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I seem to be getting through them rather quicker than than my bank account can handle, anybody else ?
Maybe just a co-incidence but I was getting much better life out of mechs pre clutch.
I've been using Type 2 mechs and the mech itself is as durable as the old ones, but the clutch keeps failing.
Had one with the classic knocking sound on suspension compress. I put that on the hard tail and problem went away so got another for the full sus. After a year it started locking forward at times on rough descents and the chain would drop off. Wasn't the lock button doing it but the clutch sticking. I needed it sorting fast and a service looks like much hassle, so I bought another one. I might still service it at some point though.
The jockeys wear fast, but they always did with SRAM anyway. Once they've turned into throwing stars I usually replace with KCNC ceramic bearing ones and they last ages plus shed mud better.
I've killed 3 in two years, about 1500 miles of riding.
2 x Zee, 1 x X9.
They're all wrong from an engineering pov. Where's all that extra tension being transferred to? Yup
I have killed two in 36 miles ! a SLX and an XT
I would like to try a zee anybody know if they have the capacity to run with 11:36 and double ?
I've found them pretty much the same as usual - the clutch mechanism itself in the XT can break (but then they just function like a normal mech) and the bottom jockey wheel seems to wear fast but otherwise they've been really good.
yes, the wide ratio Zee mech can be run with your 11:36 cassette. I don't know with a double chain ring though.
I've gone through 2 Zee mechs in 20 miles but my chain tension was too tight on the first one and then the second one my chain got caught in the spokes and it sheared away.
not too impressed with the robustness but theyre cheap
I find it's the Shadow-ness of the Shimano ones that is weaker, not the clutch. I switched to a Zee because the cages on normal mechs were getting far too long and it's been fine.
the cages on normal mechs were getting far too long and it's been fine.
yip it may well be the shadow part and not the clutch, the cages do seem to bend more easily and this has been a problem, but the slx failed catastrophically.
On my original Zee, been great so far (touch wood).
If they fail without getting smashed on something, are they covered by a warranty?
If they fail without getting smashed on something, are they covered by a warranty?
I am going through the warranty process for the XT with CRC. Of coarse I just threw out all the boxes and the CRC return paperwork so it's taking a while, to be honest I would like new mech under warranty, but I went through the process to flag it and also to see if their is a general problem with them.
I've had 3 zees fail, one of which I still had receipt and got replaced by crc. I don't think £40 is particularly cheap for a mech, especially when having to buy new ones as clutches have stopped working, or in one case the cage got completely twisted/snapped after a flimsy twig went through it.
Very poor product.
After a year it started locking forward at times on rough descents and the chain would drop off. Wasn't the lock button doing it but the clutch sticking. I needed it sorting fast and a service looks like much hassle, so I bought another one. I might still service it at some point though.
This is just due to corrosion forming in the clutch mechanism and stopping the cage from springing back. You can fix it by just removing the cover from the clutch mechanism ,dribling a bit of chain oil over the clutch mechanism and moving th ecage back and forth a few times, it should free up nicely.
I had this problem 3 miles into a 90 mile weekend away in sunny mallorca , fixed at the side of the trail luckily, and then bent it on a rock 80 miles later on the last day, so now its being binned/kept for spares.
The zees do seem flakey... TBH a lot of it seems to be that people think they're a sort of cheaper Saint, when they're effectively SLX- so they put them on gravity bikes then break them. I reckon the other half is that they're a mix of SLX and Saint (of various vintage) parts which makes some bits tough, but could put a lot of stress on the SLX bits- and obviously the mech is as strong as its weakest part
MBR had some interesting words on the development of these mechs which has made me think twice about lusting after one:
http://www.mbr.co.uk/news/bike_news/size-matters-part-3-bicycle-geometry-sucks/
About half way down:
Another nice little illustration of how the industry works is the clutch mech and thick/thin chainring nonsense. When a rear suspension system moves through its arc it requires chain growth – which is accommodated for by the rear mech. So, if we ‘clutch’ that rear mech, we are adding a friction damper to the rear suspension system. Again we make the suspension a bit worse, but this time to keep the chain on? Which it doesn’t fully achieve anyway. That’s hardly a win/win situation, is it? Try a rough downhill run with the chain removed to feel how good the rear suspension can be, and how much faster the bike goes without motive power! Since writing this Neko Mulally did exactly that at the World’s when a mechanical issue turned into his best result ever – watch it for yourself in the video below.
For those that don't know, Shimano components are covered by a 2 year warranty, I see no reason why this wouldn't cover the clutch mechanism, you should use it.
XTR also covered under warranty for 3 years
The clutch mechanism broke in mine after 4months, CRC replaced it no problem. Next one mysteriously bent itself in a race. Both XT medium cage.
Previous XT mechs have lasted me much longer, so yes! Less robust in my experience.
Tbh, that MBR article is pretty terrible- the forces involved in a clutch mech are very small, negligible in terms of suspension. This sort of feedback sometimes becomes an issue with big forces- pedal strokes, braking- and here we're talking about a resistance that you can overcome with a pinkie. And which in any case works totally in tandem with the shock. If you think it's an issue, reduce the damping settings by, ooh, basically nothing to counter it. It's theoretically true but in practice irrelevent- like worrying about the drag in your pedal bearings.
Neko Mulally's talked a lot about his race run chainless, he basically says it caused him to ride differently- nothing to do with the suspension working better, all to do with the rider.
Good read that Plython, agree with a lot of what Chris is saying, especially the toptube/seattube ratio.
Mine been running fine just short of 2 years now, what I loved about it originally was the lack of chain suck on my 1x10 setup, [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/15253377@N00/13980284885/ ]wore my chainring down without a sign of it[/url], hoping it'll still be as good running 2x10