![]() ![]() If I were you, I would not try to fight the tide. The new generation of XC full suspension bikes run circles around mine. Simply put, omitting the front derailleur allows bike designers to build substantially better handling bikes. Lastly, let me add that there is a very good reason why pretty much no mountain bike comes with a front derailleur: it gives frame designers much, much more freedom to design the bike, especially for frames with rear suspension. On all mountain bike cassettes that start at 10 teeth, save for Rotor’s cassette, the only real difference I felt was when going from the 12-tooth cog to the 10-tooth cog. But I have ridden bikes with 10-42 cassettes. I currently run a 3x10 Shimano XT setup on my mountain bike, so I know the gear spacing of the 11-36 really, really well. Then I am afraid sticking with 2x will achieve pretty much nothing, because for some strange reason Shimano decided to only space the last four climbing gears differently. The previous generation Santa Cruz Tallboy (pre-2019) had it too, but it seems to be sold out. The discontinued Knolly Endorphin had the mount too, not sure about the new Knolly models. In any case, it seems that Liteville (small German boutique brand) still allows for FD mounting on some of their latest bikes. ![]() The lightest 12-spd cassettes (Eagle 1299 or Leonardi) are just (but not quite) as light as, say, a 10-speed Shimano XT 11-36, but of course, they cost at least six times as much. On the other hand, I really don’t want to use a heavy 12-spd cassette to increase rotational weight on my rear wheel. Never had any problems with adjusting the FD or dropping chains (even without switching the RD clutch on). I don’t necessarily need 2x12, would happily stay with 2x10 or 2x11. My wife’s bike came with 11-spd Shimano XT with a 11-40 cassette, which she uses with a modded 36/24 (officially not supported, but replacing the 26T OEM chainring with a 24T one has not led to any shifting issues), which is also fine. I find the spacing of the 11-36 quite satisfactory. Closely spaced gears indeed (I really don’t need bigger jumps between cogs, while I’m finicky about my cadence options). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |