While you can’t judge a product by its sticker price alone, very few of us are surprised when we read a review stating that the latest, uber-gucci widget performed passably well. Well, of course it did. If buying a fork or a wheelset bleeds your bank account so heavily that it means you’re guaranteed to retire penniless and broken, then, no shit, it better cure cancer, bake you a soufflé every morning and make riding your bike a magical experience. The big surprise is when something doesn’t cost an arm and a kidney, yet still proves awesome.
A good value is truly a priceless thing, which is why we’ve been wracking our brains for the best values this year.
Fine tuning your suspension can feel as manageable as building your very own nuclear reactor in your kitchen--particularly when your rear shock is bristling with damping adjusters. Cane Creek’s Dialed app takes the hassle out of fine-tuning any of the company’s rear shocks. And its free. Shimano's XT M8000 group isn't free, of course, but it’s a proven performer that can be had for a third of what top-rung, 1x groups would have cost you just a few years ago. The M8000 single-ring group is showing up as standard equipment on a whole lot of new bikes these days. There’s a reason for that. And then there’s Trailforks—the most comprehensive guide to trails all over the world. What'll it cost you? Nada. As in, nada damn thing. If you have a smartphone, it's yours for the taking.
Which of the three is the Best Value of 2016? Here's the rundown.
Why it's nominated:
With great power comes great responsibility. Reverend John Cumming or Winston Churchill or Uncle Ben once said that and the same general principle holds true for suspension tuning. To wit, the more fiddly bits your shock or fork has sprouting from it, the more diligent you have to be when it comes to diddling about with said bits. Maxxing out all those dials does not equal instant on-the-trail bliss. In fact, doing so is a great way to make a brilliant bike feel like absolute crap.
Cue Cane Creek’s Dialed App, which walks you through every step you need to take to fine tune your Cane Creek shock. Yes, other companies (including Fox) have produced tuning apps before, but none are either as in-depth or intuitive as what’s on offer here. The app (available for both iOS and Android smartphones via iTunes and Google Play) contains a base-tune library for 6,000 different bike models and counting. Once you’ve selected your bike model, you can breeze through the base-tune process in a few minutes or you can let the app guide you through a fully custom tuning process based on your own riding style and preferences. You can save your suspension-setting profile in the app in the event that you want to revisit and tweak them further on down the line. Cane Creek also has online tutorial videos, linked up through the app itself, that show riders how to set sag or make air volume adjustments.
From the First Look
 | There's no doubt in my mind that this sort of app is going to be a boon to any rider who is even the slightest bit curious about what the dials do on their Cane Creek shock, and I'm a bit surprised that other suspension companies don't already have something similar out. - Mike Levy |
Why it's nominated:
SRAM effectively made front derailleurs obsolete in 2012 with the debut of its XX1 group. In the process, they helped simplify cockpits, nearly eliminated dropped chains and gave frame designers something to rejoice over. Prior to the proliferation of single-ring drivetrains, engineers had to make front derailleurs get it on with short rear ends and increasingly-fat tires. It wasn’t pretty. It took Shimano a lonnnng time to bring a 1x drivetrain to the market and even longer to offer the reasonably affordable, XT M8000 version with its 42-tooth bailout gear. But it’s been worth the wait. Dollar for dollar, it’s hard to beat XT M8000. Perhaps impossible.
When it rolled out of the gate last year, XT bore a sticker price of $424.94. That tidy bundle bought you the 11-speed cassette, 1x11 crank, rear shifter and rear derailleur. Much to the consternation of many bike shop owners, riders soon discovered they could pick up this group for a good hundred bucks less from countless online retailers. Last time I checked, there was a guy in town selling $300 XT drivetrains from the back of his van, alongside his extensive collection of “limited edition” velvet Elvis paintings. The new XT group has a way of getting around. But people aren’t just snatching up this group because it's wallet friendly; they’re buying XT M8000 because it's an absolute workhorse, sticker price be damned.
Mud, grit, dust, horribly-timed upshifts--we've subjected this group to all sorts of abuse and it just keeps on keeping on. This flavor of XT is reliable, the shifts are solid and satisfying, the lever feel is excellent and the ability to drop down two gears at a time with a single push of the lever is a definite benefit. Not having to buy an XD driver body? That's also another big plus, even if it means you're rocking an 11-tooth cog instead of SRAM's steeper 10-tooth offering. The company's recent introduction of an 11-46 XT cassette also adds a bit of relief for riders logging big miles over big mountains. It ain't Eagle, sure, but then again, look at the price tag... Shimano was late to this single-ring party, no doubt, but at this price it's hard to find fault with what they finally rolled out.
From the review
| As far as durability goes, the M8000 upholds XT's reputation of being a set-and-forget drivetrain, and it's required minimal attention since the day it was installed. - Mike Kazimer |
Why it's nominated:
Do we feel a bit douchey and self-serving by including our own app in this trio of best values? Yes. And no. Here’s the thing, Trailforks is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive guide to trails and trail reports anywhere. The Trailforks app launched in September of 2015 with a database of 30,000 trails. In less than a year’s time, the number of trails that you can scout before even leaving for your ride has more than doubled. As of press time, you’ll find descriptions and ride guides for nearly 70,000 trails in 77 countries around the world. More than 200,000 people have downloaded the app to date, and with good reason….
Let’s say you’re traveling to a new town and want to know where to ride; with Trailforks on your smartphone (Android or iOS) you can instantly find all the trails in the area and, thanks to the app’s heat map feature, you can instantly see which trails are the most popular. You can also get detailed data (length, elevation profiles, etc.) on any trail, including the latest conditions. How tacky is that loam today? Are there downed trees from last week’s storm? Trailforks has ride descriptions and, in many cases, pictures that give you a glimpse of what’s in store.
On the trail, Trailforks guides you through the ride. Since its geo-location features work offline as well, you can always find your location on the trail map, even when you’re not picking up a cell signal. And we’re merely skimming the surface here when it comes to features. Trailforks is, simply put, awesome. The fact that it costs you absolutely nothing to use is just the icing on the cake. Yeah, it’s our own app, but we’d include it no matter who made it. You can download it at the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android).
From the First Anniversary Post
So, which of these three items is truly the best value of 2016? We're still wrangling over that question ourselves. Stay tuned for the answer.
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dv65 0.066451
XT ftw...no arguments.
Should include GX and another high value item, perhaps RaceFace Affect line or some other component line for a proper eValuation for this field.
No offence to bike shops, but ultimately isn't it most important that CONSUMERS are well looked after? How can you fault Shimano for doing that?
Its sad to see the bike shops doing poorly, given that its the life blood of local scenes. But the reality is that mountainbiking is a bloody expensive sport. Way out of reach for the majority of the population, almost elitist. The more accessible mtb is, the better it is for the sports growth.
If I had SRAM components, when part of my drivetrain broke, I wouldn't have been able to afford a replacement. But thanks to Shimano, I could. No amount of bike shop morality pleas can change the fact that I just want to ride my bike.
I needed four chainring bolts a few weeks ago. Chainring bolts. Did they have any? No. Did I have to basically point to some on a stock bike for the person at the counter to know what they were? Yes. I've given up with them now. Online is my only option.
One of my LBS has stopped stocking parts beyond tubes etc. Instead it offers bikes and mechanics services at a reasonable price and in a timely manner. You supply the parts from your preferred online retailer and they will fit them for a reasonable price. Works very well.
It seems to me that the business model of the local bike shop is starting to fall out of touch with the all-in dedicated mountain biker market. So here's a question to you bike shop people out there:
Your prices are high. Your selection is low. Chat windows with people 1000 miles away are competing with your customer service ability. The "emergency items" are cheap enough online to buy in bulk and keep in my closet. You open at 10:00 a.m. and close at like 4:30 during the spring and fall which makes it ludicrous for anyone who can afford to mtb to make it to your shop. Amazon is actually a faster way to buy parts. With YouTube and my own set of tools I can do all of my own maintenance. No offense, but as a consumer, what, exactly, do I need you for again?
This is what happens when you get a company run by people who actually care about the people enjoying their product VS a company trying to keep their shareholders happy while boinking the customer....
Useless it is not! Estonia is on the list, feel free to add your trails for all to enjoy.
Contact me if you need help adding them.
Three times.
Following carins on slickrock, especially ones that go on/off ledges and turn frequently is bad enough. Being able to download a gps map and see when I'm off trail is a beautiful thing.
@canadaka maybe able to give you a better answer.
oh..... AND ITS FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
With all that said, again, I totally respect delicate land access issues. And if you feel that's a big issue, don't post. However, definitely post if you can. The more people riding the better!
(Sorry, this topic is near and dear to me; my local trails recently had houses and highway built on them. These were not popular trails so the "community" voted to build on them, despite being in a designated public use park. I didn't even know it was up for question until the area was leveled. Don't let this happen to you)
shimano brakes are king.
As for shimano brakes, every pair I've ridden on have felt wooden, they work but there is no modulation and just zero feel as to what is happening but each to their own (this includes saints).
Maguras are nice. When they work. Which is rarely
This year i bought both an XT group set / brakes and a CCDB inline.
XT: Quite possibly the smoothest, cleanest shift ive ever had on any bike. always reliable, perfect gear ratio on the 1x11 and ive only dropped the chain once since owning it. and all that for £450
CCDB: Great shock, great adjustability. Completely changed the peeformance of my bike. i couldn't quite figure out the app though. However, thats probably just me being an idiot.
i went to a LBS to tried to buy the XT set and they where charging me $900 no labor included. i was willing to pay up to 550 because i wanted to support LBS. However they stated that if i wanted to do it with them that is what i have to pay. I order it online and save a lot of money, for many of us is the only way to go. Great product Shinamo!
Xt has my vote
- nobody ever
I do however like the idea of a SRAM 1x11 using the shimano 11-46t cassette (as the cost of the SRAM cassettes is absurd).
I don't think I could MAKE an XT drivetrain have that many issues if I tried.
So yes, a mechanic has everything to do with this, and cheese has very little. There are millions of XT derailleurs out there and only a handful of cages being bent.
Same setup with the xo derailleur has been flawless (carbon cage), the xt derailleur has not collided with spokes (on freshly built wheels), cassette or anything (b-limit correct), no impact marks or damage on it. Chain tension is perfectly adequate and due to the suspension design there is bugger all (if any) chain growth.
Never liked the shift of the xt to begin with (same wooden feel as their brakes but worked correctly) but yes it bent quickly, whereas the XO setup that replaced it never gave any grief to this day. Hence why I have been less than impressed with XT gear and dont get why others love it so.
To be fair, the bike would probably suit saint strength derailleurs but the XO does the job perfectly hence my reservations to XT.
Also, none of what you cited means that it's the derailleur's fault that the cage bent. Cages don't bend on their own, and the XT cage is no less strong than any other alloy cage (obviously the carbon XO is not going to be subject to bending but that's a different subject altogether because it's more than twice the cost of the XT unit). The reason I brought this up is that I have a riding buddy who has had the EXACT same problem with the EXACT same derailleur. He discovered he had a bent cage too, exactly what you described, everything was fine with the drivetrain, no marks at all on the cage, etc. I re-aligned the cage and then watched it happen again about a month later as he simultaneously skip-downshifted while taking a very rocky turn before a climb. As the cage extended, it collided with a spoke and because he was not moving very fast, he stopped before the cage got bent. We would have never known what happened if he had not been able to stop...would have just felt like a branch or rock hitting the derailleur. His wheel was true and everything shifted fine. But it still happened.
Again, millions of XT derailleurs out there, only a handful of bent cages. I've seen mysteriously broken XO1/XX1 cages too but I don't blame the derailleur for it.
1. Living in CO, MTBProject is more comprehensive. I'm sure this is the reverse if I lived in BC (or anywhere outside of the US)
2. The suggested rides linking a bunch of trails in an area together is a big help. Sometimes they're going the "wrong" way over what I would prefer, but if I have not been somewhere before, it's good to know at least one person's opinion on which direction is preferable.
www.trailforks.com/region/fruita-1464164211/?lat=39.31000154117708&lon=-108.67610726928712&z=12&m=trailforks
www.mtbproject.com/directory/8011440/18-road-trails
But I didn't realize TF had heat maps,etc. Thanks for pointing that out. I'll check it out.
For the price it's awesome - easy to install, verstile (it's both external and stealth in one) strong, reliable and requires minimal maintenance.
I'm 130kg and I've been running it on my hardtail for the last 6 months. Haven't had a single problem with it.
2 outta 3 are apps? Are you kidding me?