Huge variations between shops & suppliers but on a full bike I’ve been told it’s roughly a 15% mark up

Gotta be more than that. I just bought a 2013 bike from my LBS at a 20% discount. Now, I have bought three bikes from them in the last 18 months so they look after me, but I know they’re not going to sell at a loss!

Yeah, you’ll need a matched pair of AM38 and AM24 chainrings for the smoothest shifting. The 38/24 M785 combination has only just come out, and I haven’t seen anyone offering the chainrings separately yet – may have to wait a while. Could probably get away with the M780 24 ring in the meantime, or even the SLX M675 24 ring, but won’t be as good shifting as the proper M785 24/38 matched set.

Your not going to get a mech that will work with a 24/38 rings without rubbing, 24/36 is about as wide as you can go.

Utter tosh – Shimano offer the 24/38 as a stock combination now in both SLX and XT, and it works perfectly with the their 2×10 mechs. Just like the old SLX M665 22/36 worked great with the same jump of 14T.

I can vouch for the Avid Single Digit 7. Have had them on my hybrid bike for ages, and are still good as the day I fitted them. First ones in the lineup that have SS hardware and allen key spring tension adjusters, intead of that stupid crosshead screw that gets mangled easily. The RW-2 pads that come with them are the biz too…

Do shifters always come with cable inners?

If you get proper retail stock they will, but OEM (stuff the manufacturers sell in bulk to the bike manufacturers) sometimes finds it way into the online stores and may not…

2012 Trance X4 is 9 speed. So if you’re going to keep the rest of the drivetrain and just upgrade the RD and shifters, then you need to stick to 9 speed components.

RD-M770 is 9 speed, conventional profile, and rapid rise action.
RD-M771 is 9 speed, conventional profile and normal action
RD-M772 is 9 speed, shadow profile and normal action

Conventional profile RDs stick out a bit more than the shadow, so can be more prone to hits.

Rapid rise action means the spring tension returns the RD to the largest sprocket, rather than the more normal returning it to the smallest.

All come in SGS long cage or GS medium cage versions. For your triple cranks you need teh SGS long cage.

None of the 9 speed mechs have the new shadow+ clutch, that’s only available on ten speed.

If you don’t know the difference or don’t care, then safest bet is to just get the M772 SGS.

I’ve not heard of M772 shifters, and I’m guessing you mean the M770. These will match any of the above RDs, but beware there is an M770-10 (ten speed) so make sure you get the 9 speed version. Stainless steel inner cables will come with the shifters, and your existing outers may be ok, or if not buy a few metres of SP-41 outer to replace it.

If you’re going to the expense of replacing half the drivetrain, and maybe your cassette and chainrings are getting a bit worn too, then why not consider going the whole way and get a 10 speed XT groupset from one of the online stores in Germany for about 330 quid?

Thanks Coleman, thats what I needed to know…

Sorry roverpig – having a few computer glitches today, and deleted the post just as you were replying to it 😳

If anyone wants to know what roverpig was replying to, the live thread is here

Im pretty sure that M770 XT was 9spd only

M770 ten speed shifters

Just be aware that M770 shifters come in 9-speed or 10-speed, so make sure you get the right ones to match your drivetrain.

Also, they aren’t the latest version, there’s an M780 available now which has a few extra bells & whistles, most notably the option of mounting to your brake levers so you don’t need a separate clamp – called I-spec in the jargon.

Thanks for the replies guys.

So they can break, and looks like I should keep a couple of spares around, especially if they’re hard to find at short notice.

Should’ve thought of the tech docs – duh! And they confirm there are two different sizes of spoke, oh well at least thats better than four!

Only trouble is, mine are M785 29er wheels, and it seems they’re so new that Shimano haven’t published tech docs for them yet (at least a Google search and a search of the Shimano site didn’t come up with them) – even the printed instructions that came with them were for the 26″ version!

So, do Madison accept emails direct from us customer plebs? Hopefully they’d know, or be able to find out, what length I need…

You can’t fit a ‘standard’ bash to the new XT doubles as they won’t fit on the crank spider. To my knowledge there is only one bash out there specifically designed to fit the M785, and it aint cheap!
Blackspire Defender

Your only other choice is to buy a triple and replace the big ring with a standard 104 BCD bash, but then you have to change the chainrings too so it won’t end up being much cheaper…

I appreciate there’s a lot of goo fans here, and I’m not saying its not a wise precaution. However, where I ride (Western Australia) I haven’t had a ‘normal’ puncture in a year, so I’ve decided the benefit of goo isn’t worth the hassle. Really, I’m just not gonna go there…

But – murphy’s law will no doubt ensure my first outing with my new tubeless setup I’ll get a nail thru the tyre, so I was just wondering how to fix holes in a tubeless tyre – will a normal puncture patch glued on the inside of the tyre do it, or do I really need those plugs like car tyres use, and Superficial linked to above? Thanks.

BTW, why is the black clamp so long? Does it lock somewhere over the caliper, as well as the bleed nipple?

Nah – it’s just a long handle to make it easier to push the thing over the bleed nipple to secure the hose, and remove it after. In fact, that’s the main problem with the olive workaround – its too fiddly!

Yes, the olive locks over the bleed nipple, and is the same principle as the special Shimano clamp that comes with their bleed kit – see black plastic piece at bottom of this photo…

But of course why buy the tools specially made for the job when you can cobble together stuff from a vet, hardware store, pets shop, and your spares bin, and bodge it.

Sometimes I just don’t understand the mentality of us bike owners. We spend rediculous amounts of dosh on bits for the bike just because they are anodised purple, or weight 0.3 grams less than the perfectly good ones that came with it. But then when it comes to maintenance, and something as important as having brakes that work properly, we scavenge around anywhere to avoid buying the kit made for the job with all the parts that fit perfectly and make the job real simple. Yes, its slightly cheaper – but a litre of Shimano mineral oil only costs 14 quid and will probably last the life of the bike (or a few bikes), and the proper Shimano bleed kit above with everything you need costs all of 15 quid.

Really, why all this reverse one-upmanship to see who can get away with the cheapest maintenance products not designed to do the job…

Don’t know of anyone looking to share at the moment, and most of my friends/riding buddies are settled family types like me anyways, but you could try posting on the Perth Mountain Bike Forum[/url]

i used to live in a large shared house. one of the share-ees was from China. no matter how much you tried he wouldn’t discuss anything relating to Tibet. in his opinion it was Chinese territory.

Sounds about as much fun as traveling halfway around the world to study and then being harangued about Northern Ireland by Chinese students who have listened to a couple of U2 albums.

Agree – and you can assume the Chinese student was just too polite to mention British colonial expansion into Africa, India, Hong Kong etc., not to mention what we did to the indigenous populations of North America and Australia when we arrived there!

In fact, over their thousands of years of history, China has been one of the most benign and least aggressive to its neighbours, of any civilisation. In fact – they have been the ones countlessly invaded and humiliated, right up until modern times, which goes some way to explain their current sensitivity to questions of soverignty.

All of which makes the western politicians tendency to scare-monger about Chinese aggression and expansionism all the more two-faced and unpaletable.

Rant over….

Don’t know why people get so wound up about BBs not lasting – they take a lot of stick, and in fact I’m surprised they last as well as they do!

I now treat them as a consumable, and just like chains, cassettes, tyres, suspension seals – mine get changed at the annual service. Afterall, buy off one of the German online shops and they are about the cost of a chain, and we don’t whinge about changing them every so often…

The chain is an XT 10 speed running on a XT 2×10 drivechain and is the correct length – used the big/big method with the air out of the shock and the suspension compressed.

It’s a 2012 XT 2×10 specific front mech.

All good there then, so I’m surprised you’re dropping the chain. I don’t seem to drop chains, unless there’s something wrong with my setup – happened when I had the wrong chainring on a 2×9, and again when I left the clutch on the new Shadow+ ‘off’ by mistake. Maybe I’m just lucky, or don’t ride gnarly enough trails 😉

Anyway, get the GS Shadow+, it should keep ya chain on. Be warned some don’t like the more ‘positve’ gear change action of the plus, though personally I think the XT 2×10 with a Shadow+ is the best drivetrain I’ve experienced – and that’s coming from a doubter, who has been doggedly hanging on to his 9-speed drivetrain for as long as possible!

I’m running 2×10 XT drivetrain, 38/24 up front and 11/36 out back, so slightly larger capacity than you. I use a GS Shadow+ and it works perfectly – and I use all combinations of gears.

However, if you’re dropping the chain regularly on your current setup, maybe there’s something else wrong?

What front mech are you using?

9 speed or 10 speed rings?

Which chain, and is it the correct length (big/big +2)?

Just to add my two cents worth…

I too thought those finned pads were just a marketing gimmick, so I swapped mine for the non finned before I even used the brakes. Darn it if I didn’t get the brakes overheating on every long descent, something expanding so that the pads rubbed the rotors and squealed until they cooled down. Re-fitted the finned pads and problem went away.

Now, I’ve never overheated a brake before, so I tend to think there’s something about these new Shimanos that means they’re prone to heating up – maybe its that they’re super powerful, or that the pistons are ceramic so don’t dissipate the heat thru the caliper – who knows!

So, now I take back what I said about all this “Ice-tec” finned pads and sandwich rotors – I think Shimano have done it for a reason…

would the 29er Trance cover all that?

Maybe, but I haven’t had a chance to try one. My guess is there isn’t a do-it-all bike out there, and you need to have at least a couple to cover a range of riding situations. At least that’s my argument to the wife, and I’m sticking to it 😉

Anyone know the weight of a large?

According to my woefully inaccurate bathroom scales, my ally XL is 13kg with full XT groupset but original heavy Giant wheels (tho’ my XT 29er wheels were ordered last night 😀 )

Yup, I picked up one of the new 2013 ones about a month back. Great value for money like all Giants, quality build, good spec with the new Fox CTD suspension setup, but questionalble taste in frame colours!

It flies on fire trails/rail trails and flowy singletrack, and I’ve been beating all my best times on it. Looking forward to racing it in a four day stage race next week – it should be in its element.

Not so good on close technical stuff, jumps, and winding my way through the trees – find it a bit unwieldy, and still prefer my 26″ Trance in those situations.

It replaced my 26″ XTC hardtail, and I think the combination of 26″ Trance and 29er Anthem gives me everything I need to tackle my usual trials – don’t miss the hardtail at all!

I’d recommend changing the little du bushing in the top of your shock regularly for me once every 5/6 months … just saves the top hat bushes wearing out too all depends how often an where you ride mind

Maestro suspension is known for wearing out those DU bushings rapidly – something about it rotating more than other suspension systems IIRC. Anyway, if you’re replacing them that often maybe you should think about an aftermarket needle bearing kit, or the new 5-piece bushing Fox have gone to for 2013 model bikes in place of the DU bushes. I just replaced the DU bush and aluminium ‘top hats’ on my Trance with one, it doesn’t need special tools, and according to the Fox blurb lasts ten times longer than a DU bush – something to do with those ‘O’ rings in the picture I’d wager…

Neither my XT or SLX do this, but there was a thread on MTBR about it so it must be a commonish problem. Some solutions suggested included bending the spring out so it has more tension, and wrapping an elastic band around the fins.

Thats the bling factor of XT brakes – people pay extra for that shiny chromeness!

Thanks!

I can see some split pins for shimano on ebay but I am wondering if the caliper will accept any of the proper threaded pins instead, anyone tried this yet?

Yes. The SLX calipers have the threads machined into them to accept the XT scew-in pad axles.

They currently have no stock and are quoting 10+ weeks for replacement so am looking at refund and buy somewhere else (LBS!)

I’d be worried the stock in the LBS had been sitting around a while and might be the old ones with the problem. Better to buy off someone with high thruput IMHO – like another online retailer – bike-components.de for example are saying they’ll hve stock in ten days time.

Is this a common problem?

Yep – see here

has it been resolved on the newer versions?

I believe Shimano has improved their hose crimping, so I haven’t seen the issue come up recently – certainly my new XTs don’t have the problem.

Is XT worth the extra cash over the 2013 SLX stuff?

I’ve got full SLX on one bike, and full XT on the other. Is XT worth the difference in price – honestly no. In fact if it were possible to ride blindfold I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. And there was bu@@er all difference in weight too – at least according to my very inaccurate bathroom scales!

But I like having a bike with XT bling on it – it makes me happy – and thats what’s it all about at the end of the day innit?

Same on my 2013 Anthem 29er.

Looking at the Fox master parts lists, you only get 130mm air assm.s so it’s likely to be spaced down (incidentally this uses a 036-01-018 u cup air seal on the air piston if you’re changing that too)

All the above comes with a caveat that that’s all the info that is available to me at the moment, so may not be correct and they maybe special

Thanks LoCo, much appreciated, and disclaimer noted!

At the moment I’d just be happy if I can just get the scraper, but the u cup would be a bonus. I’ll aim for the 036-01-53 then, on the asumption its a spaced down 130.

I’ll run that part number by the folks over here, but if I don’t get any joy from them I may well be taking you up on your kind offer to supply me one!

Cheers.

Ok those should be a 130mm air assm reduced to 125mm with an internal spacer so the code will be 036-01-053 for the 130mm scraper or if it’s an non spacered ‘special’ it maybe 036-01-054, which is the short spec. one. If you’re really stuck I can post you one

Great thanks! I’ll assume its a ‘special’ as it came on a 2011 Giant Trance, and I know Fox make custome sizes/colours for the bike manufacturers…

There are several different spec. scrapers for short and long travel 32mm forks and 36’s, best to call Mojo and they’ll provide the seal you need

Thanks, but as mentioned above, I’m in Australia, and the local distributor isn’t as switched on as Mojo, and has re-directed me to the LBS – who in turn doesn’t have a clue what to do. So, I’m having to step them thru the process, first hurdle of which is to tell’em what to order for my forks… hence me hoping someone has the part number for the new scraper seal on a F32 125mm travel.

Anyone been sent one that has a part number on the bag? Ta

Guess I should mention my forks are 2011 F32 RL O/B 125mm, as no doubt there’s different seal kits for different models!

Have a look around this website here in England.

http://www.mojo.co.uk/servicing.html

Thanks, but couldn’t find it anywhere on there, just dust seal kits and what I assume is the upper air seal, but not the new lower air scraper seal that replaces the foam ring.

Anyone been sent one that has a part number on the bag? Ta

And if your brakes are M666 or M675 and you want the pucker Shimano offering:-

Resin unfinned – G01A
Resin finned – F01A
Sintered unfinned – G03T
Sintered finned – F03C

I’m in Oz and have to get the new seals thru my LBS. But they’ve never heard of the problem and don’t know what to order. So, can anyone help me with the part number for the new seal kit? Thanks.

PS: Don’t know what happened to the link I posted to the MTBR thread above – so here it is again!

Stuff that comes in the Shimano kit is 4mm ID.

Going out to Oz in a few weeks – bit more urban than there tho (Gladstone)

So far, im glad i cant see any of the pics – i aint even good with UK house spiders.

Just to put this thread in perspective, I live in suburban Perth, and the most frightening animal I’ve seen in the last year is a slightly annoyed guinea pig. The people round here however, some of them are real scary…