Osella
Senior Retro Guru
Re:
Fair enough to look for a rigid bike, even on gravel paths they are fine for most things - especially given modern tyres (if the frames can fit them!).
Modern 2.2-2.3" tyres can be light and fast-rolling with little rolling resistance but a nice cushion on the bumps!
One question though; which generation of LX/XT are you thinking of when you say that's the quality you want?
It's a serious point, as the most recent Deore mechs & shifters are near identical to that of XT from 7 years ago. I know that's modern, but given the march of progress, it's not worth dismissing some 'lower-level' componentry just because of name or price point.
As an example; the current 'Altus' cantilevers are cheap &, well, Altus.. because all new Big-S canti's are for 'recreational' use - but there is functionally no difference between them and the 1994 M737 XT canti's.
Fair enough to look for a rigid bike, even on gravel paths they are fine for most things - especially given modern tyres (if the frames can fit them!).
Modern 2.2-2.3" tyres can be light and fast-rolling with little rolling resistance but a nice cushion on the bumps!
One question though; which generation of LX/XT are you thinking of when you say that's the quality you want?
It's a serious point, as the most recent Deore mechs & shifters are near identical to that of XT from 7 years ago. I know that's modern, but given the march of progress, it's not worth dismissing some 'lower-level' componentry just because of name or price point.
As an example; the current 'Altus' cantilevers are cheap &, well, Altus.. because all new Big-S canti's are for 'recreational' use - but there is functionally no difference between them and the 1994 M737 XT canti's.
