LX or XT replacement chainring?

Ned Mantei said:

My mountain bike has a 2003 XT crankset. I replaced the middle and small
chainrings last summer (they were just worn out), and now need to
replace the large ring (it's warped). My local mailorder store asks 52
Swiss Francs (about $40) for the LX version and Sfr. 139 for the XT.
Would I be paying 2.7-fold more just to save a few grams, or is there
some other substantial difference between the two models? Longevity?

Ned

Unless your worried about a few grams of weight go for the LX the only
difference really is the weight and materials they're made of.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ned Mantei said:

My mountain bike has a 2003 XT crankset. I replaced the middle and small
chainrings last summer (they were just worn out), and now need to
replace the large ring (it's warped). My local mailorder store asks 52
Swiss Francs (about $40) for the LX version and Sfr. 139 for the XT.
Would I be paying 2.7-fold more just to save a few grams, or is there
some other substantial difference between the two models? Longevity?

Ned

I'm speculating wildly, but the way to bet is that the LX is made of
steel, and the XT made of aluminum.

That means you would be paying 2.7 times more for a ring that weighed a
few grams less and had much LESS longevity!

In all seriousness, this is one of the places where going from steel to
Al will reduce some weight, but the reduction in wear life is much, much
more real.

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ned Mantei said:

My mountain bike has a 2003 XT crankset. I replaced the middle and small
chainrings last summer (they were just worn out), and now need to
replace the large ring (it's warped). My local mailorder store asks 52
Swiss Francs (about $40) for the LX version and Sfr. 139 for the XT.
Would I be paying 2.7-fold more just to save a few grams, or is there
some other substantial difference between the two models? Longevity?

Ned

I'm speculating wildly, but the way to bet is that the LX is made of
steel, and the XT made of aluminum.

No, they are both aluminum. The only difference, if any, that I can find
on the Shimano website is that the XT is listed as "7075 aluminum" and
the LX as just "aluminum".

Ned

Ned Mantei said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ned Mantei said:

My mountain bike has a 2003 XT crankset. I replaced the middle and small
chainrings last summer (they were just worn out), and now need to
replace the large ring (it's warped). My local mailorder store asks 52
Swiss Francs (about $40) for the LX version and Sfr. 139 for the XT.
Would I be paying 2.7-fold more just to save a few grams, or is there
some other substantial difference between the two models? Longevity?

Ned

I'm speculating wildly, but the way to bet is that the LX is made of
steel, and the XT made of aluminum.

No, they are both aluminum. The only difference, if any, that I can find
on the Shimano website is that the XT is listed as "7075 aluminum" and
the LX as just "aluminum".

Ned

if they're anything like the previous generation's chainrings, they're
identical in all respects except price. at my local bike chain store,
rings for both lx and xt are in different packages, but exactly the
same, right down to the part numbers stamped into their sides.

this practice may have changed for the integrated axle generation, but
the octalink generation is as described.

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ned Mantei said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ryan Cousineau said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

Ned Mantei said:

My mountain bike has a 2003 XT crankset. I replaced the middle and small
chainrings last summer (they were just worn out), and now need to
replace the large ring (it's warped). My local mailorder store asks 52
Swiss Francs (about $40) for the LX version and Sfr. 139 for the XT.
Would I be paying 2.7-fold more just to save a few grams, or is there
some other substantial difference between the two models? Longevity?

Ned

I'm speculating wildly, but the way to bet is that the LX is made of
steel, and the XT made of aluminum.

No, they are both aluminum. The only difference, if any, that I can find
on the Shimano website is that the XT is listed as "7075 aluminum" and
the LX as just "aluminum".

Ned

In that case, go for the Deore one 🙂

--
Ryan Cousineau [email hidden] http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos