XTR M900 vs XT M739

[sylus]

if I had enough money for m900 and m739 I would chose the m900 for a garage queen but for everyday I would use m739

for me the higer price m900 isn't that much better over the far lower priced m739

 

[FluffyChicken]

All interesting. I did have a set of octalink v1 m950 cranks and Bb and I didn't like them, they weren't up to the standard of my m730 cranks on my dynatech to be honest, on fit finish and feel.
And the grey is most definitely post retro.

I didn't win the XT m739 Sti and levers on eBay. So still on the lookout for something to match my m900 rear mech hubs and XT 739 v brakes.
A shame m900 shifters are only available bolted onto canti levers.

As mentioned above, look for the not so common ST-M008's to get that type of lever.

 

[lrh]

And then the M739 four-arm cranks are widely considered ugly (although I don't see this myself) and a huge backwards step from the beautiful FC-M737 five-arm design. There is a 5-arm variant of FC-M739, but they are very rare and still not as nice as FC-M737.

FC-M737 has to be the most over-rated chainset ever... Looks little different to many STX/LX models yet sells for 3-5x the price! Four-arm FC-M739 is delicious (~£130 new!) but wouldn't look right with older kit. Trouble with trying to mix and match 90s Shimano is they all had different finishes :?

Most old chainsets are overdue new rings so you might as well go down the custom route. I recently picked up an unloved Sugino Impel, fitted 3 brand new alloy rings, total cost £30 and 50g lighter than M900. No pics of mine but this is similar:

 

[ibbz]

ST-M008
Will take a look and see if there are any available.

Another Question, which Avid V Brake levers were available which were of very high quality (something like the SD Ultimates in silver) in the late 90ies?

(or Avid V brakes - or any other brand of V brake of high quality and comparable to an XT or XTR or better)

 

[elPedro666]

Here
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=235614

 

[elPedro666]

Here
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=235614

 

[mkaavin]

@ibbz

Hi

I used to work as a bike mechanic back in 94-96 and rode most of the bikes and Shimano groups back then.

I have the following recommendations for you:

- Sell your M739 brakes. They are crap!
- If you really want to keep the M739's buy M008 shifters for them ( http://mombat.org/96XT.jpg ), they will work fine with M900/M737 mech's.

Now for the build. If you follow this "recipe" I guarantee that you will be satisfied!

Rear mech: M900, you can use M737 also and they are good but M900 are much nicer.

Front mech: M900, same as above.....M737's are also nice but M900 looks better.

Chainset: M900! M737 are not nearly as good (compact drive and too weak). In fact M900's are among the best cranks ever made!

STI's: M737/M738, they rule. Great shifting and fantastic brakes. Best there ever was back then. M900's are not so good. They look great but have poor functionality compared to M737/M738. I would actually go for M738 because they have nicer and more solid shifting displays.

Cantis: M900, they are forged and are stronger and even look better. Get the newest pads (M910 or M737 style).

.....and then you will have a true classic Shimano build, best of breed.

You will also find a lot of information and images regarding the classic Shimano groups here: http://mombat.org/Shimano.htm

Good luck with your build!

 

[sylus]

@ibbz- Sell your M739 brakes. They are crap!

bad workman always blames his tools

 

[mkaavin]

@ibbz- Sell your M739 brakes. They are crap!

bad workman always blames his tools

That may be true. But that statement is not only based on my experience.

 

[MikeD]

I've got a pair of the black SD Ultimate V levers like these:

I think they came out in 1999. Lovely