Just a slight moan re kit prices… seems excessive even despite currency fluctuations….

I am in need of a new 9 speed cassette ( again ) and I normally like to use Xts re carrier to save the alloy freehub bodies on my hubs from getting too chewed up by deores etc BUT i was taken aback – 50 -60 quid now even from CRC / merlin etc – was unhappy last time the prices went up to 40 quid – I tend to go through a few a year and numerous chains – its getting very dear – makes a rohloff seem better…. or shock horror a singlespeed!

Is shimano maybe pricing older 9spd users onto 10 spd by offering 10 spd cheaper now? Lbs says its to make XT ‘aspirational ‘ again as it was in the past as it had been too cheap….

just a thought – seems ridiculous that a deore costs 20 /25 quid and an xt now 50/60 quid….Also I wish that the cogs were replaceable as its always one or 2 that get pounded – thought that was the original idea depend a cassette to be rebuildable !! seems wasteful in such ‘green enlightened times’…

grumble…

paul

Pricey do these days – I’ve just ordered a SRAM 991 instead as it was 40 quid on CRC in the sale

I’ve got a new and unused XT 770 cassette you can have for £44 if you want. Email in profile.

German bike shops seem a fair bit cheaper.

has ayone used http://www.bike-components.de

some things seem a lot cheaper

I’ve been thinking the same, so I’m going for the SLX cassettes. They can be had for pennies over £30 a piece if you shop about. I’m looking for Chain Reaction to price match as I received vouchers for Christmas.

Go single speed!

You’ll have the pleasure of single speeding itself, with the added bonus of knowing that you’re giving Shimano something to think about.

The only part that seems to wear out is the chain (about £12 each every 500-1000 miles). I imagine one day I’ll need to replace a sprocket – but at £4 each I can afford it. As for chain rings – the Surly chainring I’ve got looks almost new.

I’m not even sure you go any slower than geared riders tbh, as so many of them seem to be completely ignorant of momentum. I’ve lost count of the number of geared riders I see stalling on quite gentle slopes – they’re just clueless.

And you spend less time cleaning your bike and more time riding it.

Most of the German shops are good, I’ve used Bike Components, Bike24 and Action Sports for tyres and bits in the past.

I have to wonder though, how are you going through so many cassettes? If you change your chain when it wears your cassette should last alright, and if you wear it all out you shouldn’t need to buy chains as often! Somethings wrong if you’re replacing chains and cassettes many times a year!

maybe he does a LOT of miles.

rider in “moaning about the costs of running bling gear” shocker!

steel freehub. cheap cassettes. no hassles!

I bought a Deore cassette the other day and it weighed 435 grams. They never used to weigh this much! A cynical person might think they’ve bulked the weight up to sell the more expensive stuff?!

they definitely do that.

I Think Deore casettes have always been about that heavy. (same goes for HG60 and SRAM 950/970) 11-34T models weigh more again than 11-32T casettes

Part carrier casettes like SLX or SRAM 980 get the weight under 300g for 11-32T, just over for 11-34T IIRC* (XT is 256g for 11-32T?)

*though I may be wrong

XT 41.96 at ribble anyway
http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/sp/mtb-bmx-bike/Cassettes-Shimano-9-Spd-XT-M770-Cassette/SHIMCASM360

and not in stock

£47.95 at merlin. If you put a £50 order together you’ll get 10% off.

sram pg990 cassette in pink for a bargain 38 or 40 quid on crc

How does the pg990 compare to xt?

slightly heaver (15gms) and apparently according to some not as stiff – I cant tell much difference TBH

Ah well, another option to think about. Was going to opt for slx over xt due to the price, but the pg990 could be the winner.

I’ve just seen CRC has 11-32T (280g) and 11-34T (310g) SRAM PG980’s for £28 ea.
Best I’ve seen for 11-32T (282g) and 11-34T (315g) SLX’s is £34 on merlin

CRC have PG990’s for £39-45 depending on colour. I can only assume they’re lighter than PG980’s, though I’m pretty sure they’re still heavier than XT

Merlin have XT 11-32T (256g) and 11-34T(n/a) for £48 ea.

So £/g wise thats 24g for £20 from PG980 to XT in 11-32T? Slightly better than 1g/£, which can only be made worse by it being a casette and it’ll want chucking at some point

I’m waiting to see if chain reaction will price match and go for the slx. If they do, then for an extra couple of quid i’ll be able to get 3 (received vouchers as a christmas present) instead of 2 pg990. The weight saving is nothing really when they are being attached to a 29lb orange 5.

I went for the 990 as it’s going on a hope hub – otherwise it’d be SLX for me too!

snowpaul – if you just ruin the bottom few sprockets you can replace those:
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/shimano-14t-shimano-deore-xt-cs-m760-sprocket-for-9-speed-cassette-1za-1444-prod15832/

Just a slight highjack, but I have a Pitch that has an HG30 cassette on, and was curious how much that weighed. Where are you getting you weights from? Cheers

HG30s will be roughly the same weight as a small anvil. Very easy weight saving there!

trawl ebay, or buy the sram pink one which is in the sale at crc.

Simply aspire to XTR, and then realise what a bargain you’re getting saving something like £100 when you buy XT. It’s also only something like 14g lighter! 🙂

Just noticed that the price of an SLX cassette at CRC has jumped up to 45 quid. What a **** rip off!!!!

I agree it’s crazy. Getting a new rear wheel from the LBS – Hope Pro IIs together with the XT cassette comes to over £200!

…for a WHEEL…

😯

I can’t run SRAM cassettes without bending the sprockets.

nobody else have that problem?

I bent a sprocket within half an hour of riding the only one I’ve ever had (6 years ago)….. however I’m about to start using another one so you’ll no doubt hear if it goes wrong!

Never used one before, hopefully I won’t suffer that problem!

Send it straight back! I made the mistake of getting a SRAM cassette again a few weeks back for the STP, bent to **** in one ride!

Chain Reaction wouldn’t price match so it’s back to the drawing board. I’ll just keep hold of the vouchers until I see a ‘bargain’ and get the cassettes from Merlin. Now,do I go for 2 XT or 3 SLX?

Also I wish that the cogs were replaceable as its always one or 2 that get pounded

you CAN buy replacement xt sprockets…..

EDIT- if anyone knows if where you can get hold of slx replacement sprockets hook a brother up…. (i’ve got a mint one with three mangled bottom cogs)