why.
performance, has been said already is just a longevity thing for most. And me.
I never see any one riding 5k bikes where I live to be honest & I've never been to a 'trail centre'... I have been riding off road since mid 90's though.
I expect that all types of people buy bikes, simple as...
Meticulous bike washing = extra time out from the wife 😉
Erm, what about weight? I know if you're plodding round trail centres you could argue that it makes no difference, but I'm sure someone racing XC (or even 24s) would rather their bikes weighs the least it can. Thus an XTR groupset would be preferable to a Deore one. Yes, lots of people should lose the gut first etc, but after that?
Erm, what about weight?
Have you seen the iDave diet thread? I don't think many folk here are looking to save 25g on a cassette for a 24hr solo. 😆
No, you should know that the answer in such circumstances is always 'have a dump', it's forbidden by the leaders to spend money on a light bike unless you have less 2% body fat and even then it's not worth it 🙄
To get back to the original post...
There is a lot of crap talked about minute differences in performance from one level of kit to the next. I doubt it really makes much odds but if it floats your boat then go for it. There are worse vices.
The thing that irks me is the notion that you can't do certain things with certain kit. If you're good enough then your kit is good enough.
Far too many people certainly think bikes aren't as capable as they really are. Can I ride a trail centre on a 4" race bike etc. The bigger issue with the OP, which we have picked up on, is the insinuation that X7 is expensive! 😉
Maybe people like to look after their stuff?If your bikes spotless, you must have an awful lot of time on your hands. Life's too short I'm afraid
No that's not allowed, to fit in you have to have a mid-range bike and never look after it. Taking care of your property is unacceptable and a sign of too much time, or someone who never rides. 🙄
The OP does have a massive point, a lot of folk are going to be forced to downgrade as the cost of components inexorably climbs.
Good for them I say.
Thankfully, SLX today is as good as XT was just a couple of years back.
Bike business based around WANT and not NEED shocker.
🙄
Next up - "designer clothes do not make ugly people attractive", and
"Not everyone is the same" revelations.
uuuuuurgh. Rode a mates bike with X4 the other day. the shifters flex more than than a flexible friend. Felt dirty riding it. SLX all the way for me if im on one of my pansy bikes with gears.
A few years ago, when I worked in a bike shop, I bought some XTR stuff cos I got a big discount on it. M952 rear mech and shifters. I still have them, and the shifters in particular have outlasted XT and Deore ones on other bikes. Actually, the XT ones were a bit crap imo and not as good as Deore!
I dunno. I think the M950 stuff lasted really well, not so sure about more recent revisions. I think when these shifters do eventually die, I'd replace them with XTR again, cos I'd assume the XTR stuff is stronger and more robust than the cheaper bits. Deore and XT mechs don't last as long as my XTR mech.
So for me it's about buying stuff that does the job and lasts, and if it means XTR is actually 'better', then I'll cough up for that. If, like Binners, I coon't actually ride my bike propply and fell off all the time bashing stuff, then I'd probbly just buy Tourney. As regular replacement of anything more spensive would be an utter waste of money.
Front mechs though; I still have the original LX one what came with the bike and is now 10 years old. 🙂 If it ain't broke, don't upgrade...
A lot of current stuff is nowhere near as well made as equivalent stuff ten years ago or more though, that's for sure. It's meant to wear out quicker so you upgrade more often and the component manufacturers continue making money out of you...
To those that say they don't have time to clean their bikes; if you have time to fill your fat little faces with a bacon butty and cake at a trail center try using the time to clean your bike instead, you'll be thinner and you will not end posting on here about how all kit is rubbish and doesn't last very long
we dont all ride trail centrees and if you think at 10:45 on a cold winter's night that I am going to spend the next 15 minutes cleaning my bike then you are very much mistaken.
I do clean them I just dont do it every ride
To those that say they don't have time to clean their bikes; if you have time to fill your fat little faces with a bacon butty and cake at a trail center try using the time to clean your bike instead, you'll be thinner and you will not end posting on here about how all kit is rubbish and doesn't last very long
😆
Love it Tazzy, love it.
I've just cleaned mine, now I've got to decide whether it's worth taking my X.0 shod carbon bling-machine to Landegla to see how close to the hour I can get on the black, that is if I don't get held up by lardy, I mean both bike and rider, weekend warriors on their crappy cheap and dirty behemoths.
XT throughout. Harder wearing than XTR. Brakesets on their second bike since 2001. Virtually no maintenance and still going strong.
"Trickling down" some "bling" even as we speak, due to an upgrade to something extremely current, wildly expensive and bling-a-dee-bling-ey...
LMAO at some of these posts.
I ride XT, always have. I trust it as it works for me the way I like. Saying that I honestly recommend SLX to anyone looking to replace parts as it looks pretty damn good value for money.
And I clean my bike after pretty much every ride. Not because I have too much time on my hands (I have two crazy young children) or I necessarily want a shiny bike but because I ride mainly up Woburn and other areas that are full of sand. And that stuff can soon start to cause issues and wear stuff out if it stays on a bike too long.
Cleaning my bike regularly might be the reason I have just replaced my cassette and chain for the first time in 8 years. There is method to the cleaning madness. 🙂
ho mr woppit looking at your bling cast offs as we speak
XT throughout. Harder wearing than XTR
Hmmm. Based upon scientific tests of the hardness and durability of the materials involved I presume? 😉
Extra photos on the way, konadad, just waiting for photobucket to load... 😀
i have a well riden dirty expensive bike.....
Cleaning my bike regularly might be the reason I have just replaced my cassette and chain for the first time in 8 years. There is method to the cleaning madness
yea but you can only get a few thousand if that out of any chain, ride more clean less
Eh?....i've had chains last years both on mountain bikes and motor bikes, all depends on how they're looked after.
Never let it get rusty and cover it with lube/WD40/ACF50/GT85/grease etc and you wont go far wrong.
... And never ride it just to ensure no chain stretch...
Chains don't stretch.
Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. 😉
Never found chain stretch to be an issue but then i dont ride fixies....the constantly adapting rear mech takes care of what minimal chain stretch you'll get if you look after the drive train properly.
My bike is usually filthy but i'm OCD about the chain from years spent motorcycling.
i love to see a properly fettled bike, a mate even takes his cassette off after each ride to soak and clean it.
he uses XO and XTR.
i would do the same if i use such fine components.
i use deore rear mechs, which seem to work fine covered i gloop and grime.
i keep 2 new ones as spares just incase.
I took the cassette off when i bought new wheels recently and then took each sprocket apart....i was amazed how much crap collects between each piece, gave it a good clean and its probably something i'll do a couple of time a year now.
I find that if you stay on top of it you don't need to disassemble as much. I still do it a couple of times a year, disassemble rear mech and cassette and what not.
Chains don't stretch, the pins wear, so the links get 'slack' and the chain gets longer, which is known as stretch, they don't actually stretch. I personally find chains are very worn after about 3 months, I either change then, or keep the whole drivetrain for the whole season. Always used to do the latter, but now cassettes are so expensive I tend to do the former!
Went for a 40k run today and halfway through broke an sram hollowpin chain.
Luckily I had the tools and links to fix it. I now realise I only bought it cos it was a bit bling, won´t be making that mistake again.
It´s easy to be drawn to shiny stuff but after its caked in mud and cowshit all rear mechs look the same. I´m gonna try and stick more to what works and less to what looks good.
btw I now hate my x9 rear mech, upgrade/downgrade or go to shimano?
I don´t ride as much as I´d like to but when I do it gets pretty rough, so I was thinking of just throwing on dh-proof gear. Any recommendations?
Saint rear mechs, short cage ones, bomb proof IMO.
Err XTR has I think 4 titanium rings which XT don't so I'm afraid XTR scientifically will be mire durable than XT. TBH if your XT cassette last 8 years you ain't doing that many miles no matter what the cleaning regime. For the record my XTR has done 2 trips to Spain, Morocco, Tran alps and 3 x solo 12 hour races + loads Enduros in between. Not to mention training and at least one good trail centre session a week in all Weathers. All it's needed is new chains and cables. I'm impressed enough to buy XTR again. I think your view will differ depending on how and what you ride. Afan was riding very nice today 🙂
For the record my XTR has done 2 trips to Spain, Morocco, Tran alps and 3 x solo 12 hour races + loads Enduros in between.
Thanks for letting us know.
Awaits flame