Finally, STX 1" head set
- Thread starter Danob1
- Start date
Maxipedia
Retro Guru
I would go as far as putting STX in the same drawer with XTR. The difference, as I see it, is in certain things you can't change, like springs. This is why my M900 XTR who's been through a lot of things since its birth will always be better than anything brandnew below XT. We could go on with this, not leaving any componentry stone unturned, but it's pointless. What I wanted to say is that STX and STX-RC are very honorable component groups. As a matter of fact, if I look at how Alivio has been doing since its first appearance, I can only say: not bad!
But I have a story that you'll like and I just remembered it tonight.
So, it was 1994 and mountainbiking took of in Romania as well. Actually, BMX was most kids' dream in communism (there weren't any) and when we first saw mountainbikes they were rocketships. Anyhow, one of the first "real" mountainbikes came circa 1994 from a manufacturer who sold a lot of (decent) low-end bikes. Their top bike had a tri-moly frame (3 CrMo tubes) in satin silver (looked like Ti), a nice butted fork and a stem in the same finish, DiaCompe Aheadset (!), Bontrager C20 saddle, Tranz-X handlebar and barends and a full Alivio or STX Special Edition groupset, depending on how your luck was. It was every kid's dream bike and some of them got it after they passed their exam and got to highschool. I did, a bike was promised, but I never saw one until I bought it myself, but it didn't count as much anymore (I had a new red '98 Palisades Trail). Either way, word on the street is that the following happened: the people who were behind the brand didn't know much about componentry and they sold a lot of the entry-level stuff. It's said that at some point they messed up and put XTR on these bikes instead of STX (three letter, one T and one X, right?) and sold them for the same price! A few people took notice (some of the guys who shaped mountainbiking into what it is over here) and bought them all and sold them in pieces in the following year. Frankly, I don't know how true this legend is, but I can easily check it. It makes for a god story, though...
Have a great weekend!
Mx
But I have a story that you'll like and I just remembered it tonight.
So, it was 1994 and mountainbiking took of in Romania as well. Actually, BMX was most kids' dream in communism (there weren't any) and when we first saw mountainbikes they were rocketships. Anyhow, one of the first "real" mountainbikes came circa 1994 from a manufacturer who sold a lot of (decent) low-end bikes. Their top bike had a tri-moly frame (3 CrMo tubes) in satin silver (looked like Ti), a nice butted fork and a stem in the same finish, DiaCompe Aheadset (!), Bontrager C20 saddle, Tranz-X handlebar and barends and a full Alivio or STX Special Edition groupset, depending on how your luck was. It was every kid's dream bike and some of them got it after they passed their exam and got to highschool. I did, a bike was promised, but I never saw one until I bought it myself, but it didn't count as much anymore (I had a new red '98 Palisades Trail). Either way, word on the street is that the following happened: the people who were behind the brand didn't know much about componentry and they sold a lot of the entry-level stuff. It's said that at some point they messed up and put XTR on these bikes instead of STX (three letter, one T and one X, right?) and sold them for the same price! A few people took notice (some of the guys who shaped mountainbiking into what it is over here) and bought them all and sold them in pieces in the following year. Frankly, I don't know how true this legend is, but I can easily check it. It makes for a god story, though...
Have a great weekend!
Mx
michael franks
Retrobike Rider
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IMO both STX and STX RC are functional, reliable and they look good too. I can't tell the difference operationally between them and LX or XT. Don't know about XTR as I've never had a bike with it :shock:
jgjones095
Old School Hero
Have one fitted to my first bike i rebuild, using an old triple triangle 92 Apollo frame, back in 96. i equipped it with a groupset consisting of:
alivio sti and front mech (the first buy as I hated the cheepo sis thumbshifters and 5 fingure brake levers)
stx 1 inch threaded headset
stx se crank (got to replace my broken alivio crank)
stx se hubs on mavic rims
stx rc rear mech
lx canti's
its now running 567 lx v's and shifters and still got the bike now and works well, brothers used it to go to work for the last 3 years.
only issue is the bike weights a ton!
Still got the bike now!
then got the lx567 group set on my next build with an alloy frame.
now i finally can afford the xtr bits i wanted 15 years ago for my new build
I think the STX SE stuff is getting rarer to find!
alivio sti and front mech (the first buy as I hated the cheepo sis thumbshifters and 5 fingure brake levers)
stx 1 inch threaded headset
stx se crank (got to replace my broken alivio crank)
stx se hubs on mavic rims
stx rc rear mech
lx canti's
its now running 567 lx v's and shifters and still got the bike now and works well, brothers used it to go to work for the last 3 years.
only issue is the bike weights a ton!
Still got the bike now!
then got the lx567 group set on my next build with an alloy frame.
now i finally can afford the xtr bits i wanted 15 years ago for my new build
I think the STX SE stuff is getting rarer to find!
Back in 94-96 I worked in a great bike shop. We sold many of the better and even great brands and most people who wanted decent mtb's, came to us. We had Marin, KHS and Mongoose for the masses and Fat, Breezer, Litespeed and more for the those wanted something special.
Needless to say, I sold, mounted, repaired and even rode many of these bikes in that period.
I could tell a lot about my experiences from back then but since this topic is about STX, I will limit myself to that.
The STX (and SE and RC for that matter) was a great group set back then. It's not XTR with a different badge and finish as some people seem to believe........but it was still great. It was not as solid as it's more expensive relatives but it's precision was up there with the best. It shifted just as well as the M737 (and they were better than M900 in that area).
STX also had a great design, maybe only surpassed by M900 at the time.
So I totally understand that some people on this site loves STX and want to build their retrobikes with this groupset.
.....and I also agree about Alivio. Not as precise as STX but compared to it's entry level pricing, it worked beautifully.
Needless to say, I sold, mounted, repaired and even rode many of these bikes in that period.
I could tell a lot about my experiences from back then but since this topic is about STX, I will limit myself to that.
The STX (and SE and RC for that matter) was a great group set back then. It's not XTR with a different badge and finish as some people seem to believe........but it was still great. It was not as solid as it's more expensive relatives but it's precision was up there with the best. It shifted just as well as the M737 (and they were better than M900 in that area).
STX also had a great design, maybe only surpassed by M900 at the time.
So I totally understand that some people on this site loves STX and want to build their retrobikes with this groupset.
.....and I also agree about Alivio. Not as precise as STX but compared to it's entry level pricing, it worked beautifully.
