Ask the experts

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Welp. I pressed in the drive side first nice and square. Guess the sleeve in the middle was off somehow. Pressed in the non drive side and in the process somehow the plastic center sleeve for bunged up. Might have just totally fucked myself.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Miracles were performed. Inner sleeve removed. XT drivetrain swap complete.

For those of you still running sram eagle....XT is like a Porsche and Sram is like a Honda. They both work but one is wayyyyy smoother.

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[rideit]

I can’t tell you how much better the Shimano 12 is. Makes SRAM feel like absolute garbage.

[toast2266]

I can’t tell you how much better the Shimano 12 is. Makes SRAM feel like absolute garbage.

Very true (until it breaks).

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

I mean it shifts so damn easy with very little thumb pressure that it's like there is some secret little motor in the derailleur moving it. It's kinda crazy.

[rideit]

Supposedly Shimano hasn’t pushed forward with their already developed electric mt. Bike group because they felt it wasn’t quite as good as the standard cable. Or something like that.

[rideit]

Very true (until it breaks).

Has anything broken on you? Both of my bikes have been running it flawlessly for two years...

[toast2266]

Has anything broken on you? Both of my bikes have been running it flawlessly for two years...

My xt / xtr setup made it about a month before it started shifting fairly poorly. I think the derailleur might be slightly tweaked, although it looks straight.

It still shifts way better than sram under load, but normal shifts aren't crisp at all.

Anecdotally, I know lots of people with mediocre experiences with 12 speed xt stuff (and, of course, a similar number of people with mediocre experiences with Eagle).

Tldr: everything is terrible. Woe is me.

[rideit]

My sample of 2 are both XTR.
FWIW.

[toast2266]

My sample of 2 are both XTR.
FWIW.

Yeah, I should probably just replace the derailleur with an XTR. I just hate buying expensive derailleurs since I tend to go through a couple of them every season, regardless of quality.

[XXX-er]

My last bike had X9 from 2005 it was good and that was the year shimano was trying to sell us rapid rise the 2nd time

The now 3 yr old 5.5 has shimano XT and its better but everything on the Yeti 5.5 is a generational leap

15 years has to be considered a generation

I think XT is a good performer for the price

[caulfield]

CSI XT: Broke the derailleur hanger bolt on my alloy gg smash last weekend. Seemed acceptable on that trail--the actual part of trail it failed on didn't have anything for me to hit, but I had just finished a section with plenty of rocks to "smash" and deadfall to flip up. While pulling the pieces apart today, I noticed that the lower jockey wheel didn't spin anymore. You can see at like 6 to 8 oclock in the photo the bearing cap thing is bent, which prevents the bearing from rotating freely. Is this a normal result of the carnage when the derailleur comes off under load or could there be some other failure going on?

Just replace the bolt and lower wheel and call it good?

[rideit]

Yes.

[caulfield]

Cool. Next question, who is an expert on finding jockey wheels for shimano 12 speed?

[skizix]

Cool. Next question, who is an expert on finding jockey wheels for shimano 12 speed?

If you search for “pulley” instead of “jockey wheel” (wtf/lol!)...not hard to find. E.g. http://https://www.worldwidecyclery.com/products/shimano-m9100-and-m9120-12-speed-rear-derailleur-pulley-set

[rideit]

$52.00?
Or maybe a sixer of dank beer to your local crusty mechanic?

[skizix]

Sub-parts of high-end parts are always stupid expensive. Consider buying an entire, used, matching RD (ebay etc). Then you’ll have spare parts, for next time you smash things. Sticker shock has driven me to do this exact thing.

[caulfield]

Thanks, searching jockey wheel like I said got me the xtr ones cheaper through treefort but I don't read well and thought 9100 was some totally other thing. Figured it out and ordered them for $38. Buying an slx derailleur might have been smarter, oh well.

I also thought I'd be able to find them locally but it didn't pan out. I tried that before asking you guys...

[SchralphMacchio]

Open steer tube top caps, yay or nay?

Garbaruk gave me one with my cassette, and I’m like, why? Why would I want muck flying into my steer tube? Yeah I get that it’s open at the bottom, but I just don’t see the point of saving at most 1 gram of weight for a hair of bling.

[Terrapin Ben]

I currently have 175mm raceface turbine cranks on my bike. I'd like to try some 170mm to minimize pedal strike. With keeping affordability and durability in mind, in the name of shaving grams - should I consider xt cranks? Or are turbines about as light and durable as alloy cranks come? Thanks!

[rudy]

Sticking with the Raceface theme I need to replace some Aeffect cranks and was leaning towards a pair of SixCs. If you could save $70 and get them from Chain Reaction/UK is it worth the risk if you run into warranty problems? Also, would that require me to get a new bottom bracket and if so, any recommendations on that front?

[SchralphMacchio]

It sounds like you don’t have any care to keep your current BB and chainring, or any opinions on their interfaces?

Is your frame press fit or threaded?

II’m sure other experts have strong opinions on the best BB and chainring interfaces if you are starting from scratch.

[El Chupacabra]

Sticking with the Raceface theme I need to replace some Aeffect cranks and was leaning towards a pair of SixCs. If you could save $70 and get them from Chain Reaction/UK is it worth the risk if you run into warranty problems? Also, would that require me to get a new bottom bracket and if so, any recommendations on that front?

The SixC is a 30mm "cinch" spindle, isn't it? The Aeffects are 24mm, so you would need a new bottom bracket if you switch to the SixC.

If you have a press fit bottom bracket (BB92, for example), I would probably not swap to a 30mm spindle crankset. I have that setup on one bike (30mm spindle RF Turbine crank, PF92 BB), and while it works so far, I don't have high hopes of longevity due to the tiny bearings in that BB configuration.

[westoxified]

so i fancy myself a bit of an expert and decided to open up my super deluxe for its 50 hour service. let the air out, remove the schrader valve to be certain and then unscrew the air can. slide it off and the bottom out o-ring just falls off the damper shaft. pick it up and it has a perfect cut. what the eff!? i guess my weekend will now be spent on my single speed.

so a full damper service and rebleed i guess. how did this happen? does the o-ring get damaged from excessive bottoming out? i guess i could have been riding it like this for a while. it was feeling like grabage.

[SchralphMacchio]

Open steer tube top caps, yay or nay?

Garbaruk gave me one with my cassette, and I’m like, why? Why would I want muck flying into my steer tube? Yeah I get that it’s open at the bottom, but I just don’t see the point of saving at most 1 gram of weight for a hair of bling.

I’m gonna expert myself here-
Nay.

It totally exposes the star nut and cap bolt to all kinds of crud. Yes, I properly seal my threads with grease, but still, I don’t need all the muck that ends up on my face to also end up on my star nut and cap bolt.

Anyone want a blingy Garbaruk spoked steer tube top cap?