How many cogs on your cassette?

 exactly. I use 3-4 of my gears on my DH bike unless I'm riding wheelies in the parking lot. Less is certainly more

 You can make your own by simply removing some of the cogs, and adjusitng your limit screws. I'm on a 6 speed using a Shimano 9 speed derailleur and 9 speed shifter. I don't have any issues with snapped chains.

 Of course you can, but it will still be a 9-speed chain and 9 speed cogs... which are way less durable than an oldschool 8-speed drivetrain, even when comparing low-budget old stuff with nowadays' high-end one.

 That just not gonna happen. No manufacturer will make a high-end chain and cassette which you could run for a year or two... they would lose all the profit.

 my dh bike runs a shimano slx cassette (9spd 11-34) and i removed the alloy carrier with the large 3 rings threw in a few bb spacers and a longer limit adjust screw in my m810 saint mech and bobs your uncle 11-23 6spd cassette

getto'd to f*ck works a treat though

 exactly , 7 cogs whith a descent chain thikness, tired of snaping the 9 cogs chain , and it's a pain in the ass fix them when you have no adecuate tools. Why not focus it for tandems and travel bicycles bikes, whith so many products I dond understant why they don't make one. If they add one more cog the thing would become almost ridiculous...

 I use a hope pro 2 evo ss hub, ghetto 6 speed, I've never bothered with expensive derailleurs either... Ghetto seems to be the name of the game with DH...

 Still rocking an 8 speed shimano 105 for DH it's on its last legs, also has some ghetto fixes, I really only use the last 4 or 5 gears going downhill, the others come in handy when climbing back to the top(can't have uplifts everyday and it's still faster than walking the bike)

 I run a 7 speed and I find it Perfect! 9-10 Speed seems like to much. . .

www.pinkbike.com/photo/8065473

 I would have no problem with 8 or 7 gears but I got a 10 speed stock on my Glory 0 and until the day it breaks I see no need for changing it, but one thing I do notice is that I never have got to the point of using the last two gears, so I guess an 8 speed is ideal for dh

 Yeh, but its all money most people don't have...

 600 for a not that light crankset, no thanks if i bought a bike with one of those on the first thing i would do is sell it, too much value not enough performance gain

 It is weight in the only place that doesn't matter. The extra lbs there right where you are putting all your weight don't do much. I'd take it if I could afford it.

 I couldn't agree more, @taletotell I think they are great and weight isn't that big of a deal from my standing point, if I got one I would keep it but i'm not in the economical position to buy one

 Willie, did you read a single word I typed? I want a nine speed cassette, to keep my ultra reliable 2006 XT cranks, shifter, my King hubs and most of all I don't want spend a thousand pounds on SRAM's proprietary piss take.
Now, why should I check out XX1 again?

 I agree but i'd prabably prefer it in 10 speed just to keep things smoother. Only problem is the rear mechs aren't designed to accomodate a cassette that size so it would probably rip your mech off the hanger.

 instead of having a 40t big ring follow hope's thinking, if the cassette was part of the hub rather than a bolted on bit you can put a 9t small ring on the cassette allowing you to get the same sort of ratios as with a 11-40 with a 9-34 or something simalar, would allow a smaller front chainring as well giving more effective bb clearance

 8 speed chains are beefier than 9/10 jobbies. If you can find the cassettes and a shifter you can fit them to existing 9 speed parts (mech, hubs etc). I know a couple of big guys that do this, it's cheap too.

 I agree that 10/11 speed can be beneficial for xc or trail riding but releasing the saint group set in 10 speed is a piss take. Theres no need for it and no market. As you can see from the chart most of us are running 9 speed because we don't want to be ripped off. Shimano are just trying to force you to upgrade your entire group set.

 the whole bike industry is guilty of that one!!!

it was the same a few years back when going to nine speed was making chains "way too narrow" people will realize that skinny chains can still be made strong if you do it right.

there is no denying that most of the time dh riders use the whole of 5 gears when descending but having a few extra for riding home at the end of the day is allways helpful, that is why shimano put long limit adjust screws in the new saint so if you dont want extra gears you dont have to run them, besides skinny chains do smooth shifting up and if you replace your chain more often it will make your chainrings/casettes last longer

dont think im trying to sell the new stuff here my dh bike still has a chopped 9spd cassette on it and probably will do until it fails but i can understand where the designers are coming from and there are definately big benifits to be had from the new designs

 sram xx1

 campagnolo

 Campag.. They have been of my radar in so long. Take it they are still big on the racer scene?
They used to do awesome smooth bearing hubs, had campag records on my first real mtb

 Or was it campag centaur? On of the two

 Camp-Mang-Yolo

 still the pretty and exotic niche group in road...

 Hey MrBIG, I'm running the new Zee with a shimano 9 speed shifter and a 9 speed cassette reduced to 6 speeds. It works perfectly. So you don't need to upgrade anything.

 Me too, I just had to spend a little bit of time adjusting it but now it's running perfectly

 You can get a saint m810 rear mech in 9 speed. Its an amazing mech. I just hope they don't discontinue them.

 I agree the, M810 is awesome, it's what I used all last year, but just wanted to try the Zee, It was super cheap $68 on CRC.

 How did you run a zee mech on 9 speed? just literally used a 9spd shifter and cassette/chain? It almost sounds too easy haha

Would it work for the whole 9spd? I just fancy a clutch mech tbh no extra gears required

 dunno, i wouldn't mind ten

 I was quoting Gee Atherton from the episode of Top Gear when he raced May in Lisbon.

 7? Luxury! Where's the option for a 5 speed screw on freewheel on a 10mm bolted cup and cone hub?

 Or just about anything campy...

 and they got it for free or with a crazy discount otherwise they should start reconsidering some things...

 Or they're paid to use it