AustinBike Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 I've been riding a ~2011 Niner with 10-speed and old Hope brakes. With all of the deals going on these days I managed to pick up a new 11-speed XT and some new XT brakes. Let me just say two things: 1. If you have never cut your own brake lines because you were afraid of screwing it up, it is WAY easier than you think. The front brakes come pre-cut (and close to the perfect length) and the rear takes about 2 minutes to do it right. A quick bleed and you are ready to go. I love the bleed system on Shimano, never thought I would say that, but they really do make great brakes. 2. 11-speed is dirt cheap these days, if you are not running it, take a look at it. I had a 42T on my 10-speed and going to 11-speed allowed me to get more range. I put a 32T on the front, getting me a little more top end vs. my 30T and the total gear range is better than the old 10-speed. The weird gap is between the 46T and the 37T. I rarely ride in the granny on the back (with my 42T most of my climbing was in the middle 36T) so it feels like the other options are more evenly spaced. A few hundred bucks and two hours of time were well worth it to bring this bike into the current decade. And the old bits can transition to my HT eventually so that I can get rid of the damn Elixr brakes... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 5 hours ago, AustinBike said: I've been riding a ~2011 Niner with 10-speed and old Hope brakes. With all of the deals going on these days I managed to pick up a new 11-speed XT and some new XT brakes. Let me just say two things: 1. If you have never cut your own brake lines because you were afraid of screwing it up, it is WAY easier than you think. The front brakes come pre-cut (and close to the perfect length) and the rear takes about 2 minutes to do it right. A quick bleed and you are ready to go. I love the bleed system on Shimano, never thought I would say that, but they really do make great brakes. 2. 11-speed is dirt cheap these days, if you are not running it, take a look at it. I had a 42T on my 10-speed and going to 11-speed allowed me to get more range. I put a 32T on the front, getting me a little more top end vs. my 30T and the total gear range is better than the old 10-speed. The weird gap is between the 46T and the 37T. I rarely ride in the granny on the back (with my 42T most of my climbing was in the middle 36T) so it feels like the other options are more evenly spaced. A few hundred bucks and two hours of time were well worth it to bring this bike into the current decade. And the old bits can transition to my HT eventually so that I can get rid of the damn Elixr brakes... You can cut brake hoses to length without needing to bleed them. it's pretty easy. Squeeze the pads together without a disc or block, disconnect line at the lever being careful not to let line fall below caliper level. Cut line to length, install new olive and barb reconnect line to lever and us a screwdriver of stiff blade putty knife to push the caliper pistons back in and you're done. Install wheel with disc and pump lever to bring the feel back. I've done it many times with no issues. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AustinBike Posted July 28, 2019 Author Share Posted July 28, 2019 That is what I did, but getting the last bit of air out of the system was necessary. May need to take another inch off, so we'll see how that goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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