gradeAfailure
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
If you're happy to go with an 11-40 cassette instead of the 10-42 then you can go Shimano 11sp, which fits on a standard 8/9/10sp freehub rather than needing the sram-specific XD-driver. XT has just been released which means SLX won't be far behind, and considering you can do a complete new XT 1x11 setup for a little over £300 (minus wheels) then SLX will be even more competitive on price.
Best choice for chainring is one of the generic narrow/wide rings from the likes of Hope or Superstar, but they're all 4bolt 104PCD so you might need new cranks.
A basic set of modern wheels with rim brake rims can be had on eBay easily enough with a standard freehub, less so with an XD-driver.
If you're happy to go with an 11-40 cassette instead of the 10-42 then you can go Shimano 11sp, which fits on a standard 8/9/10sp freehub rather than needing the sram-specific XD-driver. XT has just been released which means SLX won't be far behind, and considering you can do a complete new XT 1x11 setup for a little over £300 (minus wheels) then SLX will be even more competitive on price.
Best choice for chainring is one of the generic narrow/wide rings from the likes of Hope or Superstar, but they're all 4bolt 104PCD so you might need new cranks.
A basic set of modern wheels with rim brake rims can be had on eBay easily enough with a standard freehub, less so with an XD-driver.