Bicycles

[AHTOXA]

While I personally do not feel that I need a 9-speed cassette, Rob, no one makes anything for 8-speeds any more. You want an LX longcage rear? Only for 9-speed. I'm not even talking about Deore, XT or XRT group. Forget about those.

Bikes have changed a lot, Rob and what may have been a good deal a few years back is outdated now and hard to find parts for. This is the case with this bike. This Rockhopper was maybe 4 years old but my Specialized is better in all areas as the lower end components are made stronger and better now and higher end stuff moved on to carbon fiber.

I would pay 200 something bucks basically to have much the same as I have now and a dented frame - nah. There are better deals out there now.

Bikes are horrible when it comes to losing their value. Before I have believe otherwise but I see it clearly now. You can buy a really nice bike for $500 and it's not going to be outdated as this one was. The only thing that is my problem is the size. There are plenty of people selling 17" framed bikes but they are too small for me.

[potownrob]

How can you tell if wheels/forks can take disc brakes?

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/in ... 825AA5kgLr

Here's how to tell though. Look at the frame in the following pic:

Notice the round thing with a hole in it above the upper rear stay near the gear cassette? That's the rear disc mount. On the front fork there are two things sticking out from the back of the fork near the bottom. These are the front mounts. Here's a pic with the disc brake systems mounted so you see how those mounts are used:

[AHTOXA]

Here's a better image. This is the rear triangle on the left-hand side. The bracket you see there is where the caliper would mount:



Also, on the front fork, on the lower left "leg" you would see a similar bracket. If there are no brackets there, it will not accept disks and there is no way to retrofit them. It was not designed for them, period.

[potownrob]

Here's my Specialized. I'm hoping to upgrade to a Trek Fuel next season but want to keep this one. It's been faithful to me and got me into the sport. Even though my next bike will be a full-suspension rig, riding a hardtail is much less forgiving. It's stock for the exception of the bar ends, Shimano clipless pedals and Panaracer Fire XC tires - which are absolutely outstanding, IMO.

Have you considered getting a gel seat?

[AHTOXA]

My wish to go with a full suspension has absolutely nothing to do with riding comfort. When it gets rough one hardly uses the saddle.

A well-designed full suspension rig gives a rider much more traction, agility, confidence and speed Yes, on a hardtail bike legs work like suspension but your body can't do everything at once and do it well on a challenging and technical trails. Where I ride there are a few fast, lose, technical descents. I have to pick much different lines when descending and be much more mindful and careful. If I chose the wrong line or if the terrain simply gets too rough my rear end starts bouncing around too much, it wants to step out like a car's rear end under too much throttle, only in this case this is no powerslide.

It is true, riding a hardtail takes more skill than riding a full suspension bike. However, a full suspension bike lets you do a good deal more in terms of technical trails and speed.

Rear suspension also works well on techy climbs. If there are ruts, roots or other obstacles during the climb it helps absorb them and climb over rather than have you work on pedaling and working your legs to hop on those obstacles.

Simply put, I ran my hardtail and my friend's full suspension on the same trail on the same day. It was night and day difference. It's much more planted, much more stable and confidence-inspiring. It is definitely a faster bike going down and at times up. He still can't keep up, though.

[theholycow]

While I personally do not feel that I need a 9-speed cassette, Rob, no one makes anything for 8-speeds any more. You want an LX longcage rear? Only for 9-speed. I'm not even talking about Deore, XT or XRT group. Forget about those.

There is no 9 speed derailer. Derailers are the same; a 9 speed shifter is what makes it work with a 9 speed cassette. I can use a brand new latest and greatest derailer on my 7 speed, as long as I use my 7 speed shifter.

When they add additional cogs to the cassette, they have two options for how to do it:
1. Make the cassette wider, requiring frames to become wider.
2. Make the gears closer together, requiring chains to be narrower and shifters to pull at a different rate for each click.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/speeds.html

Within a given brand/style of rear derailer, all "speed numbers" are generally interchangeable. This applies to all indexable models, basically everything manufactured since the late 1980s. There are a few exceptions: [...]

[theholycow]

Here's a better image. This is the rear triangle on the left-hand side. The bracket you see there is where the caliper would mount:

[img]http://www.mtbtrailreview.com/blog/wp-c ... ts.jpg[img]

Also, on the front fork, on the lower left "leg" you would see a similar bracket. If there are no brackets there, it will not accept disks and there is no way to retrofit them. It was not designed for them, period.

Also, beware of the difference between disc mounting tabs and pannier mounting tabs. They look similar but are positioned differently.

[AHTOXA]

While I personally do not feel that I need a 9-speed cassette, Rob, no one makes anything for 8-speeds any more. You want an LX longcage rear? Only for 9-speed. I'm not even talking about Deore, XT or XRT group. Forget about those.

There is no 9 speed derailer. Derailers are the same

Incorrect. 8 and 9-speed cassette's widths are the same. The spacing between the cogs is smaller. Thus, the 9-speed chain is actually narrower than than the 8-speed chain. Thus the cogs in the derailleur and the cage is made to accept a narrower chain of the 9-speed rather than an 8-speed.

I was at a bike shop trying to hunt for a decent rear der. and was explained all of this. While it will likely work, the der. was not designed to do so and it may damage the der. or the chain. That is the last thing that I want to happen when I'm in a technical section. There's no need to risk that. Even if there's no catastrophic failure, the parts that were not designed to work together are not likely to deliver best performance, even if they work.

[theholycow]

Thus the cogs in the derailleur and the cage is made to accept a narrower chain of the 9-speed rather than an 8-speed.

Crap, I forgot that part. Now I can't remember for sure, but I think it works fine anyway. I know I've done it before and I don't think I rebuilt the derailer with more appropriate cogs or modified the cage. It never damaged the derailer or chain.

According to expert Sheldon Brown (RIP), you don't need to worry about it:
http://groups.google.com/g/2867fefb/t/d ... c324a7f2f9
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/speeds.html
If Sheldon Brown says it, it's true...end of story. Seriously. You'll have a very hard (probably impossible) time finding anything from him that was wrong.

[AHTOXA]

Thus the cogs in the derailleur and the cage is made to accept a narrower chain of the 9-speed rather than an 8-speed.

Crap, I forgot that part. Now I can't remember for sure, but I think it works fine anyway. I know I've done it before and I don't think I rebuilt the derailer with more appropriate cogs or modified the cage. It never damaged the derailer or chain.

According to expert Sheldon Brown (RIP), you don't need to worry about it:
http://groups.google.com/g/2867fefb/t/d ... c324a7f2f9
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/speeds.html
If Sheldon Brown says it, it's true...end of story. Seriously. You'll have a very hard (probably impossible) time finding anything from him that was wrong.

I know it has been done but it's really not the way it should be done. I'm sure there are other reasons manufacturers list them as 9-speed or 8-speed other than just marketing.

He may be right and it may work just fine, but why chance it?

[theholycow]

He may be right and it may work just fine, but why chance it?

Why not? There's not a lot at stake. (Well, in the case of buying a bike, maybe there is.)

Sheldon's advice has never ever steered me wrong, and I've done some wacky stuff that no bike shop would ever believe could work. My road bike is an abomination...