Replacing pretty much the whole drive train – advice

Rode my geared full susser (Scott Strike) a couple of times this week for the first time in a long time. Normally ride my SS. Amazed how bl00dy irritating the gears are, especially when they are not working properly. Ghost shifting, jumping, refusing to change gear, clattering away. Tempted to revert to my SS but will persevere and replace what doesn’t work.

Front and rear mech, chain, rear cassette, front chain rings. The hollowtech BB seems to be okay so don’t NEED a complete chainset.

I normally go for Shimano XT from CRC or Wiggle.

Any reason to change this? Any better deals around? Any special codes or discounts I can get?

Was it ok the last time you rode it? would try new cables first

stuf – will try new cables. Do they make that much difference? At the moment there are times when I can change up a gear at the bar lever without the rear mech changing gear. other times the bike changes gear on it’s own, especially when I put pressure on to climb a hill or similar.

You should check out Merlin as well.

You could always buy a complete group set and flog the bits you don’t need.

You can pick up a whole SLX group set for around £170 at actionsports.de

Whole SLX groupset from actionsports.de is the way to go.

Then sell your old gear on the classifieds.

I bet you’ll only be £100 out of pocket overall, and you’ll have a brand spanking new, perfectly working, fully matched drivetrain… Replacing the way you suggest is false economy. 3 new chainrings for instance, generally cost more than a new chainset of the same quality!

has the chain gone a bit stiff and rusty ?

It was GT85’d before I left it last time so the chain isn’t too bad.

Do they make that much difference?

they really do !
you could try taking the outers off an giving them a blast though with GT85 before changing them

most of the gear problems I see / cure on behalf of my mates are due to dirty or more often than not KINKED cables from being stored or put in a car badly which can kink the inner cable causing drag – or frayed cables = I would try new inners and outers – maybe run full outer too?

i run knackered kit on my commuter and it shifts sweet…

tis the cables my friend!

paul

+1 for cables

APF

Go 8 speed 22/36.
buy a decent 8 speed shifter then it’s half the price to replace the lot but still ends up around the same weight or lighter and actually works/lasts longer

rosebikes? MUCH cheaper.

I bet you’ll only be £100 out of pocket overall,

WTF? I can replace my chain/cassette/cables and both chainrings for less than £50

Definitely replace the cables, and I’d go for new outers to keep things fresh, considering the issues you’ve been having. Index them properly, checking your limit screws are actually set right.

When installing new cables I make sure the shifters are in the smallest gear, and pull the cable as tight as possible, clamp it into the mech, then shift up and down the gears to pull out the cable stretch a bit, then shift into the smallest gear again and take up the slack with the barrel adjuster on the shifter – is the cable is just tight in the smallest gear, then the rest should index perfectly.

This assumes you’ve set the limit screws correctly.

If you can shift fine now, but the chain is slipping – check the chain wear as below:

Grab a chain stretch tool from somewhere if you can, assuming you don’t have one: measure your chain with a ruler (12 linked pairs should measure 12 inches from new 304.8mm, if your chain measures over 1.5mm extra on top of this at 12 links, then you need a new chain, if it’s 2mm or more stretched, then you need new chain rings and cassette too).

If you don’t have any slipping issues, but the chain is stretched under 2mm, then replace the chain only. If the chain is stretched over 2mm and everything else is fine, then just run the drivetrain into the ground, it’ll last a good length of time and save you a shed load of cash.

Good luck buddy.

GW, we all know you’ve got the world’s largest penis, and when you piss up the wall it hits the ceiling, but really?

Even a set of 3 deore chainrings is the best part of £50, a cheapo cassette is £20 if you’re lucky (more usually £25), a chain £10 if you’re very lucky and a couple of metres of cable and a couple of Inners is £6-8.

Personally I’d say £100 for a complete new drivetrain, mechs, shifters, cranks all cogs and a chain etc. is bloody good going, especially as modern SLX stuff really is excellent quality kit.

don’t talk shit mboy (ignoring the part about my penis).

I’m just about to replace the lot on one of my bikes and here’s what it’s costing..

deore 22T ring £7
deore 36T ring £8
sram pc830 chain £8
cassette (HG41) £7
cables £2 each (more like 60p each as I already have a box full but I’m feeling generous)

a grand total of £34!!

bump that up to a whopping £46 if spending an extra £12 to save around 50g on an HG70 cassette is of importantance to you.
I have no use for bigger than a 36T chainring on any of my mtbs off road (and neither do you) so have run a double at most on any mtb for years now.
I still run 8 speed as it’s way cheaper but far more reliable/durable.
Aluminium rings on a muddy bikes make no sense so I’ve always used Deore.
more expensive chains offer no performance gain, and other than weight, the same is true of more expensive cassettes.

3 new chainrings for instance, generally cost more than a new chainset of the same quality!

I’d love to know where you can get a Saint/XT chainset for £27! (the cost of 3X deore rings which IMO are better/equal quality to saint/XT, just slightly heavier 😉 )