What Chainset ??

gunny_bedford

Hi!! My first post on your site !!

I am in the process of upgrading the drive train of my 08 Trek Fuel EX8. So far ive upgraded the gear shifters and front and rear mechs to XTR ( the rear mech is a M970 rapid rise, and i must say for me its a brilliant choice, perfect shifting up hill!!)
But i am a bit stuck about the Chainset, i was going to stick a XT one on (it has LX at present) as the cost of the XTR ones was a bit on the heavy side !! however having read some articles including bits in your mag, it seems there are issues over the life of the rings on XT ? so is XTR any better ?? do they have better rings that would justify the cost, or would it be better to buy XT but change the rings to another brand if so what brand? or could i consider another make other than Shimano to upgrade my LX chainset??

regards

Neil

supersonic

Whats wrong with the LX? The upgrades you mention will give minimal advantage in performance, or weight unless you really splash out. I'd wait until it wears out, its a good chainset!

nicklouse

should have bought a better bike.

is anything worn out? what do you want to change the cranks? why not get new rings?

gunny_bedford

thats what i am asking replace rings or think about other cranks, i was hoping people with a better technical knowledge then me would suggest makes brands etc. I guess my trek is fine for me, all i wanted to do was upgrade the chainset so that it would last me many years, as i intend to keep the trek for some time. so far ive managed to upgrade with a reasonably small cash outlay much cheaper than buying a bike with full XTR from the start from a main brand......

supersonic

Thats why its most economical to run what you have first, then think about upgrading. You'll easily get months out of the LX, then can maybe think about new rings or chainset.

No chainset lasts years with normal usage, the rings all wear eventually.

Blundell

I'd carry on using the lx chainrings until they wear out, then I'd put some xt chainrings in their place. I bet there is scant difference between the weight of LX and XT crank arms, most of the weight difference will be taken up in the steel chainrings.

Anonymous

i pretty much agree with what has been said, little point in changing parts for the sakes of it but i do appreciate it is very satisfying to have your bike all fitted out with gucci parts and you maybe didnt know whether you were going to like your bike so much until you actually bought it so didnt buy the toppest version in the first place.

your lx kit should lst for ages, i ran a set of ht11 lx cranks on my p7 and they were faultless. if you are determined to upgrade then rings would be the way to go or superstar components do some nice looking set of cranks from a manufacturer i dont recognise but they are packed ith the best features for little money.

ride_whenever

The lx have a thicker axle, so the crank arms do weigh a fair bit more, as for ring, the only shimano ones worth buying are the deore steel ones. If you want trick rings get middleburn hardcoat rings, very tough and light.

litwardle

nicklouse wrote:

should have bought a better bike.

:roll: Why? That TREK is a crackin rig

Gunny: There are some really sexy FSA chainsets about. Light too.

Lee

gaz047

hi gunny,
as already mentioned let your lx chainset wear out before upgrading (maybe upgrading the wheels or something in the mean time that will make a much more significant difference to the bike.
when you do upgrade the chainset do bear in mind that the rate that the rings will wear out rapidly (especially on the xtr m960. although the rest is top notch. the new xtr chainset is meant to have longer lasting chainrings m970iirc) . when these wear out get the middleburns, they last ages.

malc101

wait until it wears out, my chainset on my 2005 bike is only just wearing out!

supersonic

litwardle wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

should have bought a better bike.

:roll: Why? That TREK is a crackin rig

Gunny: There are some really sexy FSA chainsets about. Light too.

Lee

What nick is saying is, rather than spend a few hundred upgrading the ex8, if had the money, should have got the ex9. Look at its spec!

guilliano

As everyone else says, wear out the LX rings first, then upgrade them to MIddleburn. When the BB bearings go, replace that with a Hope set which should last ages. For now, enjoy what you've got, the LX is a good set

artillerydave

id go for a raceface deus XC sr myself, strong light good ring life and sooo beautiful to look at, like bike bling, LX is good but a bit poo looking.

guilliano

I've got a Deus XC on my Trance X and will be changing to XTR when I can. Not that keen on it to be honest, not noticeably better than the LX on my Charge

gunny_bedford

So Middleburn rings would seem to be good ?? i take it as they are made of harder metal than shimano?

Daft question but why dont shimano make harder wearing rings in the first place! i am not that bothered about weight, as i am never going to be racing with the "pros" where every gramme counts!!

Thanks for the advice, i will run with the LX and change/replace bits as and when required, i guess the actual cranks last for years unless crash damaged ??

Neil

ride_whenever

It is cheaper to make crap rings!

The middleburn ones have a hard ceramic coating, win!