9 speed cassette to replace 12....?

[Tootyred]

A good mate bought (against my advice tbh) a marin 12 x 1 2 years back.....as i suspected with his age, fitness level and surrounding terrain, hes only using 4 or 5 cogs at the back! These have now worn and a new cog set is £175!

My thought was to swap out the 12 for a 9.....(as it needs a new chain and front ring too!) As this set up will give him all the gears he needs at an absolute fraction of the cost (20%).

Now, my bike shop training stopped in 1991 and 9 speed is about as far as i understand in terms of compatibility!

Am i right in thinking the 9 will go on, but will just need a spacer behind it?

Also, I assume im going to have to swap out the shifter and derailleur as the pull is different.....they are all here in my spares box, so he can have the deore ones....which to be frank look better quality than the plastic fantastic on the bike. All shimano btw.

Also, any other issues you can think of that might pop up before i launch into a wasted couple of hours ?

Cheers

 

[retroJIM]

If it's 12 speed the freehub could be MICRO SPLINE rather than HG and I don't think there's 9 speed cassette for that.

 

[Tootyred]

Ok. Interesting.....something to check from the hub info.....thanks.

 

[Tootyred]

Apparently its got a sram nx 12 speed cassette at the moment, which i believe fits standard hg freehubs.....so fingers crossed! Im assuming it must be a sram hub too in that case......hopefully i can see the bike in the flesh tomorrow!

 

[FluffyChicken]

It's about £60 to £70 for a 12speed NX.
Quite a lot but nowt compared to price of some.

 

[Tootyred]

He's been quoted £175 for the front ring, cassette and chain......without any labour! So i assume that's for a better cassette.....or they are trying to fleece him!

But then I suppose a chain ring could be £10 or £50 depending on quality.

I think hes has a shock, especially as the bikes not that old! But as i said " you cant expect little narrow 12 speed chains and chineesium cassettes to last like old skool xt stuff!"

Hes worried its a rolling process of cost.....which its is.....and why i told him to buy second hand 9 or 10 speed!

But hey....we need to deal with what we have!

Cheers guys

 

[FluffyChicken]

https://www.biketart.com/products/sram-nx-eagle-12-speed-cassette?variant=40809499361459
Steel ring, ebike quality, so should be hard wearing

Chain looks to be about £20 from there.

Chainring, no idea not personally going to delve into whatever New-New standard there is or non-standard there is now.


Could be cheaper or more from other places.

Might be cheaper to get a new groupset.

No doubt the jockies will be worn too.
And you'll need a new shifter.
Possibly 10 or 11 speed might be easier and cheaper now, compared to even 9speed.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Which is about the price of one tyre on some cars..
Or and service on a car.
Or one or two tanks of petrol.

In the scheme of things £200 for a service is not a lot if they also use a car.

 

[Tootyred]

Good thing i drive a 1999 astra 1.6! Service kit inc oil £36.

Cycling is clearly no longer a cheap option.....

 

[Tootyred]

Well.....there you go. After a look in person, it is indeed a spined shimano hub. So it has to stay as 12 speed.

Sadly (and this is the reason for the update) its made him pretty unimpressed with the quality of available high end parts and he now feels he would rather put that kinda money into his hobby of riding his motorbike......which he can also take to work and enjoy.

So, he's selling the bike......well done mr shimano.....another cyclist lost......

Im a big promoter or cycling, it has huge benefits, but its not a cheap option and if this is the standard of modern premium components then i kinda get his feelings.

Oddly, talking on sunday to a younger mate (27 ish).... he sees this as quite normal....but then on reflection thats a generation thing. He expects his phone to last 18 months, his car to be handed back after 3 years and that things are transient. That includes the quality of components....he expects everything to break or wear out quick....."they just do"

He also pointed to the fact that people sell their drive trains wholesale when the rings start to wear.....thats apparently normal....just look on ebay.

So, congratulations to the consumer society, this is an all time low, disguised as a peak..........our thirst for devouring new stuff has played straight into the hands of the very people selling us the stuff! In that we now expect low quality at high prices and we are not disappointed!

As for the older generation....well im watching a 27 year old lowe crt tv still, riding bikes with 30 to 40 year old components and driving an apparently "environmentally unfriendly" car that's 23 years old (when 10 year old cars go to scrap because of a computer failure)......

If people have no money.....stop spending it on consumer eye candy and poorly made rubbish......vote with your feet.....stop being a cross between a lemming and a bloody sheep.

I know free will is dead as we leave the ways of liberalism and the " self" behind and step into a society where information controls us.......but come on! You need to help yourself too!