upgrade hell…… Brain meltdown

Greetings stw folk…. This is my first post and unfortunately its a cry for help/advice/derision for not using the search properly….
It has come to pass that the trusty sc chameleon needs new bits after a couple year of very hard riding ( and sadly nearly 18 months of sitting in the garage due to knee injurys) the bits moved from my stumpy are wearing out.
Ive decided on new xt brakes (courtesy of rose bikes) but cant decide weather xt or slx double chainset is the way forward.
I also need a new bar and stem and have been looking at the crank bros iodine 2 set.
What do people think? My brain hurts from thinking too much. Too many shiney things….
Sorry its such a long winded post!
Cheers….

Welcome to the hive mind 🙂

XT if you want shiny. SLX if you want same performance just cheaper.

Not used CB stuff myself but it’s had some pretty ropey reviews on here.

cheers for the welcome
Thats kinda what I was thinking. I like shiiiiiiiiney but the wallet dosnt!
Ive got cb pedals and headset and have no issue with them but not seen any reviews on the bar or stem….

How about SLX and use the difference for something else new?

Chain set doesn’t matter too much IMHO.
I wouldn’t bother with anything crank bros. raceface can be gotten for OK money, Easton is great quality and have kit at different price points.

crank bros issues are with their bearings can’t see how a stem and bars can go wrong ?

slx cranks ftw

No but it’s unremarkable for the money IMHO.

SLX is approx 50g heavier for 3 ring than XT. Double and bash SLX is about 200g heavier than triple SLX (steel inserts etc). Value for money is SLX.

Crank brother stuff – is generally terribly unreliable. Specs wise and durability wise.

people seem to really diskike the crank bros!!
Tbh I think the slx IS the way im going and weight really dosnt bother me…. Im 14 1/2 stone 🙂

Two things.
Why not go for the slx brakes from what I can tell they are pretty much the same bar possibly some adjustments may need to be made with a tool. I think you may even be able to use those funky xtr pads with them.
Secondly you do realise that the brakes from rose will have the levers the wrong way round and the hoses will be massive. Not much of a problem tbh I recently swapped levers and shortened hoses with little drama and hadn’t had shimano brakes before.

Lots of people have had crank bros pedals disintegrate in UK conditions….

I would go SLK and Easton if it were me… unless you wanted all RaceFace.

Choose XT where:

A) there is additional functionality or features over SLX that you will use (be relly honest with yourself)

B) XT looks a LOT better and it’s a big item that you will really notice and regret not spending a bit more for XT

Choose SLX where:

A) there is no additional features and/or significant weight reduction for a fair whack less.

B) for something that is highly likely to get damaged.

Personally I would go 10 speed with a double up front. It depends on the ratios as to whether you go for the XT double or the old 9 speed SLX double. Of course you could also go for the XT double and sell the rings and then buy the SLX rings. For the rest of it I would definitely get an SLX FD, possibly RD and maybe opt for XT shifters if they are still nicer like the old 9 speed ones as you actually directly interact with the shifters so will notice the difference. Or on the other hand if you don’t care about a bit nicer feel then get SLX shifters as they will work just as well.

For brakes I am not sure what the extra functionality of XT is but unlike the older brakes the SLX is right up there being almost identical design.

Bar – Easton is my first choice but there is lots of good bars out there, especially if you want wide aluminium.

Stem – Easton haven is lovely, Thompson is the default, RF do make some nice ones (I am not a fan of RF cranks but the bars and stems are very good value and well made). Nothing else interests me unless looking for sub £30.

deore chainset, BB, triple rings, 80 bucks! Untold.

I was going to say don’t knock Deore. Todays Deore is the technology from XT from a couple of years ago without the bling. eg Deore shadow RDs and the new chainrings are a lot better than the old Deore ones in terms of tooth profile.

SLX brakes doesn’t have the free stroke adjustment, anyhow I don’t think there’s much in it price wise between XT and SLX brakes from RoseBikes, or there wasn’t last year.
The only thing I don’t like about Deore cranks is the black finish starts to wear off almost immediately, which stands out and makes your bike start to look tatty almost immediately IMO. SLX cranks are worth the extra over Deore I think and only a bit heavier than XT.

Iarchi… Yes I do realise theres some work to do on the rose brakes, but saving £50 over uk prices is just too good, plus I like lots of adjustability.
Swaeman2…. Ive had 3 sets of cb pedals on 3 different bikes and not had any problems…. Maybee im the lucky one!
Andyl…… Currently ive got a ss chamelen (dont really need gears for most of hampshire) but it goes back to gears ive already got xt fd,, x9 rd, x9 shifters and a 9 spd casset.all of which were fairly new after killing my xo rd….
Bigrich…. Did look at deore…. Just didnt like the look, plus crc has the slx chainset for £99 atm.
So I reckon the slx double and bash for my regular to to derbyshire and wales as I do seem to find all the rocks that want to be friends with my chainrings. Xt brakes from rose and still undecided about the bars….
Cheers for your imput people 😀

crank bros issues are with their bearings can’t see how a stem and bars can go wrong ?

I’ve just been on a week long bike holiday and another guest had CB bar and stem. The clamp didn’t work well enough to stop the bar gardually rotating over the day. No matter how well it was cleaned, screws tightened correctly…it just didn’t work. Expensive too. FAIL!

Easton carbon haven or havoc bars and matching stem are a sweet bit of kit. Get the XT cranks as look nicer than the SLX

yeah jusr looked at the easton stuff….. Niiiice….. ‘Kin expensive! Trying to keep the budget for bar and stem under a ton. And as for the xt cranks I dont really like the style and again cost is way up from.slx. I reckon that i’ll stick to the slx cranks and the xt brakes. Bars and stem…. Brain melting…… 😯