Why is it there has been a real scarcity in silver MTB parts for such a long time* - particularly in the components that tend to get marked up during installation and use. I’m particularly thinking cranks, mechs, seatposts, bars, fork stanchions but also mean accompanying hubs, rims, stems, grip clamps, etc.
It can’t just be a fashion thing lasting for so long can it and surely it can’t be much more (if at all) to manufacture silver rather than black to make it cost prohibitive.
Is it too conspiracy theorist to assume it’s exactly that wear that makes us buy replacement parts and keeps the bike trade in consumer balance?
* I’m aware silver can be had but is typically boutique brands or very budget (plastic) rather than mid/high end mass produced metal components.
I agree. It's a really dumb idea to take an aluminium component that's going to get scuffed and scraped and put a black coating on it. It seemed to start back in the 1990s.
It makes good sense to use whatever coating works on stanchions… and that isn’t going to be clear.
I’m with you on everything else though… black rims showing all the rock scrapes… black cranks showing all the pedal strikes… black spokes showing the wear and tear of rubbing together… black coil shock bodies showing coil rub… aluminium pedals for crying out loud!
JUST MAKE THEM SILVER!
I have no genuine ideas why, but could it be that the black anodising is used to disguise manufacturing marks on aluminium such as discoloration from heat-treating?
It may be possible to polish marks out of the metal but I can well imagine that it would be a lot more expensive and time consuming than anodising.
I would love a nice shiny pair of XT cranks though.
I've always preferred silver, thus the 10 speed XT cranks I use, bought off here for £25 in 2018, the 18 year old Hope hubs on the monstercross that still look new, and the new rear wheel I'm about to install built up with silver hub and spokes.
But I'm also one of those odd people who actually likes scuffed, worn components - scarred mechs, cranks with the anodising rubbed off, scratched frames. These are all memories. I've never understood the invisiframe thing.
How silver would you like?
I spent a while on component choice for an all-silver look, but didn't get around to sanding the XTR cranks.
I did have light-grey Michelin tyres for a while too.
I love silver parts, my previous bike was a mix of black and silver and it looked great. What I really want is a raw/polished frame and a mix of silver & kashima/copper coloured parts to go on it.
Reverse Components do all their stuff in silver, looks awesome. Halo also do silver wheel sets.
Silver cranks and chainrings just look way better and it makes sense, I hated it when the industry decided rims and spokes and fork stanchions should be black, silver hubs also look way classier than black, I always went with the silver option for XT cranks and rear mech and really wish they would bring the option back, I've got an old 9sp XTR shifter in my spares bin with the silver bar clamp and lever and it looks so much nicer than my current one. It's time to lose the obsession with black, just look at Loic Bruni's fork from this weekend, lovely bit of kit.
My white Ragley HT has silver hubs, bash, stem, grip ends, pedals and seat clamp - mostly just Nukeproof stuff.
I've broken up the all the monotonous black on my Levo with a few silver bits too - well, it already had silver calipers and AXS bits, so added silver fork decals, stem and silver/black pedals - might add a silver Cascade link
In the retro game any early XT, DX or LX parts in black are highly sought after as silver was the default back then.
People seem to like boring bikes in boring colours. Just mention anodising in a thread and see what reaction you get! Boring black, grey or silver frames with boring black parts.
I imagine the simple answer is sales. If shiny silver sold as well as black we'd get more options, as we used to.
The irony is that most silver parts are anodised silver. There are very few raw aluminium parts, mainly because raw oxidises and goes dull and flat.
Double post.
PNW have silver dropper posts.
I would prefer silver for some components. Drivetrain and brakes definitely. Bars, stem and seatpost maybe not. Hubs and spokes yes, rims no.
Disappointed Shimano stopped doing their silver components. Looked fresh and scratch free for way longer. Dirt didn't show up as much either. I guess going black was dictated by market forces rather than internal choice. The recent limited edition GRX groupset looked really nice.
And what's up with black titanium saddle rails and bottle cages that get scratched to hell straight away? Just why?
Which generation of Shimano? The silver painted stuff looked awful pretty quickly. The clear coated or bare stuff looks great for ever. That's what they need to bring back, even if it costs more (just use it on the high sale price stuff if that is the case).
I was thinking of the XT finish like montgomery's cranks up the page. That's fairly hard wearing.
I just bought one of the PNW silver droppers for my HB130 build, but I got the wrong size! They didn't have any 30.9mm left in stock which is a shame because it was a lovely looking thing!
Apart from the green bits, I've gone for mostly silver components.
