Cheapest full XT bike

[_rubinho_]

What's the cheapest full bike you can buy with a full XT groupset?

[mackie1]

I was going to say the On One 456 XT but it's missing the chainset. Are we including wheels too?

[tjdixon911]

Is this for a doner bike?

I am looking into the possibility of getting a doner to build up another frame so would be interested to know the answer!

[anonymous-user]

go to merlin and buy xt groupset or is this a new bike purchase which "must have xt groupset regardless" thing?

i dont think there are many, manufacturers always cut corners on bike builds, you would probably need to go custom and look at a cotic soul or something similar...

[Minnsy]

Zesty 514 has XT wheels, hubs, and I believe all running gear. But it's french. So it smells of cheese.

[mackie1]

I think SLX represents much better VFM. Full groupset with brakes for £399 from Merlin. You're looking at 50% more for XT.

[MrTom]

Out of curiosity why Shimano xt? There is better performing parts that are cheaper in almost every catergory within a groupset.

[h4muf]

Minnsy said:

Zesty 514 has XT wheels, hubs, and I believe all running gear. But it's french. So it smells of cheese.

X-control 410 is fully xt'd up too,a little cheaper.

[Roman]

Merlin Malt 1 XT? - £945 or XT groupset currently on offer for £399

Edited by Roman on Thursday 16th September 19:56

[anonymous-user]

what do you want the bike for? a zesty 512 and an x-control are two markedly different bikes!

[_rubinho_]

Reason for the question is that I am looking to upgrade my MTB over winter. I was investigating the possibility of buying a full XT bike, swapping the bits with my old components and selling the new bike with my old components on. I was interested in seeing if this would be a cheaper way of getting a groupset than buying one outright.

Why Shimano XT? Well I had it on my last bike and I was very happy with it. I like the idea of a fully matched set of components as it helps my OCD tendencies!

I'm not so interested in wheelset as I'd be looking to get some made up but if it comes with a nice light one then I'd go for it.

[big_peaches]

as said previously SLX is a much better set up for alot less

[_rubinho_]

My bike's standard Deore with a nasty FSA crankset at the moment so SLX would be an improvement. It's also a heavyweight so I need to shave some grams. What are the relative differences in mass between the sets?

Changing to an airsprung fork is also a priority and a better rear shock are a must too but that's a whole other topic.

ETA A new wheelset would help too.

Edited by _rubinho_ on Friday 17th September 12:31

[itsnotarace]

Shedding weight from the groupset is quite pricey in terms of weight/cost ratio.

The best gains for the money come from wheels, tyres, tubes, stem, saddle, seatpost, bars etc. You might save 200 or 300 grams from swapping the entire groupset but you could easily shed that with the wheels alone

If you have Deore already, why not just upgrade the shifters to XT or XTR because that will make the biggest difference to the entire feel of the groupset. Changing front and rear mech etc makes very little difference in the grand scheme of things.

[_rubinho_]

itsnotarace said:

Shedding weight from the groupset is quite pricey in terms of weight/cost ratio.

The best gains for the money come from wheels, tyres, tubes, stem, saddle, seatpost, bars etc. You might save 200 or 300 grams from swapping the entire groupset but you could easily shed that with the wheels alone

If you have Deore already, why not just upgrade the shifters to XT or XTR because that will make the biggest difference to the entire feel of the groupset. Changing front and rear mech etc makes very little difference in the grand scheme of things.

That's a fair point. I'd definitely change the BB and crankset to SLX or XT purely because I hate the way the FSA one looks. Being brutally honest, there's a certain amount of vanity wrt to bike components and coming from my background I can't accept something that doesn't look beautifully made.

I think I might try and catalogue the masses of all my components and see if I can't find the biggest gains.

[mackie1]

What fork do you have currently?

[_rubinho_]

mackie1 said:

What fork do you have currently?

Rock Shox Dart 2 weighing in at around 2.5kg. I need a 120mm air sprung unit.

[Gooby]

Beware of throwing pearls before swine.
Is the frame worth it?

[_rubinho_]

It's a Kona One20 (Aluminium not Scandium though) so it's a quality frame with some less great components. I like the bike and it handles well. Having been through a real hassle of getting a new bike after my old one was stolen (very long story involving insurance) I'd rather not go through it all again so I'd prefer to upgrade this one.

[mackie1]

_rubinho_ said:

mackie1 said:

What fork do you have currently?

Rock Shox Dart 2 weighing in at around 2.5kg. I need a 120mm air sprung unit.

Oof. I'd definitely look at replacing that with a Reba or something. You'll save nearly a whole kilo in weight straight away. I had a Dart 3 on my old bike and replaced it with a Reba and the difference was huge.