Shimano 9 speed XT vs New trekking XT 10 speed

wolfeyes
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Shimano 9 speed XT vs New trekking XT 10 speed

Postby wolfeyes » Wed May 23, 2012 4:30 pm

Hi all…

Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on the new shimano trekking XT 10 speed groupo.

Im currently in the middle of building up a surly frameset (ogre) and I am debating whether to go the new Shimano XT 10 speed trekking groupo over XT 9 speed.
At the moment im not planning on touring out in the middle of nowhere… the bike will be used for general riding and weekend type tours with the view of doing longer tours in the future.
Is it a risk using the newer trekking groupset due to maintenance / replacing parts and the availability of obtaining parts in small towns / centres?...also my other concern would be the durability of 10 speed over 9 speed.

Any input would be appreciated.
cheers!

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landscapecadmonkey
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Re: Shimano 9 speed XT vs New trekking XT 10 speed

Postby landscapecadmonkey » Sat Jun 02, 2012 8:04 pm

Not much to add, just that i built up a Surly Big Dummy with an XT 9 speed groupset about a year ago, and whilst its probably ridiculously over-spec'ed for the application, everything is super precise, nice shifting and all stays in tune well.

Chainrings 22.32.44, and cassette 11-34.

Around town it works fine except when i am really loaded (90kg rider, 90kg cargo and 25kg bike) up some steeper Brisbane hills. A much lower gear would be handy (XT has a 11-36 cassette), but might say more about my legs / the extent of the load than anything else. The 9 speed group was cheaper than the 10 speed when i bought, which was the main reason i went 9 speed.

Also, and this may sound a little an al, but i spend most of my time on flats around town without a load using the 32 front / 11-12 rear (85% of my riding) and i miss having the 12 tooth on the rear as that would suit my cadence/effort perfectly. So a 10 speed option may have suited me better.

I have thought about touring the Big Dummy, even though it is quite heavy. I would probably chose a moderately flat course, in which case im thinking that a 48 ring upfront would be better than the 44 i have.

im unable to help you with the other questions, but i hate seeing a post disappear with no replies...and the XT 9speed has performed beautifully for me over the past 12 months
chop wood

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Tim
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Re: Shimano 9 speed XT vs New trekking XT 10 speed

Postby Tim » Sat Jun 02, 2012 8:10 pm

90kg's of cargo? That's a helluva lot. What are you carrying?

Edit; 'scuze my ignorance. Just had a look at what a Big Dummy is and I can now understand you're capable of carrying a load that big. But 90kg's of what?

To the OP I lifted this from the Vivente World Randonneur site;

"9 or 10?

For the hard working bikes being suited to touring, the line is drawn at 9 speed. Reports from the bike racing world on the life expectancy of 10 speed chains and cassettes is such that we do not offer 10 speed cassettes on bikes designed for touring. This is especially the case for bigger, stronger riders and for tandems where the rear chain endures double the tension of a normal chain. Keep in mind we have loads on board the bike much of the time.

We have been monitoring just what distances we are getting out of chains, cassettes and chainwheels, assuming no chain rotation. These distances vary mainly with the chain model itself, chain cleanliness, the total mass of rider+luggage and the rider's normal acceleration power. The minimum distance to expect is 8,000 but most cases could exceed that."

I'm yet to clock up 8000km's on my 9 speed tourer but I recently replaced a chain and cassette on my 10 speed road bike at around 5000km's. 9 speed chains and cassettes appear to last longer than 10 speeds.
Last edited by Tim on Sat Jun 02, 2012 8:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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RonK
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Shimano 9 speed XT vs New trekking XT 10 speed

Postby RonK » Sat Jun 02, 2012 8:36 pm

The 10 speed is too new for many to have experienced it on tour. You will be breaking new ground. Experience has shown that 9 speed XT/LX is very reliable and generally more than adequate for loaded touring. In my experience the 44.32.22 crankset with an 11-32 cassette will get you up the steepest hills with a touring load on board.
Cycle touring blog and tour journals: whispering wheels...

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landscapecadmonkey
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Re: Shimano 9 speed XT vs New trekking XT 10 speed

Postby landscapecadmonkey » Sat Jun 02, 2012 8:48 pm

Tim wrote:90kg's of cargo? That's a helluva lot. What are you carrying?

Edit; 'scuze my ignorance. Just had a look at what a Big Dummy is and I can now understand you're capable of carrying a load that big. But 90kg's of what?
admittedly thats a top limit at the moment, but on more than one occasion / at least once a month have had; son (always with me)/ 25kg / dog food 20kg / carton 15kg other grocery shopping / 30 kg; and generally son and a moderately big grocery shopping 25kg + 60-70 kilo.

Other times (only about a 7km trip away son 25 / daughter 40 / shopping 20kg.

Have the Wide loaders http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeykun/ ... 4045716049 which perversely increase the challange to load up.

But 85% of time its just me and the Big Dummy 25kg , doing the work commute (25km round trip) with max 20-30kg of work gear / clothes / books / laptop etc. The down side is that if i have the capacity, i tend to say.. bugger it, ill take it too !!
chop wood

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Tim
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Re: Shimano 9 speed XT vs New trekking XT 10 speed

Postby Tim » Sat Jun 02, 2012 10:23 pm

landscapecadmonkey wrote:.... if i have the capacity, i tend to say.. bugger it, ill take it too !
Hehe, I can relate to this. For the last couple of months I've been "running in" a new touring bike on a 20km round trip commute to a recently started coarse of study at the local TAFE. I've fitted front and rear panniers as well as a handlebar bag. Somehow or another I can manage to just about fill all the available space with all sorts of completely unnecessary crap. Through the day I generally don't need anything more than a change of shoes, cut lunch, pen and notebook. But, you never know what I might need eg. 3 litres of water for the day (they haven't cut the plumbing budget at my TAFE yet, but you never know), extra food (I always carry home uneaten fruit, nuts and biscuits), full set of wet weather gear (I don't ride in if it is raining), at least four different rechargable electronic devices including phone, GPS, camera and assorted batteries to feed my obsession with recharging stuff from the dynamo hub, a hard hat for field study trips into the bush (rarely more than two trips a week but I carry it every day), small binoculars, compass, inclinometer and various plant, bird and animal ID books, also for field trips as mentioned. I don't need most of this stuff, most of the time. It's all for fun, oh, and practice for a real tour, when I can find time. It's all still a way off 90kg's though. :D

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RonK
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Shimano 9 speed XT vs New trekking XT 10 speed

Postby RonK » Sat Jun 02, 2012 10:43 pm

Tim wrote:I don't need most of this stuff, most of the time. It's all for fun, oh, and practice for a real tour, when I can find time. It's all still a way off 90kg's though. :D
Hehe, you really need to start moving to the opposite way of thinking Tim, or you will find yourself setting out on tour with 90kg on board.
The mantra of efficient packing goes something like this:
Assemble everything you absolutely must have, then reduce it by 50%
then
Reduce what is left by another 50%.
8)
Cycle touring blog and tour journals: whispering wheels...

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il padrone
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Re: Shimano 9 speed XT vs New trekking XT 10 speed

Postby il padrone » Sat Jun 02, 2012 11:19 pm

That may not work so well on our forthcoming Central Australian Desert Tour. First 6-7 days with no resupply points means that if we run short or leave out something that we will really do need it could make things very interesting. :o

My approach is that I have 'standard kit' that works, is used and I routinely carry. This all doesn't slow me down too much. Then for remote tours there are extras that are likely to be needed (eg. water bags; extra tarp; extra spare tyre, spare tubes and cables; Slime tubes etc) and then there is the food required.
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Tim
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Re: Shimano 9 speed XT vs New trekking XT 10 speed

Postby Tim » Sun Jun 03, 2012 12:15 am

Carting all that gear is basically just for fun and getting myself used to cycling with a load. I've had plenty of practice packing kayaks and backpacks for extended paddling and walking trips. Cycle touring is a variation on a similar, but by no means identical theme. As a matter of fact Ron a while ago I saved a copy of your Excel gear lists and il Padrone I copied and saved a post of yours suggesting that each pannier represent a different room. If you recall;

Re: Panniers

Back to the panniers - I organise my panniers into 'rooms'. One rear pannier is the bedroom (sleeping gear for inside the tent), one is the kitchen/living room (stove, mess-kit and daytime clothes) whike the front panniers are almost solely for food and the rack-top drybag is the accommodation (tent, sleeping mat and folding camp stool). So my sleeping bag (a superdown one) always goes inside one rear pannier, taking up about 1/3-1/2 of the pannier. Being down it absolutely must stay dry.
Last edited by il padrone on Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.


I hope you guys don't mind my "plagiarising" your ideas. This forum, and you two in particular have provided a wealth of information for myself and no doubt many others, thanks. It has been, and still is, a pleasure and an inspiration reading of your travel tales and experience, technical knowledge and advice on all things bike and touring related. Along with Aushiker/Andrew and all the other hard core tourers this forum has kicked off an unexpected enthusiasm for an aspect of cycling that I knew virtually nothing about. Thanks again.

wolfeyes
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Re: Shimano 9 speed XT vs New trekking XT 10 speed

Postby wolfeyes » Wed Jun 06, 2012 4:51 pm

landscapecadmonkey wrote:Not much to add, just that i built up a Surly Big Dummy with an XT 9 speed groupset about a year ago, and whilst its probably ridiculously over-spec'ed for the application, everything is super precise, nice shifting and all stays in tune well.

Chainrings 22.32.44, and cassette 11-34.

Around town it works fine except when i am really loaded (90kg rider, 90kg cargo and 25kg bike) up some steeper Brisbane hills. A much lower gear would be handy (XT has a 11-36 cassette), but might say more about my legs / the extent of the load than anything else. The 9 speed group was cheaper than the 10 speed when i bought, which was the main reason i went 9 speed.

Also, and this may sound a little an al, but i spend most of my time on flats around town without a load using the 32 front / 11-12 rear (85% of my riding) and i miss having the 12 tooth on the rear as that would suit my cadence/effort perfectly. So a 10 speed option may have suited me better.

I have thought about touring the Big Dummy, even though it is quite heavy. I would probably chose a moderately flat course, in which case im thinking that a 48 ring upfront would be better than the 44 i have.

im unable to help you with the other questions, but i hate seeing a post disappear with no replies...and the XT 9speed has performed beautifully for me over the past 12 months
Thanks for replying landscapecadmonkey i assumed my post was heading towards oblivion....hehe

I have decided to stick with XT 9 speed, it hasn't let me down in the past (3+ years on mtb)....anyone in the market for some 10 speed shifters... :P

now i just need to work out my wheels :?

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