Shimano XT cranks for DH?
- Thread starter cmoney
- Start date
A lot of people have and the general consensus is that they work as good as any. At 200 lbs. I've had no issues with them.
I've been on mine for two seasons now; only bent one non-drive crank arm in a pretty big crash last year. Past that they've held up awesome, though they are pretty beat. I'd do it if you ride decently smooth and weigh 200lbs or less.
They work fine but they will bend easier than DH specific cranks if/when you give them a good whack on a rock.
I ran a pair for a while but then did exactly that. I replaced them with saints.
I ran a pair for a while but then did exactly that. I replaced them with saints.
I'm pretty freakin light so I get away with running XT's on my 83mm frame without any problems as of yet. (Don't want to jynx myself)
It's definitely worth giving it a shot...
It's definitely worth giving it a shot...
i love xt cranks. i use them for everything from DH to full xc bikes.
I'm pretty freakin light so I get away with running XT's on my 83mm frame without any problems as of yet. (Don't want to jynx myself)
It's definitely worth giving it a shot...
Are those 761s or 760s?
If they are 761s do you know what your chainline actually measures (I am guessing 52.5mm)? Shimano lists it as 47.5mm with the spindle spacer but that makes NO sense as the crank was speciffically designed to have a wider chainline to allow larger granny rings.
To the orginal question:
Full suspension bikes (especially long travel ones) actually put LESS stress into the crank. The action of the suspension lowers peak forces (over a longer period of time) that leads to lower stress.
For simply pedaling and riding, just about any decent crank will hold up (wont bend from simply riding). BUT that all goes out the window once you start taging your pedals on stuff...In that case, beefy cranks with steel inserts (or VERY hard aluminum) are definately a better choice.
you mean a 68/73mm XT crankset will actually work for 83mm bb shells?!?!
i thought the spindle would be too short to reach...interesting...
i thought the spindle would be too short to reach...interesting...
They do fit, but it's not that easy.
Not only you need a special trekking crankset, you also need a frame which will accept the lower chainline.
http://www.nathanriddle.com/?p=117
Who would have thought...I have XT M771 cranks on my DH bike witch has also a 83mm BB,head zero problems with it.They are light to compaired to Saint.
XT M771 on my scale
Solid cranks that are not too expensive and they are good enougth to handle DH action.
It in all reality is, its a bad idea, if your bike has an 83MMshell, get 83MM cranks to match.
STOP!
If you buy the trekking cranks, use no BB spacers, remove the spindle spacer and grind down the inner spider properly, the plastic locking key will still engage and the spline contact will be sufficient.
I ran this setup for two seasons @ 250lbs with no spline problems. I did tag my pedal on rocks and rip pedal threads out, but that was easily heli-coiled. I've destroyed Gravity DH cranks (not Gravity Lights) with rock hits less significant than what took out the threads on my XT cranks.
The fact of the matter is, you've got no authority to judge how people spend their time, should they choose to dedicate an hour to modifying their cranks. People are not putting their frame in danger and unless warranty hooks you up, if you tag your crankarm on a rock, or if it bends from abuse, the crank manufacturer will not warranty that crankarm regardless of if you have modified it or not - neither situation is grounds for warranty.
Would love to hear the reasons why you think this.
Does someone need a tampon???
Yes Ive seen it done, yes Ive seen them fail....YES the douche even expected me to warranty it for stripped splines
I dont give a **** if you want to modify your **** and make something run together even though its pretty effing clear it was never...NEVER intended to be used that way.
As far as Judging....Did you forget your on Ridemonkey...... thats all people do here, are you effing new or something? Were the hell did I judge anyone, I simply stated something that is... well true. I didnt come out and say if you do this your a moron, if you do this your asking to die ETC.... I simply stated in all reality, its a bad idea... And it is, there are products out there that are made to be used with 83MM shells, they work better, do not need mod's to work, and guess what, your not completly voiding your warranty right off the back
Please, hear this..... Just because you rigged your bike in a way it was not intended to be setup, dotn encourage others to do the same thing, IT WONT WORK ON ALL BIKES. Not all bikes have enough clearance on the chainstays..
**** me when did it become a crime to just reccomend using the proper product for the proper application...
Oh yeah, you used grinding, and properly in the same sentence. For someone defending the "proper" way to modify your cranks, I would think you would be smart enough that you would be stepping away from the heat inducing, heat treatment killing grinder, and telling people to use a low speed drill to take teh granny tabs off.... Much cleaner, much faster, and doesnt heat the metal anywere near as hot as a hi speed, slow cutting metal throwing grinder
SImple.......... Just like listed above....... Thats what it is supposed to be using.
If the bike has an 83MM shel, its going to have a 150 rear end. Are the folks around here really becoming so anal about those couple extra grams they will sacrifice there overall life of there drivetrains just to run something that clearly isnt meant for that?
If your bike is setup with a 73MM shell, by all means, run the xt's for DH, they are plenty strong enough
But anyone who wants to jump down my throat for reccomending something that is proper can **** off
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If you read Nathans blog, he clearly states the advantages and benefits of using XT's. They may not fit on all bikes, and the new Saints are lighter now, but if your down with weight savings, XT's work fine.
The bike in question he does the mod on is a IH 6-point. He does a lot of Super-D racing and wanted the lightest set up possible. I trust his judgement as he's an instructor for UBI.
Bad idea? Are there any good ideas associated with riding a bicycle downhill as fast as you can? LOL.
The bike in question he does the mod on is a IH 6-point. He does a lot of Super-D racing and wanted the lightest set up possible. I trust his judgement as he's an instructor for UBI.
Bad idea? Are there any good ideas associated with riding a bicycle downhill as fast as you can? LOL.
are the spindles pressed into the Shimano drive side cranks? maybe if you heat them up in an oven, you could press them out. it would be pretty cool to press in a saint spindle into a XT crank. didn't shimano skunkworks do one for the athertons?
Please, now that I have to poin this out, do not think I was judging anyone, or trying to say this doesnt work, or that it wont be strong enough, or anything like that.
All I did from the get go was give a simple statement, overall, its a bad idea.
I guess I must elaborate
the bike was designed around an 83MM shell, with cranks made for said 83MM shell, designed with a certain chainline in mind for that bike. ETC ETC
five years ago or so, this made alot of sense, it was how you got a lighter crankset for a bigger bike. Now we have cranks that are light, and come ready out of the box ready for the application without any mods needed.
Here is the situation that I see arising from the intraweb
Person... look i got xt's for my 83MM BB, I read this mod to make them work
Person is at home, spend the time, does the mods
Installs the cranks, engangement is fine........goes to give them a spin, heares a tick, tick,tick..... whats that the person thinks.... Hey, why are my cranks hitting the chainstays???? Oh **** I modded the cranks, I cant take them back
Ok, I am a little over the top there, and hopefully anyone that would be doing this would check to make sure they fit prior to modding.
Seriously, This is were I stand as of now, why modd new parts to make them work on a bike they were enver intended to be on< for whatever reason> when there are other new parts that are made for the very application you are trying to use?
I will say this once again, I AM NOT JUDGING ANYONE, "if" it works for you, then fine run it, that does not in anyways mean you should be pushing it off as correct.
I still dont see were WBC could read into me judging others.
Guess later I will have to keep the proffesional responces to myself
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I'm still using the XTR cranks I bought from Acadian....that he had on his blue DHi.......THAT is how old they are....
I ran XT's for a year or so until a hard impact stripped the pedal threads out on the non-drive side. They worked fine and are light, but now that the new Saint cranks are almost as light I run Saint's. The steel pedal inserts are far superior to the XT's.
BTW: I would take XT's over Gravity lights any day, those things bend ridiculously easy!
BTW: I would take XT's over Gravity lights any day, those things bend ridiculously easy!
i am pretty light as well (165 lbs), and thinking about going this route for my new dh bike...I just love how solid the saints are, had my last generations for 3 years without 1 problem...cant complain about that.
Fair enough but the life of the drivetrain argument, I assume from being 5mm away from the so called 'correct' chainline a little overstated.
lalalalalal
I think you post just because you want a reason to talk, whether or not you have any experience or knowledge on the subject. I'm not going to go so far as to say that you use giving biased, incomplete, inexperienced or false advice for the sake of upping your post count - but I'm not saying anything too far from that.
It may or may not. On a set-up like this, the chainring is too far inboard (by about 5mm). Now remember this is a DH bike (not FR or AM), so the vast majority of the time the chain will be in the smaller and further outboard cogs. Essentially the chain is out of line up to almost an inch (23mm) in the smallest cog. A DH bike would be far better off with a chainring that was 'too far' outboard.
There are also some potential issues with chain/tire clearance as well as getting a chainguide set up.
BUT I will say (as I did earlier) that the actual measured chainline of the 761/771 cranks is unknown. The shimano docs are incorrect, and I have never seen anyone post a measured chainline for this set-up (I have asked).
Also, based simply on the number of these posts that I have answered myself (over and over and over) the VAST majority of cyclists do not have any understanding of chainline, nor that the Demo uses an odd combination of BB/rear that takes some thought to get set-up correctly.
Now if you run the chainring on the outter mount, like Igz has, things get better, but this requires the use of an LG1 type guide...
In the end, I think people just need to be aware that there are some potential issues with this kind of set-up (increased parts wear, more difficult install, parts compatibility). IF you know and understand these things, great....but again, a simple search hear (or at other forums) will rapidly show that most people do not.
Wow, I am real glad you feel that way, Now how about keeping your opinion to yourself, and piss off next time.
You popped off like a **** head that I was judging people, while in fact you are the ass that was judging. I gave a simple responce, which is a flat out true responce. If you want the best life and performance from your bike, then run what it was intended to be run with.
I didnt judge anyone, so next time you tell to pipe down for judging someone, maybe pull the stick out of your own eye, before pointing out a splinter in mine.
Now back on topic, those here listing they would go for xt's over gravity's.... I agree 100 percent.
about teh chainline vs were arguement, DaveP already responded quite well to it. You can see it, its not as crucial with a DH bike, but something I will point out, when running the xt mod setup, your chainring is more than 5mm further in, its 7.5MM further in, have to remember you are also removing the 2.5mm spacer on the BB cup. Like DaveP, one day I would really like to see the actual numbers as to were the chainlines are factually at with the outboard bearing systems.
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The issue I've had with XTs has always been the pedal threads ripping out. Yeah you can heli-coil, but that only lasts so long. I switched to SLXs for the steel pedal inserts and haven't had any issues yet.
Yeah, unfortunatly the lighter you go, the more you will find little things like that. Still, there are alot of other cranks out there that I will run the xt's over. SLX is a great choice as well, its def stronger than the xt, still going back to the original question, yes, xt's are dh worthy
I suspect they will work well for a Blindside. I have actually been toying with switching over to them on my blindside as well.
xt's are plenty worthy, go for it, youll probably like it..... Post a pic when your done.
Ok got the cranks mounted up with a new Hope BB as well,I will not have a chance to ride them till Sunday but I got a couple of pics.View attachment 99547
View attachment 99548
View attachment 99548
Oops I shouldn't ever have posted that URL...
I have a spare set of trekking deores if anyone wonders about real world measurements.
I have a spare set of trekking deores if anyone wonders about real world measurements.