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9speed to 8 speed: Disadvantages?

1019 Views 8 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Roy, Aug 11, 2004

Jawz

Discussion Starter · Aug 10, 2004

I currently have an Iron Horse Warrior Comp that is mostly deore components with a crappy Truvativ crank and a sunrace cassette i believe. So ive been thinking of goin out and spending the money and gettin a nice full XT setup. But then i ride my older aroudn (2000) Kona Hahanna which is 8 speed and using acera derailleurs and such and the shifting is alot smoother and very crisp. I havent had to adjust it almost ever whereas as the warrior comp im always kinda tweaking to get things to shift just right. So heres my dilemna

When i upgrade should i go full out 8 spd and will i in theory get more reliable shifting, longer lasting parts, that also usually cost cheaper?
or if i go full XT 9 spd will i get the shifting performance i was looking for?

I kinda looked at it today and the "9th gear" is well i think just another big ring...my back 34t cuz i only see 32 t 8 speeds...or like its not a huge difference. For some reason my iron horse is faster but my kona might not have a 44-11 gear ratio on it.

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donboyfisher

· #2 · Aug 10, 2004

i very recently upgraded from my 7spd. Had thought about going to 9 spd, but instead stayed with 8 spd. Its early days in terms of how well its performing but its XT most of the way, shifters, cassette, mechs. only thing still to change is the cranks and chainrings - but they'll be non-XT - not decided yet.

I changed from 7spd purely because it was wearing out. I've never really found that 7spd lacked range for the riding i did - and now 8 spd just adds a little more. I just didn't see the need for 9 speed.

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Trajan

· #3 · Aug 10, 2004

I thought about upgrading to a 9 speed to get the 34 gear for climbing. Instead I just bought a 34t cog from harris cycles and added it to my 8 speed 11-30 XT cassette. I removed the 11t so it is now a 13-34 combo. Great for the ridding I do.

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tlg

· #4 · Aug 10, 2004

Jawz said:
I currently have an Iron Horse Warrior Comp that is mostly deore components with a crappy Truvativ crank and a sunrace cassette i believe. So ive been thinking of goin out and spending the money and gettin a nice full XT setup. But then i ride my older aroudn (2000) Kona Hahanna which is 8 speed and using acera derailleurs and such and the shifting is alot smoother and very crisp. I havent had to adjust it almost ever whereas as the warrior comp im always kinda tweaking to get things to shift just right. So heres my dilemna

When i upgrade should i go full out 8 spd and will i in theory get more reliable shifting, longer lasting parts, that also usually cost cheaper?
or if i go full XT 9 spd will i get the shifting performance i was looking for?

I kinda looked at it today and the "9th gear" is well i think just another big ring...my back 34t cuz i only see 32 t 8 speeds...or like its not a huge difference. For some reason my iron horse is faster but my kona might not have a 44-11 gear ratio on it.

One speed.
Other than that there are no disadvantages. One other could be availability. The more that 9sp is pushed, the less available 8sp components will become. And that really only matters for shifters.

With an 8sp cassette, you can have the same range as a 9sp. You just have a slightly larger jump in size from sprocket to sprocket.

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EIBfan

· #5 · Aug 10, 2004

8 speed conversion

Except for my road bike, all of my bikes use an 8 speed cassette. To convert 9 to 8, you will need an 8 speed cassette and rear shifter. It is getting difficult to get quality 8 speed chain rings but 9 will work just fine. The last bike I built used an 8 speed cassette and shifters and 9 speed derailleurs, crank and chain. Everything works great. I like the SRAM chains. They are a bit wider than Shimano, cheaper and seem to last longer.

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summitlt

· #6 · Aug 10, 2004

My bike is a 8 speed and im fine with that, have no need for 9 speed. But when my cassette gives up and I feel like new shifters, 9 speed will probably happen. just because theres more 9 speed parts.

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SuperNewb

· #7 · Aug 10, 2004

It seems to me the chain does wear out faster then it did on my 8sp drivetrain, I did one mud ride and the chain only had a few rides onit and it was toast after that. On my 8spd the chain usually had more life then that.

8spd is becomign harder to find, at least a good cassette range..unless you like running 11-28t ranges. At least thats what I found hard to find. XT cassettes. lx is too heavy sram as well.

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tube_ee

· #8 · Aug 11, 2004

SuperNewb said:
8spd is becomign harder to find, at least a good cassette range..unless you like running 11-28t ranges. At least thats what I found hard to find. XT cassettes. lx is too heavy sram as well.

Are you really concerned about what your cassette weighs??? You realize you're talking about a couple of ounces here, right? Believe me, your legs won't notice the difference, but your wallet certainly will. Consider: An 11-30 HG-70 cassette is 98 grams heavier than an XT. That's 3.45 ounces. Assuming a 200 pound rider and bike, that's 0.1% difference. Not worth paying for, in my world.

Lots of 8 speed cassettes are available. QBP lists many ranges. Most shops won't have them in stock, but a cassette is rarely an impulse purchase.

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Roy

· #9 · Aug 11, 2004

SuperNewb said:
8spd is becomign harder to find, at least a good cassette range..unless you like running 11-28t ranges. At least thats what I found hard to find. XT cassettes. lx is too heavy sram as well.

I believe the SRAM 5.0 11-30 8 speed cassette is lighter than the XT, due to a lighter spider. It's a great cassette for cheap and I recommend it highly.

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