 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
So after a very successful couple of experiments on longer/rougher but ostensibly still 'gravel' rides on the 29er (all hail Mezcal tyres!) I think I want to tweak the setup to make it better still.
Gearing is the main thing, with a 36 tooth, 11-42 cassette 1x setup I was missing gears at both ends, and it's noisy at the extremes. I'm sure a current gen 1x setup with a dinner plate cassette might address that a little, but since the bike was originally 2x I think I'd rather utilise this and give myself all the gears in the world with no compromises 😎
2x MTB groupsets are unsurprisingly thin on the ground though, in fact all I can find is 2x XT on AliExpress for quite an attractive price, although I would actually be tempted to swap out the 170mm 36/26Â chainset with a 165mm 38/28 Deore chainset I found.
Any other deals I'm missing? Am sure I could piece it together out of boutique aftermarket stuff but this is supposed to be a cheap option instead of n+1...
I'm getting thoroughly confused by what Shimano is doing with CUES, but its U8000 groupset is supposedly a direct replacement for the old XT T8000 treking kit (which would make CUES U6000 equivalent to the Deore T6000 treking kit).
I've been eyeing up CUE U8000/U6000 as a gravel groupset but they include mountain bike style doubles & singles. They might be worth a look. There are options for 2x11 46/32 & 11-45 or 36/22 & 11-45 with shifters or brifters.
https://bike.shimano.com/products/components.series_cues.seriesGeneration_cues_u8000&cues_u6000.html
-- Edit --
I've just had a quick look on the Shimano website & they're still showing XT 2x12 & Deore 2x11 options (ridiculously cheap on AliExpress if they're genuine).
I've just had a quick look on the Shimano website & they're still showing XT 2x12 & Deore 2x11 options (ridiculously cheap on AliExpress if they're genuine).
Yes, I still don't quite know how much to trust AliExpress, the two items I've purchased (TPU tubes and a knock-off carbon fibre Power saddle) have been perfectly decent quality, but that doesn't mean it's genuine. I find it hard to believe they would knock of entire groupsets though, too many bits to get wrong etc?
I did briefly look at CUES but like you found it all a bit baffling and didn't really know what to make of quality. Reassuring to hear it's not all Acera or Altus level at least!
Reassuring to hear it's not all Acera or Altus level at least!
Originally I think that the intention was to combine all the sub-Deore groupsets (which I think is what CUES U4000 is) but U8000 & U6000 clearly are higher level stuff (there are Di2 U8000 components). It's sold as trekking kit so I don't know how well it'd hold up if you're tough on it. There's even 2x11 XT Linkglide now.
Was going to suggest CUES as well, it seems more or less what it's aimed at. But it's a whole groupset system, you can't just buy a mech and have done with it.
The point of CUES was to take all the "lower tier" groupsets which have historically relied on trickle down tech from top level and repackage everything. Since all the top level stuff is gradually going electronic, you can't rely on trickle down for the lower tier stuff any more so it sort of made sense to re-invent it all.
I have to say though, it's been one of the most confusing product launches ever. Teased and trailed endlessly, half released (initially with flat bar only options, not drop bar) and then just sort of gradually released as OEM parts. Even most shops don't seem to know much about it.
Â