[mobius]

Is their any difference or strengths to them? My trek 6700 has 9spd but I am building up an AC1 and was wondering if 8spd was stronger or better? I plan to ride DH/FR and all around trail riding is 8spd harder to find or less expensive? Or should I just buy the 9spd XT drivetrain I was planning on.

Thanks

 

[Serial Midget]

If you are buying used 8 speed goes cheap on eBay. If you are buying new go for 9. I don't think there is much difference besides the closer ratios. I gone from 5 speed freewheels to 9 speed cassettes and everything in between. My road bike now has a 10 speed cassette so 11 cannot be too far off.

 

[brock]

Originally posted by Serial Midget
My road bike now has a 10 speed cassette so 11 cannot be too far off.

mmmm.... Campy

 

[Mecannoman]

Originally posted by mobius
Is their any difference or strengths to them? My trek 6700 has 9spd but I am building up an AC1 and was wondering if 8spd was stronger or better.Thanks

The 9-speed chain is narrower than an 8-speed chain. The 9-speed cassette fits on an 8-speed freehub body. So, there is a difference! (I've seen people bend cogs on 9-speed cassettes!) The 8-speed parts won't be too hard to find.

 

[indieboy]

Originally posted by Mecannoman
The 9-speed chain is narrower than an 8-speed chain. The 9-speed cassette fits on an 8-speed freehub body. So, there is a difference! (I've seen people bend cogs on 9-speed cassettes!) The 8-speed parts won't be too hard to find.

in a year or two they'll be next to impossible to find......

 

[Rev.Chuck]

The 9-speed does wear faster, we have a lot of road racers(with 9) on our team and it wears much quicker. Getting chains, rings, and cassettes in 8-speed won't be a problem but soon there will be issues with getting shifters. The nicest 8-speed shifter in the supplier catalog I am looking at right now is STX-RC. The rear der. is compatible 8 or 9 but to get the front 9 der. to work well with an 8-speed chain you will have to spread it slightly other wise it will rub a bit.

 

[SwisSlesS]

8 speed is much more durable, but still works very well and gives you a great range of gears. If you can find 8 speed, go with it.

 

[erastusboy]

i have totally mangled an 8 sp cass. so i dont think one is really stronger than the other in that area

 

[SwisSlesS]

Originally posted by erastusboy
i have totally mangled an 8 sp cass. so i dont think one is really stronger than the other in that area

Well 8 speed obviously isn't indestructible. How old was the cassette? How often do you ride? How good condition do you keep your bike in? How long had it been since your bike was serviced?

 

[sub6]

One time I broke a Trek frame. THEREFORE, all Trek frames are weak.

 

[erastusboy]

it was not a very old cass. i think it was like the third ride i had it and the 3nd ring broke in half and 3rd and 4th got bent pretty good

 

[erastusboy]

sub6 my point was that one cass. is probably not very much stronger than a 9sp because you can break both of them but i think the 8sp chain is stronger than a 9

 

[peter6061]

I used to run 6,7,8 and now 9 speed. I've always tried to stave off the latest for fear of it breaking. Is there any reason for this? Since going to 9 speed on my road bike in 98, and mtb in 99, I've had very few chain problems. I had many problems with 7 and 8 speed chains(all brands). Now I only run Shimano(not by choice,...it's what we have on hand and it works well)

People always tend to say that 8 is better than 9. Is it the whole "wider is better" theory? Here's a rough diagram of a chain...

My thoughts are that narrower would be better. Wouldn't you rather have a shorter chain pin(stronger) as opposed to the longer? Think of a bridge... a shorter bridge doesn't need as much support as a longer one. Am I correct on this?

I would think you would want stronger(thicker) chain link plates, but that the overall width doesn't matter at all in regards to strength.

Any thoughts?

 

[llkoolkeg]

My reluctance is based on reports that the spacing between gears has been reduced. I don't care so much what the width of the chain is or whether there are redundant gears. I just don't want to have more finicky shifting mid-ride because I bump my derailleur on a rock or have mud all up in the drivetrain. I prefer having less chance of my chain climbing briefly onto the wrong cog because it is now closer to the adjacent one. During standing climbs, your nutsack is in great peril should such a thing occur, and I'm not even talking about would happen if you were trying to pedal kick or wheelie drop off a boulder! I also don't care if my LBS can order 8-spd shifters from BTI or QBP because there are tons available online for less cash outlay.

 

[MikeD]

There's not a huge diff. between the two, but I find 8sp less finicky.

8sp lives on with SRAM, and if you don't like twist shift, the triggers are cool...saw 'em at Sea Otter and they're sweet.

 

[sub6]

Peter is correct. The chain is really not weaker, IF the plates are the same thickness and I'm pretty sure that they are.

The cogs, however, are thinner. And closer together.

Heavier, stronger riders have been known to fold bigger 9sp cogs over. The M951 or 952 XTR 9sp cassette had a huge problem with this.

I also don't especially care for them being closer together because that obviously means your shifting goes to sh*t faster when your cables stretch or get gunky.

 

[Greg94]

It depends on if you like to have to hunt down parts
8 speed parts are slowly beginning to dry up. If you
already have some 8 speed parts then it might
be worth keeping 8 speed but if you have no parts
just buy 9 speed stuff because it is much easier
to get a hold of. Some people complain about the
chains braking and cass. bending well just get a
sram chain and stay away from the Ti xtr cass. and
you'll be good to go.

that's my 2 cents

 

[MikeD]

Once again...SRAM makes 8sp stuff, and will continue to do so.

You can even use a shimano derailleur if you like. SRAM cassettes and chains are of excellent quality. The new trigger shifts look cool, as does the X-series of ESP derailleurs...all-metal, tough, and even come in a shorter cage if you like. Hopefully, the triggers are improved from last go-round; they certainly looked and felt it, but time will tell.

I'm sticking with my twist shift until I get good feedback on the new stuff...but I like the ESP system, and the triggers in 8sp with a mid-cage derailleur look cool.

MD

 

[sub6]

Do we have confirmation that SRAM WILL be doing an 8sp trigger? All signs should point to yes (they did 8sp triggers last go-around and have generally supported 8sp), but I haven't seen anything official yet....

 

[oldfart]

Here's the deal on the differences:

Cassette: 9 cogs in the same space as the former 8. The cogs are the same size, same width same tooth profile they're just a little closer together.

Rings: Same spacing, same tooth size but the ramps and pins stick out a tiny bit farther to pick up the narrower chain.

Chain: Has the same inside dimensions as an 8 speed chain but the outside dimmension is narrower.

Shifting is slightly more finicky to set up but personaly its not a problem nor do I find it shifts much different or ghost shifts any more frequently or gets mudded up any worse.

 

[the law]

Originally posted by oldfart
Here's the deal on the differences:

Chain: Has the same inside dimensions as an 8 speed chain but the outside dimmension is narrower.

Ergo it is weaker. You cant make the inside outside diameter ratio smaller and expect the same strength. Besides eight speed is less finicky. Plus i have heard people say that eight speed would stop being available soon for almost five years now.

 

[oldfart]

In rebuttal, I'd say most chains break because they have been damaged by chain suck, stick through the drive train, bashed on a rock or something. I rarely break chains but pretty much everytime I do, or examine some one elses I find bent links. Now there were some crappy Shimano 8spd chains out there which I think turned a lot of folks off Shimano chains. I tend to use SRAM because that's what's easily available.

So I guess that leads to the question, are 9 spd chains more suseptible to damage from the stuff I described and therefore more susceptible to breaking. I don't know the answer to that. Lots of 9 speed drives out there and I don't think the number of broken chains has risen with it. Not that I've heard anyway. but...

 

[MikeD]

Originally posted by sub6
Do we have confirmation that SRAM WILL be doing an 8sp trigger? All signs should point to yes (they did 8sp triggers last go-around and have generally supported 8sp), but I haven't seen anything official yet....

Yep, their rep at Sea Otter confirmed it. They also have 8sp stuff in the 03 catalog...