Maybe? The move to a 1x would be the big upgrade here. But that begs the question, why not Deore 10 or 11 speed as an upgrade? It’s cheap, clutched, 1x and will shift better than older rapid rise.

 

I am not up to date on parts stuff. The bike has an older HG hub and 4 arm crank.

 

As further info...the bike is already set up as a 1x9, but has issues with chain retention.

 

Best combo I have found for smaller weaker hands is Sram GX 11 speed rear Derailleur, & shifter. XT 11 speed cassette & a small narrow wide ring up front. If possible switching to shorter 140-150mm cranks as 175mm is WAY to long for short kids.

The shimano 11 speed shifters are just stiff compared to the SRAM.

 

I am wholly impressed by CUES's performance, but it's an anchor. I knowingly accepted this since I'm on an emtb and am a fit adult. Anyone with fitness anxiety has legit reason to stay away, and it's the main reason why it's not a runaway hit. The weight penalty will hurt the power to weight ratio for a 10 year old even more severely..

CUES was designed for lifestyle riders, meaning people who want to treat their bikes like beaters and "SUVs", not really for sport and recreation. I am a cheapass and it's got all the tech trickle down I could want. I did some mixing and matching with the quality levels, sticking to XT level chains, but opened up to 2-series cassette (black coating instead of fancier nickel one). The higher level stuff stands up to abuse better, especially harsh solvents. Lower level stuff prefers being sludged over being squeaky clean.

The dream would be to find secondhand 10-speed XX stuff maybe for them. I'm not so sure they need cassettes with pie plates. 11-36 would be fine, I imagine.

 

CUES is where it’s at! For heavy, high power, masher adults or bionics. We use 9 speed CUES 11x36 on a school commuter MTB tandem where it is amazingly reliable without noticeable wear.

For a youngster, 9 speed is forgiving with its thicker cogs and wider spacing. Advent 9 maxes out at 42T, maybe you can find a 46, I bend those unsupported pie plates. This is Seth’s choice for beginners, for example.

Fit a 1x narrow wide 30T if speed is not required.

 

So what would be a good budget upgrade to what I have on the bike that will increase gearing and retention without needing a new hub?

 

Deore 10 or 11 speed.

 

Shimano 9 speed is compatible with Shimano 10 & 11 speed cassettes.

 

Shimano 9/10/11 speed all use the HG freehub, so lots of options. You can pick up XT 11-speed stuff on sale for about the same prices as CUES if you shop around, and that would be a tremendous upgrade over old SLX. SRAM GX 11-speed is also a great option.

 

The big Deore 5100 eats freehub bodies. Yes, the steel ones.

XT shifting SLX 11 speed is my go to. But the only kid who complained about the Microshift Acolyte 8 shifter was a 5'11" 15 year old. Riders as young as 10 did fine with it.

 

Its got an slx RD, slx shifter, and 175 slx crank. 9 speed. Bike also needs a dropper post. Would like to spend sub $300 on upgrades. Kid is 11, not racing (yet). Just riding with dad on weekends

 

The big deal is nine speed didn't have a clutch. So virtually anything after this will be an improvement in chain retention.

I'd also be wary of some of the Shimano eleven speed as the shifting effort can be extremely hard, especially compared to SRAM. That said I'd stick with Shimano solely as you won't have to change hubs.

 

XT/SLX is around $210 at Universal. $250 ish for full XT.

I like old 104 cranks off Ebay. 170s are common. 165 are more rare. Just picked up my second XTR 970 for $85 shipped. The first I paid $150 for. Both 170.

Dropper deals got scarce after Xmas.

 

I've got an older Race Face Evolve 165mm cranks and matching BB I can put on. Bike is obv. not drilled for internsl dropper.

 

And here I JUST hit send.

We've had a few frames drilled. Stay away from bends, butts, and welds is what I was told by the people I then handed the bike to so they could drill em.

 

might be a tad long winded

on my old HT its running 3x using a mix of XT rear derailleur, chain and cassette, wiht LX shifters.. on my fatbike.. have 10s Deore setup with an Advent X cassette from microshift which honetly i dont feel has affected shift quality much... if i compare both these for shifting performance.. the ol HT is smoother shifting.. not miles ahead.. but its niticeable

my sons bike has CUES 10s on is... and it shifts pretty much on par to my fatbike...

i think youd lose some shifting performance.. though maybe not much if you keep the cassette thats on it currently.. whatever loss in shifting performance youd loose.. would your kid notice it??

 

Your kid is going to hate you for having learned on rapid rise and now switching. I had a XTR RR on a Jamis Dragon. It shifted great but it wasn't my only geared bike and switching between the two…

 

I didn't know Rapid Rise came on anything other than XTR!

 

My vote is for m5100, 11 speed. I've done it to three bikes now in our family fleet, my primary XC race bike included. They're the best value upgrade for an older 2x or 3x drivetrain you can get.

Pardon Our Interruption...

$130 for the 11-42t full groupset, which is what you want for a 26er. Add in a narrow wide 104 chainring and you're off to the races. Budget to spare for a dropper.

 

I'll just toss out that you could get a new Advent-X derailleur, shifter and cassette for under $200, and I saw $130 on ebay in the last few months (with the steel cassette). Wide range 11-48t, fits on a Shimano HG freehub, good shifting. If you get the cassette with aluminum 40 and 48t rings it's very light. (If you get the slightly cheaper all-steel cassette it's a boat anchor like CUES.)

 

Advent X looks 11-48 looks like it is the ticket. Only concern is if the all steel version will chew up the freehub body. Then again, my kid is only 11 and not a heavy dude.

 

Glad my suggestion was helpful!

Like I said there was an ebay seller with new-OEM-unpackaged kits a couple months ago around $130. I bought one, then decided to keep it as a spare and got the alloy cassette and newer derailleur version from modernbike to put on the frame I'm building. I have a Farley 5 with the whole same setup OEM from Trek so cheap spares seemed worthwhile.

I don't think a light 11yo is going to damage your freehub much. The lighter cassette has alloy spider and 40-48t cogs, the rest of the cogs are steel on both versions.

 

I have my kid on my old 26 Voodoo Hoodoo MTB with a 10-year old Shimano SLX "rapid rise" 9 speed RD.

Liar! There never was SLX with rapid rise and even then, the last 9 speed SLX came out in 2008-ish and was quickly replaced with 10 speed model. Either way- rapid rise died in 2008, along with dual-control shifters, when that SLX replaced LX.

Anyway.

Shimano Cues systems would be a downgrade, sidegrade, or small upgrade?

Cues works fine and has three grades to it, where the highest one is an equivalent of XT. Deore 5100 also works fine. My kid has it on her bike. Thinking about 'grades' will make you overthink it.

 

Liar! There never was SLX with rapid rise and even then, the last 9 speed SLX came out in 2008-ish and was quickly replaced with 10 speed model. Either way- rapid rise died in 2008, along with dual-control shifters, when that SLX replaced LX.

Mea Culpa. Mea Culpa. Mea Maxima Culpa. Shifter and RD are Deore LX, not SLX. Crank is SLX.

 

Walk of shame time. Ride a broken-chain Huffy down main street while Ford Excursions pass within inches rolling coal. That will teach you to know your exact model years of old Shimano groupsets.