XTR worth the extra over XT?

vtech1.5

Hi
I'm on a continuous upgrade project with my 07 Carrera Kraken I know alot of you people will prob think I should just get a new bike but the frames pretty good. So far i've got hope pro 3 wheelset,easton monkey bars,hope mono minis and a few other bits !
next thing I want to change is the crankset as its a Truvative wobbly one with bolts that undo themselves regulary even with threadlock !!
Been looking at Shimano xt or xtr wonder wether you think they are worth the extra ?

ddraver

depends if you care about being a weight weenie or not, XT is no better functioning than XTR except in terms of weight, and possibly in longevity

but then what do i know, i'm trying to work out if i want to put a race face one on

simbil1

Can't compare XTR to XT but have ridden XT and LX - the XT shifting is crisper (a little) and some of the kit is lighter than LX. I doubt it would last longer, more likely the opposite - weight saving (and stiffness in things like chainsets) are the prime aims of the higher end kit.
If I was racing I might consider XTR kit as every advantage helps, but for recreational kit LX is generally fine and XT is nice to have.
Lets face it, saving 80 grammes (or whatever) on a chainset and getting a 0.07% increase in power transfer is not going to be noticeable compared to what you could gain through fitness or even just taking less water with you.
If you enjoy upgrading and having the best stuff on your bike - go for it
It would be much cheaper in the long run to get a new bike though.

supersonic

You get what you pay for - both are good in their own way.

No offence, as good as the Kraken frame is for the money, the parts you are putting on it will completely outclass it! Frame is over 4lbs, the money would be best spent on a new one for performance and weight savings.

Prowlus

supersonic wrote:

You get what you pay for - both are good in their own way.

No offence, as good as the Kraken frame is for the money, the parts you are putting on it will completely outclass it! Frame is over 4lbs, the money would be best spent on a new one for performance and weight savings.

Agreed. Today I paid a visit to Halfords. A guy came in with a GT Agressor with an XTR 2008 Chainset attached to it and he wanted to install some 2008 tora poplocs onto the bike too . Wonder what he could have bought if he just just saved the money instead of getting those bits on his rig?

dirtbiker100

... Halfords. A guy came in with a GT Agressor with an XTR 2008 Chainset attached to it and he wanted to install some 2008 tora poplocs onto the bike too .

well theres a recipe for disaster
my advice would be just to get XT and then buy a better frame. You don't really need XTR unless you're racing properly

vtech1.5

thanks
for the replies everyone ,will be changing the frame anyway at some point just waitng until i've got a few more bits but i dont think it's as bad as some people think (wouldn't be so bad if it didn't come from Halfrauds ) no worse than some of the entry specialized stuff.

vtech1.5

oops ! hadn't finished. might stick with the xt for now though, will be a great improvement and wont have to keep tightening the crank up hopefully. upgrades might seem overkill but happy so far especially the wheels really made a really big difference ! not sure what frame yet (cove possibly) but will be after xmas, got the money but have to do it bit by bit coz of the missis thanks

milese

vtech1.5 wrote:

i dont think it's as bad as some people think (wouldn't be so bad if it didn't come from Halfrauds ) no worse than some of the entry specialized stuff.

Yeah, but the entry level Spesh stuff doesn't come with XTR kit.....

Only as good as the weakest link etc etc....

clanton

One very quiet duty weekend whilst waiting for the phone to ring I spent some hours working out what all the components on a bike would weight at XT vs XTR level. I then listed every component by cost, again XT vs XTR equivalent. THEN I WORKED OUT HOW MUCH IT COSTS FOR EACH GRAM SAVED (it was a VERY dull weekend!) It averaged out at a little over a pound extra for each gram you save in weight by upgrading from XT to XTR. The best value for money was the seatpost.
Obviously this doesn't take into account performance but at the end of the day I kitted out my Cotic in XT.

supersonic

XT is good enough for most people. The law of diminisjhing returns sets in, but if you want thouse returns, you pay. I run a 1994 XTR rear mech - it does last!

The Kraken frame is better than a Hardrock! If I was to put it on SHimanos scale, I would call a Kraken frame a Deore/LX.

rob cole

something to bear in mind with XTR is the cost of replacing worn out chainrings

we just had a customer need to replaced his 3 XTR chainrings and HT2 bottom bracket and it came to around £180!!! (the large XTR chainring is RRP £100!!)

he went for an XT 08 chainset for just £104 in the end....

dirtbiker100

HOW MUCH!!! jesus I dunno how they can be that much...

CitizenLee

You can probably save more weight by taking dump before you ride... as crude as that may sound!

Go for SRAM anyway. 1:1 actuation mmmmm

I just fitted an 08 X.7 mech and 08 X.7 shifter (both equivilent of 2006 or 2007 X.9 I believe?), along with SRAM PG990 cassette and SRAM PC991 chain on my Demo 8.

All I can say is WOW!

It shifts so smooth and effortless it almost makes you want to change gear just for the sake of it.

I can only imagine how good X.9 or X.0 is. Although X.0 is waaaaaay overpriced IMO.

Steve_b77

supersonic wrote:

The Kraken frame is better than a Hardrock! If I was to put it on SHimanos scale, I would call a Kraken frame a Deore/LX.

On that note my Aggressor XC2.0 came with Deore gears, shifters and the like. It's now got Deore Hydros too.

Please don't tell me my new Tora 302 U-Turns are a waste of time :?

The Big Cheese

to be honest XTR is bling and all that - and it weighs less than the rest of the product groups. It's made well blah blah blah..... you've probably heard all that before

But to be honest I find that my XT/LX setup shifts slightly better (on my AM rig) and isn't as high maintenance as my racebike (full XTR)

As people on here have mentioned - unless you are a weight-weenie, superfast pro racer who really knows every micrometer of his drivetrain I wouldnt bother as you wont notice the difference and will always be fettling with indexing to get it to shift correctly....

I would say XT/SRAM X9, in hindsight I should/would have been better staying there instead of going full XTR

Prowlus

dirtbiker100 wrote:

... .

well theres a recipe for disaster
my advice would be just to get XT and then buy a better frame. You don't really need XTR unless you're racing properly

Ironically He came in again to install guess what... Juicy Ultimates!! on his agressor . I was in hysterics as he tried to get the techie to set it up for him . Even the techie told him why didn't he just ditch is frame and get a better one? He even recomended a good pinacle frame from evans!

vtech1.5

I will probably stick with the xt crank on your advice. I'm not really bothered about the weight anyways but i'm overbuilding on ny Kraken frame so when i get a new one I don't have to do it again when i get a new one. so far the improvements so far are great even though they seem overkill .