[Bulldog]

Everyone listing them for sale that I've seen says "N/A" on the weight right now. Any Shimano E-insiders know the weight? And know what exactly makes them heavier/beefier/stronger than LX? The physical appearance looks exactly like the '05 LX arms. And of importance weight-wise are the chainrings and bolts, and how they differ from LX. I'll be ditching the rings, so I'd love to get a good comparison of the arms/bb without rings.

Any of you insiders care to compare Hone cranks to FSA V-drive EXO external? Weight/strength/value/availability?

 

[Tenacious Doug]

I was under the impression that there was no difference to LX.......

 

[Bulldog]

So it's really just a black LX with the exception of 8" brakes and direct-mount rear derailleur? Wow. I'd love to hear confirmation of that. For my wants, that's actually perfect!

 

[Tenacious Doug]

So it's really just a black LX with the exception of 8" brakes and direct-mount rear derailleur? Wow. I'd love to hear confirmation of that. For my wants, that's actually perfect!

Thats how it was put to me at work for an explanation as to why we would not be stocking much Hone kit. I have no reason to doubt this since it came from our tech boss.

Sounds good for me too, mainly because I want the LX kit but in a cooler looking finish

 

[Kornphlake]

Hasn't shimano done this for the last 10 years or so. I remember MBA doing a quick little chart thing that showed how Deore brakes were the same as XTR but without Ti bolts, XT levers were the same as XTR with a different finish... Of course this was a long time ago but they'd put together a kit that was essentially XTR level parts with different finishes and a few heavier fasteners for something like half the price. I think there's a little more of a quantum leap from LX to XTR than there was years ago but the differance between Deore and LX or LX and XT is pretty miniscule for most items, assuming that the hone group falls between LX and XT it's gotta be pretty much the same as one or the other.

 

[Bulldog]

assuming that the hone group falls between LX and XT it's gotta be pretty much the same as one or the other.

Hone was briefly described a burlier, all-mountain group. To me that meant that it would be stronger and handle more abuse. I assumed the crankset would be beefier. Sounds like Shimano's definition means only going faster (8" rotors) and crashing more (direct mount rear der). Sounds silly to only change two things, but it works for me - I just wanted a black version of LX or XT outboard cranks!

 

[Kornphlake]

I think you just figured it out, they'll call it something new, beef up the crank slightly and make the derailur direct mount and change the color of their LX stuff to make up the rest of the grouppo and guys like you will buy it because you like the color. Wasn't there a STX-RC grouppo that sold for something like $100 more than the STX grouppo, the only differance being a dark chrome finish on the brake levers and derailur cage? I'm all about matching colors but colors don't really cost that much. I'll stick with whatever is cheapest unless there is some actual performance benefit.

 

[Bulldog]

I think you just figured it out, they'll call it something new, beef up the crank slightly and make the derailur direct mount and change the color of their LX stuff to make up the rest of the grouppo and guys like you will buy it because you like the color. Wasn't there a STX-RC grouppo that sold for something like $100 more than the STX grouppo, the only differance being a dark chrome finish on the brake levers and derailur cage? I'm all about matching colors but colors don't really cost that much. I'll stick with whatever is cheapest unless there is some actual performance benefit.

Cost on the crankset is within $2 at wholesale, so your mini-rant does not apply in this case! :eviltongu

 

[Kornphlake]

Wow, shimano actually made a marketing decision with the customer in mind for once.