help w/ upgrades...

Trying to upgrade my bike component by component and hopefully have everything upgraded before winter sets back in here in the U.S... had a couple questions tho, the Trek4300 i bought came with a cassette of 11-32 8speed. i want to replace this and the Alivio Rear Derailler with some XT parts if possible...but i can't find an XT or LX Cassette with the same 11-32 teeth set on them.....if i buy a 11-30 or 11-28, what else would have to change to accomodate this? i'm a lil perplexed as to where to begin... any advice would be awesome!

__________________
Everyday i go to bed, i break i my previous record of consecutive days i've stayed alive.

http://www.saddletramps.org

the 11-30 or 11-28 wont have a huge affect and you wouldn't need any new parts if it's still an 8 speed cassette. if your looking for an xt or lx cassette, i think they only come in 9 speed, which means you would need a 9 speed compatiable rear derailleur, chain, and shifters

i found an XT model cassette, anyone ever used this one before?
Shimano XT M737 8 Speed Cassette Deore

__________________
Everyday i go to bed, i break i my previous record of consecutive days i've stayed alive.

http://www.saddletramps.org

I think the problem is the 4300 is an 8 speed bike. XT and LX parts have been 9 speed for a few years now. Getting the older 8 speed XT and LX stuff is somewhat difficult now and not worth it unless you are replacing broken parts. If you are upgrading its better to just go straight for 9 speed. This does mean you will need to do some significant upgrading to your bikes since you'll need new shifter, cassette, crankset, and derraelleurs. The 9 speed XT cassette is available in 11-32, 11-34, and 12-34.

Thaat's hooey.An 8 speed RD works just fine.

Maybe with some things.There are plenty of 8 speed cassettes around.Try nashbar,performance loosecrews and ebay.

Yeah the cassettes and a few other things can be relatively easy to get a hold of but since it appears he is looking to upgrade all the components to better parts it can get tricky to do a full group upgrade with high end 8 speed parts. Considering 8 speed parts can be even more dificult and even more expensive at times than 9 speed its more trouble than its worth.

just go for the 9 speed. you'll be able to upgrade to better parts with less hassle, plus you'll have extra gears

yeah, i guess i'll hold off on the cassette, and plan to buy shifters and deraillers next.

__________________
Everyday i go to bed, i break i my previous record of consecutive days i've stayed alive.

http://www.saddletramps.org