MtnBikeRiders.com

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

The big boys are making their pitch: 3×9 is dead. It’s all about the 2×10. But are you buying it? Switching over from 3×9 to 2×10 can be an expensive proposition. You are basically at the point of having to change out your whole drivetrain:
- Derailleurs
- Shifters
- Crank
- Cassette
- Chain

Only recently have we even begun to see cranks and cassette offerings that are in the budget of the normal man. Before that, SRAM only had the XX with the 10 speed cassette and as lightweight and appealing as it may be I am not dropping $300+ on a cassette. SRAM did show off the X.0, X.9 & X.7 groupo’s with 2×10 at Sea Otter but a quick google search shows me that much of the X.7 stuff is selling for about 50% more than their 3×9 counterparts. Ouch.

Beautiful XX cassette goes for over $300

Shimano has the 10 speed stuff down through their SLX line up available to purchase right now you are still looking at a 50% price increase. It would be like purchasing SLX stuff at the price of XT. Shimano did keep the triple crankset up front but my understanding is that if you go 10 speed in the rear, you will need to go with their Dyna-Sys lineup.

But beyond price, how many of us mortals can actually push a 2×10 through our rides? I occasionally ride my SS and I can tell you that I am very careful which rides I bring that bike on. If it has too many climbs, I’m bringing my geared bike. A few years ago I had a 1×9 as my main bike and even though I got a stronger I was still killing myself on the climbs and of course the 2+ hour rides were out of question as I would be walking more than riding.

Shimano is going 10 speed but with a special triple crankset

Even one of my good friends who competes in 12 hour rides prefers to keep his 3×9 for that extra gear when he hits the climbs late in his race.

I have to admit, the bling factor is definitely there especially for those high end builds and the weight savings would probably be nice. But I would rather spend XT money and get XT stuff rather than spend XT money to get an SLX 3×10 drivetrain.

Are you making the move to 10 speeds in the rear? If you are, what are your reasons for it?

Popularity: 2% [?]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Before I get to the pictures I’ve got to give props to the crew at Rocky Mountain. They had a great group at Sea Otter. I got a chance to meet Andreas, Alex & Joanne and they were really good people. Joanne, the super engineer, and I had a good time discussing the numbers behind the new 29er bikes. OK, without further adieu:

VERTEX 29

The Vertex 29 is a logical progression from the super popular SS Hammer. Joanne said that she kept some of the same geometry numbers from the Hammer because of the high praise she received when researching the design. What sets the Vertex apart from other HT 29ers are a few things:

Built in rack mounts for those interested in off road touring (think Great Divide Race)

Direct mount front derailleur allowed the designers to widen the seat tube bottom bracket junction making for a stiff bottom bracket area

Shimano’s BB92 pressed in bottom bracket means larger diameter tubing for strength

Angled welds at the chainstay and seatstay are stronger than welds going straight

And, what seems to be all the rage these days, 1.125 to 1.5 inch tapered head tubes for more stiffness

ALTITUDE 29

Many of the Vertex 29 design elements were carried over to the Altitude 29 as well. But the full suspension Altitude 29 has a couple of major changes.

The “kink” in the Seat Tube gets the STA to 76* and allows for clearance of up 2.3″ rubber

- 76* seat tube angle. Most 29er full suspension bikes run STA under 74.5, but when shock is set up properly, the STA drops approximately 2 degrees on seated climbs. Rocky Mountain’s thinking is this: when sagged STA is sagged to 72*ish, the rider’s seated climbing is going to be done on the nose of the saddle. By using a 76* STA, a rider’s seated climbing will sag to a more comfortable 74*. While descending a rider pushes their weight over the rear tire making the STA irrelevant.

Rocky Mountain’s Smoothlink Suspension: keeps the pivot above the rear axle at all points of travel

- the long and short of the Smoothlink Suspension is that it gives a flatter suspension rate for a more bottomless feel while also minimizing suspension bob.

Lastly, what you see in the pictures is the probable parts spec: wheels will be 15mm ta XT hubs laced to Stan’s Arch 29, Fox F29 w/FIT, RP23, Race Face cranks, Easton cockpit parts and Formula brakes. These two bikes are 2010 models and are not currently on Rocky Mountain’s website. Thanks again to Rocky Mountain for the time spent discussing their new 29ers.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Would I add to or bling out the fleet?

Discretionary money is such a beautiful thing for those who have it. I don’t and because of that I don’t run across this question very often, if ever. With a homemaker wife, two kids under 4 and absolutely no mechanical skills whatsoever I’m thankful I am able to keep my 2 bikes in working order. Also, with a small two car garage and semi-pack rat tendencies, finding room for the bikes gets to be a problem. But I’m sure there are a few of you out there that have debated this question and have developed passionate feelings towards your decision.

Some people actually have this many bikes in their garage

Some people have a more utilitarian view towards mountain bikes. The bike should work and as long as it works the parts on the bike will stay. If a part breaks, then replace with comparable part, not better. No need to upgrade whatever is working fine. The flip side to having bikes that just plain work is that you can spend your discretionary money on having more bikes. Choosing to stick with stock means that cash can be accumulated for bigger purchases like different types of bikes: hardtail, SS, XC FS, DJ, DH, AM… None of these bikes will make you stop and stare as they pass by, but the sheer quantity of the bikes will make your head spin.

Chris King Hubs

If, on the other hand, the rider prefers to spend money on their bike rather than on new bikes, you get the rider who has bling bikes instead. The original bike probably started off as a perfectly functioning bike with a solid parts spec, think Deore or X.7. But watch out! Shortly after the owner gets their hands on the bike you start seeing the carbon handlebars, XTR and Chris King hubs. These bikes make you stop in your tracks and take another look if for no other reason than to guess how much money went into the bike. What this means though, is that instead of having a lot of bikes, the rider may only have a couple really nice ones.

Then there are those who are uber rich, or still don’t understand credit, and have lots of blinged out bikes. We won’t be discussing them.

Moots Ti HT, Blinged out via Aspire Velo Tech

Maybe I’m generalizing a bit much but in my experience this is sort of what I’ve seen. There are moderates, of which I fall into (OF COURSE), but they’re not as much fun to discuss. And although none of these methods are wrong both camps have riders that fiercely defend their purchasing habits as the “right” way. They get all prickly when asked why their methods are questioned or compared to the other method, which of course makes this debate interesting.

If I had a choice would I add to or bling out the fleet? Both, always both.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

An email… innocent enough, sent me on a chase.

The email: 2008 XTR Brakes, and a link. Tim Scissors knew I was building up a frame and needed parts so when he saw the XTR brakes he immediately emailed it to me. When I got the email I went directly to the website. I read the sale information and was amazed to see the price: $240 for BRAND NEW XTR brakes being sold by a local rider. Two rotors were included with one being brand new and one slightly used, both 160mm. That, to me, was a really good price. Add to it that private party sales almost demand negotiating and this could be a real get!

My pulse began pounding as I began racking my brain. Up to that point I had only been considering XT or SLX brakes for my FS 29er bike build. I was turned onto SLX brakes after riding the Kona King Kahuna. The SLX brakes have been very impressive: powerful, smooth, with great modulation and consistency. I liked them so much I sold my other hydro brakes and was in the process of finding some Shimano brakes to put on the new build.

So when the XTR link came across my email box, I was very excited. I immediately started looking at my spreadsheet of prices I for the XT brakes and compared it to the cost of the XTR brakes. The cheapest prices I found for the XT were just under $210 brand new (not on ebay) and for the XTR I found them for $246 but they were not in the U.S. These prices were significantly cheaper than any place in the U.S. due to the dollar being strong against that country’s currency. The only reason why I had not pulled the trigger on the XT brakes before was because they were out of stock on the front left lever. But now, I figured that if I could get XTR brakes for anything under $220 I was going to come out ahead.

I quickly emailed the seller and asked him for $200, shipping included. He was local but still a good hour drive away. I also told him the lowest price I saw so I could give him a reference point for my offer. He countered back with $210 but I was starting to get cold feet. Two factors really did it in for me: The first issue came about because the seller finally posted pictures of the brakes. In the description the seller didn’t mention that the brakes were IS mount. That meant I had to buy a separate adapter for the front brake which, although not a big issue, would increase my cost another $10. This meant I would be paying about $20 more than the XT which are only sold as Post Mount. It also wouldn’t look as clean. I admit, I can be vain about these things.

The second issue arose when I then started doing some research. I chatted with some friends who rode Shimano brakes and many of them agreed that XTR brakes are not as strong as XT brakes. One friend said the difference was not significant but since I do weigh about 40 lbs more than him it might be an issue for me. Slowly, the thrill of the chase for XTR brakes began diminishing.

After coming so close to sending this local guy $210 for the XTR brakes I ended up going back to my original plan. I sent the seller an email telling him I changed my mind and wished him luck on the sale. I was definitely bummed about this but I knew this was the right decision for me.

I know that I’m not the only one that finds researching parts, finding the best deals and watching the sales ads exciting. Although this chase ended without a purchase, I know I have many more opportunities as with each component I need to purchase comes the opportunity for the thrill of the chase.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

One of our readers, Randall had recently bought some goods to upgrade his Specialized Rockhopper from 8spd to 9spd. He was able to purchase most of his parts from Pricepoint.com.

His current set up and new parts.

SRAM X-9 Front Derailleur (bottom pull)

SRAM X-9 Rear Derailleur

SRAM X-9 Trigger shifters

SRAM 990 9spd cassette (for MTB Wheelset)

SRAM 970 9spd cassette (for Road Wheelset – commuting purposes).

His old set up was around 28lbs.

First thing I did was remove his wheels, then his old parts like this Alivio rear derailleur. I also removed all his chain, cables and housing.

He bought some new SRAM X9 shifter pods and an older XTR brake lever, so that meant the old stuff came off.

Looks pretty bare. While the bike was stripped, I went ahead and cleaned it up. Degreased the chain rings, wiped down the frame and removed any dirt from the bike.

Then I started to install the new stuff along with the cables and housing.

Here’s the drive train looking sexy with its new SRAM goodness!

I then installed the rest of the cables, the new wheels and tuned up the bike. That included adjusting the derailleurs, the brakes as well as the angle of the levers and shifters on the bars. Here’s the final product.

Oooh its still nice and clean…

Like my cable job? I wanted to make sure that it was visually appealing by trying to get it as symmetrical as I could.

I installed new brake cables and housing on the bike, so basically this old rig felt like it was right out of the box.

Check out how much weight his bike lost…it now weighs 25.5lbs…not bad!

I’d like to thank Randall Robinson for letting us the project with his bike. And last time I checked with him and his bike, they are a happy couple!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Bookmark It

Hide Sites