[goodwinaustin]

Allright....So I have a 95 Stumpjumper M2....I love the frame and am looking at putting a new drivetrain on her for new life. I have just aquired a vintage full 8 speed XTR setup (crankset, cassette, shifter/brake combo - bought all for about $250) Normally I would be psyched but w/ 9 speed and rumors of 10 speed I am a bit worried.
My question is am I better off selling this drivetrain as parts before putting it on the M2, and going out and buying a new 9 speed drivetrain? Will 8 speed parts be available in 5 years or am I only going to be able to use this stuff until it wears down/brakes and then have to revamp the whole drievtrain all over again with 9 speed? Is it possible to keep the cranks and change the chainrings later on?How about using the shifters on a nine speed drivetrain(or 9 speed shifters on an 8 speed )? Basically I think these bike manufacturers should just stick with a drivetrain, I mean how many gears does one man need! Thanks very much.

 

[Shayne]

No worries with 8spd

There will be used and NOS 8spd parts around forever. You can still buy new parts from the 50's and 60's if you want to. It will be harder to find and more expensive but by ne means will it ever disappear.

Some of the newer parts will work fine with your 8spd setup. Your wheels can take a 9spd cassette if you ever decide to upgrade (and the M900 XTR hubs are probably the 2nd best MTB hubs ever made in my opinion...so deffiantely a keeper), 9spd f and r derailleurs will work fine with your 8spd parts. A newer crank with 9spd chainrings will work fine with an 8spd drivetrain. About the only thing you have to worry about is matching the shifters to the cassette. 9spd shifters will not run a 8spd cogset very well and vice versa.

As long as you keep shifters, cassette and chain matched you are all set. The rest of the stuff is interchangable