 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I think I want to upgrade my front mech to XT but I dunno if ill notice the difference enough. Your experiences please?
Also went for a ride today with a couple of really intense and technical downhills and I just wasn't convinced my brakes were pulling enough. Had a few "**** me I could've done with slowing down a bit more there", subsequent accident would've been 20ft drop down the side of a rooty/tree ridden slope and it nearly happened at one point because I didn't slow down enough and overshot on some roots.
Could I put some different rotors/pads in there, would that make much of a difference?
Upgrading from what to XT? From SLX,no you won't be able to tell a lot of difference, from Alivio to XT yes probably. What may make more of a difference is going from old mech with iffy pivots (worn and loose or old and seized as appropriate) to shiney new one which works fine.
.
Different pads will be noticable. Most powerful I have found are EBC Redstuff but life expectancy is very short, best balance of power and life for me is the Alligator ones. Try these before messing about with rotors/adaptors/etc
Mechs don't make much difference. Refreshing an old system, including new cables, could make a big difference.
Bleeding the brakes would be a start. Technique also has a big impact. Apologies if you are already pretty competent. After that new pads then bigger rotors.
Yeah it is Alivio. Front mechs aren't too expensive so may just order me one now.
Ill look into pads first then...
I do think my front brake could do with a bleed. Rear brake feels nice and sharp still but I hardly use it...perhaps front pad is wearing out...felt lifeless today compared to before. What techniques are there? I'm probably doing something wrong lol.
Bradley try zip tying the brakes levers to the bars overnight..... Give the calipers and brake hoses a few taps periodically. This will help to purge any air out of the system. Make sure hose is as vertical as possible! For the rear stick bike upright if you can.
When releasing the zip ties allow the levers to extend back slowly.
May not help if you have loads of air or old fluid but this method always firms up my brakes loads.
When you brake, push down on your heels.
Also check the thickness of the rotor, if worn replace - I just swapped out an Avid one that had 'lost' 40g and about a 25% of thickness.
Front mechs do one hell of a job, a good one makes a massive difference. It's not like a rear shifting a tooth at a time. Just look how a front mech drains the electronic systems (or did on early ones)The better ones not surprisingly are made better and offer better shifting.
I went from a Deore LX to an XT. The difference is quite noticeable. I go out of my way to find excuses to shift at the front now as it's such a pleasure to use.
Could anyone help me identify which XT front mech I would need to replace my Alivio one? Shimano M431 Alivio 9S is my current front mech...thanks in advance 🙂
I will try the zip-tie trick tomorrow after work once I get some ties from work. I think I might buy a shimano bleed kit aswell, has anyone used a specific kit, are they helpful or could I sort a DIY jobby just as good?
if the wire goes along the top tube and down to the mech
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-xt-m750-top-swing-front-mech/rp-prod36837
if it goes down the down tube and up to the mech
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-xt-m771-conventional-9sp-front-mech/rp-prod20685
but make sure you get the one for your seat tube diameter
EDIT: for braking power, if your fork has clearance, sling one of these on while they're cheap 😆
http://www.merlincycles.com/bike-shop/mtb-parts/brakes/disc-brakes/sram-avid-disc-brakes/avid-elixir-5-disc-brake.html
I've got a 203 on the front of my hardtail and it knows when I want to stop! You get over the fact it looks a little silly when you have that much braking power and control
What difference are you hoping that upgrading a front mech is going to make? Personally I'd be surprised if I could tell the difference between the various different models. Either it moves the chain between the rings or it doesn't...
As for the brakes, is the problem that the lever is spongy and pulls all the way to the bar, or is it firm but ineffective? If it's the latter, it's a problem with the pads and/or disc, not air in the system so zip ties and bleeding won't help.
I found that XT ones didn't cope with winter salt and grit very well and seem to have a limited life more money and less robust for no discernible improvement
Front Mech? Replace when it's broken for me.
Brakes - Clean rotors, bleed brakes and maybe replace the pads.
If you want a power boost then either a bigger surface area rotor or bigger rotors (or both)
After that look at how you use your brakes.
I'm kinda with you guys on replace when broken. It shifts fine as is so host really wrong, I just like shiny bits.
Ill try all the other things regards brakes before I buy a new one. The bike is only 4 months old so may just need a bleed...
Changing to SLX double ring version was really massive upgrade from XT triple, apart from that I haven't really noticed much difference in front mechs.