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Hello to all,
I was hoping for a bit of advice for a cash-strapped biker please.
Basically I have a 2013 Whyte T129. It's been a great bike, which I've updated with some better stoppers and a dropper, but in general that's all.
The gearing (from standard) is a sram 2x10 set up. It's been ok, a bit temperamental at times but pretty sound. Plus I've crashed and tanked it loads so I can't whinge.
Sadly my front derailleur snapped on a recent trip to Cannock, and I need to get it fixed so I'm back on my wheels. I was hoping for a new bike this year, but life has put the kibosh on that so I see this derailleur balls up as an opportunity to ditch the 2x10 and go 1x11 and hopefully get a couple more years out of the Whyte.
I've looked on CRC and can see that a groupset would be about £200 which, whilst cheaper than a new bike, I could do without spending.
I'm not a complete idiot, but I'm still pretty dense at bike knowledge, so before I fork out my hard-earned, I was wondering if anyone can advise me on any alternative options to replacing the lot.
Many thanks in advance and sorry if this is a well discussed subject that I really should know about!
Matt
Quickest?
Ride the bike as it is
Next Up?
N/W Ring up front
Then?
Either Expander Cog or Wider Range 10sp
After that?
The whole lot
DId exactly that with my 2014 one - front mech and shifter off, NW 30t ring onto the existing cranks, expander cog (40t) out back - doable for under £50.
You might get away without the hop up cog for a while, so Mikes order is spot on. Not sure I'd bother going 11 speed till mech and/or shifter broke, and even then I'd be on Ebay first for the broken bit.
Buy a better bike 🙂 Hi Matt.
As per MikeWSmith.... Assuming your cassette is good...
I'd start off just rip off the mech and shifter and add a NW 30T ... then expander for 40-42..
(That's what I did on my 2015 T-130 anyway)
I've never heard of someone breaking a front derailleur before, how did you manage it?
I went 1x8 on my spare bike after I snapped the trigger off the front front shifter. removed the granny and big ring to start with and used a chain device to start with, then upgraded to a narrow-wide ring, finally upgraded to a shadow+ clutch mech.
Uberbike NW chainring about £20, Sunrace MS3/Shimano Deore HG500 11-42 £35, plus chain say £15.
£70 total for 1x10. Not quite as cheap as suggestions already but you could get all that together off here slightly used for less
Presuming your rear mech can manage 42t on cassette.
Top notch solutions Thanks loads. I struggled to ride it as it is so I deffo need to do some sourcing on your other options. ta very much indeed mikewsmith
rascal I'd love to, but I'm brassic.
stevextc great advice. Thanks. Looks like this is a good way for me to go.
ballsofcottonwool To be honest I'm not sure how I did it! I hadn't hit anything, I don't think so anyway. I don't know the terminology but the metal plate that connects the pulling section to the cage that touches the chain, has snapped. Christ knows how.
dukeduvet Thanks for the detail. Gives me something to order. I have no idea if my rear cassette can handle a 42t?
What rear mech have you got / is it a clutch mech?
Thanks to all of you for the advice. Gives me what I need to get it sorted. Ta much.
I have one of those on my hardtail with an 11-42 sunrace cassette and it has enough range to hit all the gears. It’s a white X9 mech that came on a bike running 2x10.
I was running Shimano X2 10 speed, and purchase 30t nw chainring from uberbike, second hand sunrace 11-42 from here, chain and I picked up a cheap Chinese rear mech extender from eBay. All for just under £50. All running sweet.
joebristol Mine's black but was running 2x10.
I'm not sure if my mech can handle 42T really, but I've got to give it all a go. I need to be out riding!
Ive run 1x10 on sram for the last 3 years. In that time two expensive sram clutch mechs have given up.
So I bit the bullet and Mrs ws frowned but I just dumped 260 quid on a full slx 1x11spd drive train fully fitted by the lbs. That consisted of new bb, new Slx chainset with 32t nw, rear mech and shifter and the pretty trick looking 11-46 cassete. I personally thought that was a bargain and after much shopping around on the internet I just couldn't justify beating his price so I handed over the cash!
rascal I’d love to, but I’m brassic.
stevextc great advice. Thanks. Looks like this is a good way for me to go.
ballsofcottonwool To be honest I’m not sure how I did it! I hadn’t hit anything, I don’t think so anyway. I don’t know the terminology but the metal plate that connects the pulling section to the cage that touches the chain, has snapped. Christ knows how.
dukeduvet Thanks for the detail. Gives me something to order. I have no idea if my rear cassette can handle a 42t?
If you're completely brassic then you can just fit a new front mech ... I've got stacks of Shimano ones pretty much spare but I don't know how the pull ratio's are on front mech's (on rear the SRAM/SHIM is different)
If that works with your existing shifter you can have it for postage...
Chance is someone will have a spare SRAM one they pulled off though... gets you back riding for minimum cost.
If you can scrape together the extra then going 1x is at least getting you somewhere for the money.
Take the opportunity to go 1x10 as the cheapest longer-term solution. I've just done exactly that with a Sunrace MS3 11-42 cassette for £40 off Amazon (because Prime got me "free" next day delivery) and an RSP chainring and KMC X10 chain for £25 and £15 (from Merlin on the way home from work).
Got me back up and running in a day, saved some weight and simplified gear selection. Thought I'd miss the front mech but it was only afterwards I really noticed I'd been spending most of my time dancing around the same ratios across the two chainrings anyway. Baptism of fire with a 47 miler in the Peak District two days later, and although the jumps between gears can be bigger I quickly got used to it.
If you've not done a lot of spannering on the bike and are unsure what you're up against, there's loads of clear howto's on YouTube from the likes of GMBN and MBR..
Getting a cheapie replacement 2x front mech clearly would be the cheapest option here - per Stevextc’s suggestion. Hadn’t thought of suggesting that. Just wondering what I did with the front one I took off my last bike where I went 1x10.
Just found it - thrhink it’s a direct / too Mount front mech. X9 - from a 2014/2015 Boardman Pro FS (the silver and green one). You can have it for free if you like - it’s no good to anyone sat in my box of spare bike bits.
wrightyson That was my original thinking but I really could do with saving some dough. It's all going in the Jodrell to be put on a new bike in the next year or so.
cuyahoga That's what I was planning on doing too. I've read an amazon review that the Sunrace cassettes can be a bit rough and noisy? What's your experience so far, please? I'm a bit concerned that I won't get compatible kit and balls it up mind. Still you've gotta have a go at these things sometimes.
stevextc and joebristol That's very kind of you guys. If you don't mind I just want to cost a couple of things up and then I may take you up on your generous offer and tap you up for a spare mech if possible? I'll buy you a massive beer!
I’ve read an amazon review that the Sunrace cassettes can be a bit rough and noisy?
Not mine. I'm not sure I'd trust one review on Amazon - any cassette will be rough and noisy if it isn't set up properly.
I’ve read an amazon review that the Sunrace cassettes can be a bit rough and noisy? What’s your experience so far, please?
Not something I've encountered with mine - if anything it's quieter than the old Shimano cassette, no more or less smooth, and there's now more noise coming from the freehub whirr because I cleaned that out whilst I was there. One review in isolation doesn't tell you much - did they re-use a knackered old chain, do they know how to index gears, or is it possibly related to them not having adjusted the rear mech position in relation to the now dinner plate-sized cassette, perhaps?
Bottom line: I'm happy with mine and the combination of the wide range and ditching the front mech has very subtly taken away a bunch of things to have to think about while riding, giving me more time to either admire the scenery or work out how to avoid smashing into that rock ...
joebristol and cuyahoga your reviews are all I need to go down this route and get it sorted. Thanks a lot for the knowledge. Without it I may have bought the wrong kit and not known any better.