PSA: HammerSchmidt – £199 from Merlin

I wont be buying one but just got told about these:

http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/transmission-gears/chainsets-mtb/truvativ-hammerschmidt-fr-chainset.html

That will be the bottom falling out of the secondhand Hammerschmidt market just as I’m thinking of selling mine… 🙄 … although that price does not include shifter or bottom bracket 😉

That will be the bottom falling out of the secondhand Hammerschmidt market just as I’m thinking of selling mine…

Same here, I´m thinking of switching to the General Lee Adapter from the XX1 post.

Any normal X7, X9 or X0 shifter will work. And it says BB included.

Are they actually any good? I’ve never ridden one but lots of the armchair/internet riders reckon they’re poop?

I used to use one, really liked it.

But I ended up going 1×10 which forced me to up my fitness, so sold it.

If you dont want to go 1×10 and ride “all mountain” (hate that phrase, but you know what I mean) or downhill stuff its pretty good.

Id buy one again if I had another bike for just say the Alps.

Cheap X0 cranks as well if you want a bit of bling, dh version ideal for light 1×10 option.

I heard that they aren’t very efficient?

Always liked the look of the Hammerschmidt.

heard that they aren’t very efficient?

not terribly light either lookign at the spec!

Heavy and clunky compared to a Speed Drive or Mountain Drive, and needs special cogs and special frame fittings. Can you tell I’m not a fan? 🙂

The only two I’ve seen ‘working’

1st) had play in the drive after a dry weeks (50% uplifted) holliday in Spain.

2nd) bent on a DH run.

Both were fresh out of the box that week.

In one ratio there is some extra drag, but if your riding a big bike DH its not an issue, it is if your a XC racer 🙂

Mine was fine for ages in all conditions.

I cant see how you could bend one, its a pretty tought bit of kit. If you can bend a set of cranks (in a crash ?) you would have other issues as well.

As for weight, they are a bit heavier than normal set up, but not noticeable, but like saying an uppy/downy post is heavier than say a Thompson, well yes it is. But it does a differnt thing.

Again, stick it on the right bike and it does a good job.

I havent got one (not got ISCG), but mate has 2 and they are rather good.
Excellent clearance, as they are a lot smaller than most rings, no chain drop, no front mech and very reliable. Friend is no lightweight either, ex mx’er, so shifts on DHs and can be a heavy rider – broken his Quake before. He recently bought a 2nd one and welded an ISCG mount to his new frame as he likes them so much.

Previous thread on Hammerschmidts

Mine is currently off the big bike as I’m trying 1×9 on it having dropped the weight of the bike to 30lbs. I do miss the low gears of the HS and there are a few climbs I can usualy do which I can’t manage with the 1×9… very frustrating as I’m sure if I had the HS on I could spin up them. I would put the HS back on but I’m waiting for some XX1 bits… and there lies the death of the Hammerschmidt for AM/Enduro IMHO 😉 .

Hammerschmidt is a great tool but simply too heavy for how AM/Enduro is heading; especially now XX1 is on the go giving almost the same gear spread. I think Hammerschmidt still has a place on more “Freeride” orientated winch and drop type bikes… but riders who are interested in that (stormtrooper types) seem happy to push their bikes up the hills or rely purely on uplift (or get their dads to push there bikes up).

Not sure if I’ll sell or keep my Hammerschmidt… the only certainty is that I won’t be running a front mech on the bikes I ride hard offroad (unless I buy a 29er mince-machine or a CX bike ).

As I’ve posted, liked mine ( AM version) alot but poor seals and mud trapping design meant it corroded in less than a year with very expensive repair quote. It was maybe couple of hundred grams heavier than usual set up. Draggy whir not a real po lem.
If I cld get parts cheap wld consider refitting . .

After riding Messiah’s HS equipped bike, and subsequently a demo version of my current bike which also had one, I was hooked. I managed to pick one up on Ebay last year, and I’ve been running it on my 29er for 6 months now. Apart from the weight there’s very little wrong with it, and it’s great having a 1×9 system that still gives me a nice low climbing gear for the steep techy climbs I regularly ride.

There selling out quick anyway, only 165mm ones left. Alex you don’t work for merlincycles do you? 🙂