STX Shimanos ginger step kid?

[Groundoggy]

I never managed to fully check it, but there is a legend about how the producers of that bike (who were selling huge amounts of low-end "MTB's" back then) mistakenly equipped a few of the aforementioned bike with full M900 XTR instead of the regular STX and sold them for the same price. Apparently to them it was just another Shimano groupset with a name from three letters, "something with a T and an X". Supposedly all of those bikes were bought by people in the know, our local MTB pioneers, who got them just for the components, as you might suspect. I hope that one day I will be able to investigate this, but it will be hard as some of the involved people unfortunately passed away...

Mx

Great story even if it turns out to be just a story (sounds reasonable enough though).

Didn't mean to totally dump on STX. I'm sure there are a few bikes that you would want to keep stock. The group allowed some decent frames to be in an affordable price point.

I couldn't afford all the top of the line stuff back then either. Kind of enjoying picking up the occasional high end part at a reasonable price now. I'll pass on the crazy prices people are paying for some items.

Right now it seems XT is pretty reasonable. XTR is awesome but it's usually a premium price. For retro XT is almost commonplace because it is so affordable.

 

[Maxipedia]

I'll pass on the crazy prices people are paying for some items.

Ze Germans!

Right now it seems XT is pretty reasonable. XTR is awesome but it's usually a premium price. For retro XT is almost commonplace because it is so affordable.

You are very right, but still I think the new SLX is awesome value. For new parts I am a SRAM guy, just because local Shimano comes through Greece and they treat dealers very very wrong. I can't support that, as good as Shimano still is. I want my bikeshop to be alive and kicking, not the big distributor in the background to count more money.

As for old bits, I am quite the scavenger: always looking for parts, often trading, constantly hustling, never cheating, permanently fair. Finding good parts in the piles of old and neglected bikes over here is a cool challenge and my adventure!

Mx

 

[KDM]

STX was below LX and therefore irrelevant to me. Entry level stuff that should be ditched for XT if you still have the bike. XTR gets a bit spendy IMO. More power to you if you can afford it (and are willing to pay for it)..

Entitled to the opinion sure

However, that type of stance would also be displayed by some who would say a 30 year old bike? move on man there are far better bikes for the money than those old cast offs, only to be seen looking unhappy as a 30 year old rigid overtakes thier brand new all bells and whistles 2.5 k bike

Highlighting the stx's strengths in that when it works for you it's great and when it doesn't it's rubbish, alledgedly.

The stx and rc versions were on the bikes that were achievable and not so achievable when I suspect we all became infactuated with them.

I'm reminded one day of playing golf in Loughton many many years ago with my argos cheap set of clubs and secondhand shoes and before me I saw a much younger and slimmer Ray Winstone had all the latest kit, plus fours looked a bit of a knob really but the belief in having the latest most exspensive kit convinced others and at the time I suspect Ray could play like a champion. First tea off hit the ball hard and it worried many on the 18th.

My rather long winded point is some in here designate their riding ability by the label of the bits on their bike and some are still out everyday on a bike with less of a designer label but more smiles per miles

 

[Maxipedia]

My rather long winded point is some in here designate their riding ability by the label of the bits on their bike and some are still out everyday on a bike with less of a designer label but more smiles per miles

Cheers to that! I have some video arguments in favour of that.

The first is our downhill National Champion, an 18 year old kid that can ride anything and his Intense 951 was one of the worst and most abused bikes I have ever seen. Watch this, he's at 00:32, at 1:02 and at 1:12 with the harlequin TLD pants:

http://vimeo.com/26935925

Also here:

http://vimeo.com/29984359

Here I have another example. My two team mates ridding our Nationals track. The guy with the white Supreme raced my last two DH bikes in the last 2 years. He got 5th in Elite on the most physical and demanding track in the country on my '99 Lobo (!!!) and last year he became Experts National Champ with a time that would've put him in top ten Elite among a few World Cup riders (Harry Heath, who recently won the first British race of the season in Rheola, won that race). So, you see, sometimes it's not about the bike... Enjoy:

http://vimeo.com/29304448

Cheers,
Mx

 

[poweredbypies]

Does anyone know if the stx headset hp-mc30 is jis or iso, its tack height and if it will fit a pair of orange ally forks?

 

[Neil]

I've got somewhat sentimental feelings for it, really - it's a little bit modern for me, anyways - but I once bought an STX (well mostly STX-RC) groupset for a hack-bike I was putting together.

And what with the nature of it, that hack-bike tended to get used a fair amount, it did everything and never complained - right up to the point when some clucking ne-er-do-well nicked it, fortunately leaving my boring looking, albeit marginally better equipped (LX...) Apex, in favour for a slung together, £99 alloy framed bike, thrown together with STX / STX-RC.

And what grates, isn't that they nicked one of my bikes, they nicked a bike I'd put together myself. However, they left my preferred bike - bitter-sweet moment, I guess.

In all the revisionist snarky, snobby views about mid-range groupsets, I think it does bear note that there's very valid usage of stuff that isn't top end, for the very reason that it isn't top end. That's not immaturity, awaiting burgeoning maturity, to convert to XTR-ism - it simply is what it is.

 

[hamster]

Much of this is snobbery. If anyone can explain the difference between M737 hubs and STX beyond the cosmetics I'd be interested to hear it!

A pair of STX hubs have done 10,000 miles on my tandem and are still going strong. The seals, axles and bearings appear identical to XT. That's a loading twice that of a normal MTB.

Later XT hubs are actually weaker than SLX / Deore, which is why the expedition touring community avoid them nowadays.

 

[legrandefromage]

Much of this is snobbery. If anyone can explain the difference between M737 hubs and STX beyond the cosmetics I'd be interested to hear it!

A pair of STX hubs have done 10,000 miles on my tandem and are still going strong. The seals, axles and bearings appear identical to XT. That's a loading twice that of a normal MTB.

Later XT hubs are actually weaker than SLX / Deore, which is why the expedition touring community avoid them nowadays.

The freehubs are different - I tried a swap and the buggers are not interchangeable - but, a current Deore freehub goes straight on a 739 series hub...

And, the washers, nuts and bolts are slightly better finished.

STX-RC is just about the best do it all groupset but I never had time for the odd chainsets and rust prone steel bits of STX.

 

[Anthony]

It is worth bearing in mind that a lot of the beliefs about the various levels of Shimano are the result of a triumph of marketing over sensible scepticism, aided and abetted by journalists who have to tell you that expensive things are far better than inexpensive things, otherwise the manufacturers of expensive things would stop sending them expensive things to put on their bikes.

Anybody who thinks STX is 'crap' is a deluded victim of Shimano's marketing of its more expensive products. It works, it's reliable, it's better value, it's a bit heavier, it lasts a long time.

 

[Woz]

STX-RC was decent enough....especially the 5 arm 94 BCD Pista crank. MC36

But, this is now a question to the experts and boffins. If it was "lower" than LX, with the M5xx notation, why did the levers have M600 stamped on them?

Horrible levers BTW with that plastic thing capsulating the cable end. Hubs were the most naff part of the gruppo IMHO and seemed to set the stage of dragging the overal quality of LX down.