Hey guys, Im in a bit of a dilema here about what to do about the drive train on my bike.
for starters I've got a Kona Chute, with Xt front (super rare size took me forever to find the right one to fit) XTR rear derailer (8speed I think), xt rapid-fire shifters, and RaceFace cranks/rings with an 8speed casset in the rear on a xt hub.
Basically where Im at right now is the rapid fire shifters are on their last legs, the gear counter no longer works, the shifts are getting a little tough, the cable adjusters are stripped on the front shifter.
My chainrings and casset are looking about halfway done, some ware showing, but not catastrophically useless yet.
when I shift and ride, I get alot of gear clicking (even after being freshly lubed and aligned). I'll align the rear derailer on the lower half of the gears and it'll shift fine down there, but give me headaches on the upper gears with skipping, and vise versa if I dial the derailer into the top gears. My front derailer nearly always pulls my chain off the rings going down from the outside or middle to the smallest granny gear. Chain suck is an occurance on almost every ride. All the drivetrain is about 2-3 years old, taking into account that I've just picked up ridding again more seriously after an 18 month drought.
soo.. given all that info... what would you guys recomend I do? I'd hate to replace all of it as Im pretty poor right now, but I know that if you're not replacing all the gears and chain at once, you can end up with quite a headache. Should I just start first with shifters? and do the gears/chain later? do you think I need new derailers? I'd prefer to stick with 8-speed, is that stuff still produced? It's been ages since I've paid attention to the recent trends and do-hickies released to the market, so fill me in like you're explaining things to a retard.
also if you dont mind, I'd appreciate some oppinions on what equipment is best/most reliable.
for starters I've got a Kona Chute, with Xt front (super rare size took me forever to find the right one to fit) XTR rear derailer (8speed I think), xt rapid-fire shifters, and RaceFace cranks/rings with an 8speed casset in the rear on a xt hub.
Basically where Im at right now is the rapid fire shifters are on their last legs, the gear counter no longer works, the shifts are getting a little tough, the cable adjusters are stripped on the front shifter.
My chainrings and casset are looking about halfway done, some ware showing, but not catastrophically useless yet.
when I shift and ride, I get alot of gear clicking (even after being freshly lubed and aligned). I'll align the rear derailer on the lower half of the gears and it'll shift fine down there, but give me headaches on the upper gears with skipping, and vise versa if I dial the derailer into the top gears. My front derailer nearly always pulls my chain off the rings going down from the outside or middle to the smallest granny gear. Chain suck is an occurance on almost every ride. All the drivetrain is about 2-3 years old, taking into account that I've just picked up ridding again more seriously after an 18 month drought.
soo.. given all that info... what would you guys recomend I do? I'd hate to replace all of it as Im pretty poor right now, but I know that if you're not replacing all the gears and chain at once, you can end up with quite a headache. Should I just start first with shifters? and do the gears/chain later? do you think I need new derailers? I'd prefer to stick with 8-speed, is that stuff still produced? It's been ages since I've paid attention to the recent trends and do-hickies released to the market, so fill me in like you're explaining things to a retard.
also if you dont mind, I'd appreciate some oppinions on what equipment is best/most reliable.