Is a highend drivetrain like XTR or XX1 worth the price?

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phathucker

New Member
I have finally built a bike I enjoy. Ive had bikes with too little travel and some too much now I have a jamis dakar xam and love it. I can almost justify the price on nicer gear- For example the Rockshox Totem fork 700.00 but at 5lbs its light, stiff, air adjustable tons of travel and works great anywhere. DHX 5.0 rear shock is a very nice piece of technology, works amazing- the jamis frame, lev ti seatdropper. saint hubs/atomlab rims, hayes 4 piston 203mm brakes.

These are complex parts that I see justifiable in price. The bike rides incredible to anything ive ever ridden. I have an older jamis parker that i wanted to build as a backup when people ride with me. So all it needs is a drivetrain. So i figured instead of buying cheap stuff Ill buy a highend drivetrain for my bike and put all the used x7/raceface cheap stuff on my parker.

The problem is drivetrain prices are insane. 500.00 for a carbon crank? That weighs 790 grams? My raceface xc that cost 94 bucks weighs in at 808grams. So whats the point here?

I see XTR at 479.00 but is barely 690 grams. 4 times the price to save 100 grams? (give or take)

For a nice crank, xtr cassette and sram red derailer...your looking at 800.00 and this will overall save perhaps a pound?

The bike is a bit heavy because of the seatdropper and 2.4 tires but 800.00 seems kinda stupid. And even x9 is 300.00 and xt 200. And it doesnt seem any better than a raceface xc crank at 94 bucks.

Maybe you guys that have xtr or xo or xx1 can shead some light on this for me because no matter how much research I do I cant really see any advantage of these expensive parts. If anything i see the more expensive material like carbon fiber, or titanium wearing out more quickly because it is delicate and softer than steel. Any info is appreciated.
 
One of the big things with better parts is durability. Shimano pretty much works the same in there top 3 lines but the finishes on the xtr is excellent and will clean up easier and look better longer, increasing durability.

The major downside is when you
break somethjng, it is expensive to replace, which breaking stuff had a high probability in the Mtb. Enter XT, alittle beefier than xtr but still the better finishes and relative light weight
 
If you can't score the best of everything..

Here are the things that I feel are the most important:

Brakes
Wheels
Tires
Saddle

I personally have had XTR on a few bikes, but more often I will get XT. Fer the money I would do SLX shifters and Brakes.
I notice a better cass and shifter more than a better Der.
 
jdog said:
If you can't score the best of everything..

Here are the things that I feel are the most important:

Brakes
Wheels
Tires
Saddle
Click to expand...

This.
Also an expensive saddle isn't necessarily the best saddle. You gotta get one that fits you right. Also, you don't need the best of really anything. My new SLX drive train shifts way nicer than my 8 year old xt ever did (thank you derailleur clutch, you are certainly the shit). Carbon wheels I'm sure are nice but outrageously expensive. There are really nice metal ones out there too. Tires: the best you can afford IMO.
 
If I had to start from scratch,
I'd get a Full slx drive train. if you want a 1x, get a 40t cog in the rear. I have that and xx1 and it's close enough IMO.
I'd also go for China carbon rims custom built to whatever hubs are on sale. Not quite as light as Enve or the other high price rims, but noticeably quicker than arches.
 
phathucker said:
I cant really see any advantage of these expensive parts.
Click to expand...

I think you kinda answered your own question. IMO after riding for enough time, you pretty much know what level components you need. If you don't think a top of the line part is going to benefit you, it most likely wont. Most people are fine buying mid level components, like X9. (I run sram so I don't know any equivalents.) After a certain point I think most of the differences are in weight, with some exceptions. Unless your an elite rider looking for every little bit of advantage I would say there's better ways to spend your money.
 
I'm more than happy with my SLX shifters, brakes, cranks paired with an XT rear derailleur on my new Jet 9. The brakes feel the same as the XTs on my Misfit. I wouldn't hesitate to go with this build again. I could justify a full XT build but XTR is just for show IMO.
 
jay, what's up man!

save your paper$

Shimano XT anything is great

x7/x9 shifter/der is acceptable

I prefer shimano cranks and if you get shimano drive get a shimano cassette. Stick to the same brand cass, i feel it's a bit quieter and crisper shifting
 
I agree with rock hugger on the "how/where you ride" comment. I tend to be brutal on parts, partly because of how I ride and partly because of where I ride. When I switched full time to SS a few years ago, I went a little cheaper on parts -- a beefier drivetrain (Shimano Hone, later Saint) and mechanical disks. (I actually split the Hone crank, which is kind of crazy, but like I said -- I can be brutal on parts.) I still have to stay on top of their condition, but it takes much less time to adjust than the higher end parts I had before because they're built to less exacting tolerances. For example, my brakes are re-adjustable in seconds by loosening the bolts, locking them on the rotor and then re-tightening them. And since they're mechanical, I'll never have to bleed them. And for me that's more important than the weight savings. Most of the time, my rides are longer -- multi-hour rides on the weekends, at least -- so the last thing I feel like doing if I'm doing a back-to-back set of rides on the weekend is spend Saturday night adjusting everything. So I'd say definitely consider how you ride -- high end parts are awesome, but could be a PIA if you are going to beat them up regularly.
 
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