Bro, If you would like, it is more towards your cadence when climbing. XT crank wont help you. It only helps to shift gear fast and last longer or more durable. tat it. it is the BB tat helps you. What crankset u using? Is it with BB Hollow II or BB30? Just upgrade the BB with ceramic or Tiramic or for budget service it regularly


P/S:Weight Weenie is just for those who are weak to carry their bike. Remember your bikes carries you around for long distance. how heavy are you. Your bike is at most less than 20KG. Can't carry meh. mine is 12KG and i am ok to carry it when climbing unridden path.

Hi Guys! I got my first MTB. Bought it from USJ Cycles. The people there were very friendly and helpful.

Fuji Nevada 1.0 TW spec.



This post has been edited by rathishsiva: Apr 1 2013, 10:40 AM

upgrade BB wont feel any different la.. dun simply say. ceramic/tiramic is expensive and that slight smoother bearing wont be felt unless u already have other good component to go with it at peak performance.

9 speed to 10 speed upgrade will definitely help on the climbing due to better gear ratio... 22t front with 36t rear.

weight does matter... 15kg vs 12kg big lot of different more over a 20kg bike. dun la simply give extreme different.
weight weenies actually refers to those who pay dearly to drop little weight different. its a misused term btw.

for newbie, 9 speed will do now.. ride more and build the stamina. upgrading to 10 speed help but most likely u will still push bike. might as while train harder and upgrade things like the wheelset to a lighter one that give you more significant differences during your ride. rolling weight can be felt more obvious that dead weight.

Are you sure BB wont feel any different?

yea 9 sp vs 10 all will go 10 as new tech. but which is cheaper to buy. Chg of BB surely helps
What is important when climbing a hill is your cadence and gears choose.
In a steep long ascend you need to change your gear gradually. Do not immediately change to the lightest gear. Also do not change at the last minute. Follow your heartbeat/rythm. if you do it you can make it. Even if it is a long climb uphill.


What do you want in cycling? The feel of riding in a terrain, climbing hill and going downhill. Playing with single track. Tat is most important. BTW, I am using 9 speed SRAM X-5 with front Deore crank with good BB. And heck i can climb hill with this. Anyway i am still with 9sp due to budget la. Anyone wants to sponsor me or donate me their unused parts which is better than what i have to me?

yes, BB wont... Shimano BB to token tiramic BB or hope ceramic BB wont feel much/any different.
cadance and gear got nothing to do with BB.. BB is just the bearings. so changing bb wont feel much.

changing crank will help.. in most cases you change BB with your crank is due to different size and different crank.
especially from square tapered to hollowtech crank due to lighter crank and better gear ratio. so you better dont confuse yourself or others on BB

This post has been edited by Broadica: Apr 1 2013, 11:13 AM

Bro? i guess you are the one who is confuse now,,, Square tappered and HollowtechII is not a BB? Hmmm...

Anyway I know my point and I will stand to it. You can do ur test in your real life cycling and logic.
Which is smooth and which better if you compare to ceramic and normal BB. If you have a not smooth BB, do you need extra energy to kick the pedal and most of your energy will go to this instead of rotating the crank? If you have a smooth BB, ur kicking will mostly go towards the crank movement instead of fighting the friction.

Anyway it's all up to one riders. I am just pointing from my experience of riding.

Some to add:
I advised on ceramics or tiramic mainly because it reduces friction or drag when pedalling compared to normall provided. If you do not plan to change your BB, regular cleaning of your BB would help alot to remove this friction.



This post has been edited by leinnz: Apr 1 2013, 11:38 AM

No dude... Square tappered and HollowtechII is not a BB!! they are called spindle. spindle are part of the crankset. but they are related to BB.
what you referring is the crankset. get your terms right and not to confuse others.
but if you say change crankset help on climb.. yes due to weight and the gear ratio. the number of teeth on the crank, smaller number of teeth mean climb better. lighter weight also help with rotating weight. nothing to do with bb bearing being steel or ceramic. they must be smooth regardless of bearing type, otherwise is wear and tear liao.

BB is the bottom bracket... changing crankset with different splindle type requires the change of BB to fit due to different diameter or width.

if you are using the same crankset and change BB from standard BB to ceramic or tiramic makes no different.
So please give advise with correct terms, imagine people listen and go change the BB only will waste money.
if no believe, keep your deore crank and change your BB to ceramic bearing and see.

This post has been edited by Broadica: Apr 1 2013, 12:03 PM

since u've read i am using deore, do u read that i am using tiramic as well?
anyway i have put a point why i choose to use it because i need less maintenance/cleaning due to friction and it do help on my pedalling. As an avid MTB rider, I've always had my bike dirty and regular maintain as dirt and mud always get into these parts (the bearings. I had to removed the seal and greased the bbearings). I a little lazy to always clean and service my bike so i look for something with less maintenance. I do not really force anyone to change or buy.
No harms. keep on pedalling bro. If these offended then sorry la... I am just a normal rider who love riding offroad.

offend not taken,

but come on la...keep your ego. the point is not about ceramic or tiramic... what i am saying is correcting you on the wrong advice you given saying about "changing BB will help on the climb"... u merely giving wrong advise with wrong and confused terms. on otherhand, changing crankset will help. that should be the right term since you confused and interchange crankset with BB.

and secondly, changing ceramic / or tiramic do not mean you need less maintenance.
changing better BB with better seal might. ceramic or tiramic is only referring to the type of ball bearing used in the BB.

This post has been edited by Broadica: Apr 1 2013, 12:14 PM

Grabs popcorn...

From what I know, if you change anything related to rotational mass (wheels, hubs, bb, cranks), it'll help you pedal better.

Changing to XT 10-speed groupset will help better at climbing because of the extra gear ratio. The 36t definitely helps compared to 34t.

Changing from square taper bb to external bearing bb might help, not too sure on this. But changing from normal bearing to tiramic, ceramic, etc. WILL NOT help unless you are at Anuar Manan level.

Hmmm... guess that is true as well. better seal means less maintenance. hhh.
I really am lazy to wash my bike every time i go offroad. Once a mth i washed her. not every ride.

Smooth BB feel different if u do cadance ride, those >90rpm for distance of 15-20km type ride (usually u need to 30-50km xc ride to achieve these dist).
Else no different.

If buy now, better get 10speed. Mainly due to better gear ratio and easier sourcing part replacement.

Generally, get as light as ur budget allow to buy.
rest is depend rider fitnest and type of ride; but lighter bike definitely open better ride experience and ride choice to the rider.

This post has been edited by chamelion: Apr 1 2013, 01:10 PM

I am not sure if it's possible to service your BB's bearing. It it ain't stuck don't change it.
Agree fully on better BB provides better seal hence little maintenance but still it gets jammed up too. these Ceramic and sort does not wear that fast if i understand properly (less heat build up). But you'll really need to be pedaling hard to see them wear out before anything else. Replacing chains .. and I say YES provided the teeths are still ok.

Better cranks = lighter but needs to be stiffer too. flex will sap out.
Stiffer frame = better climb (this i experience my self), but you'll need better spokes to feel it flow through.

9spd t 10 spd, erm.. i only feel the smaller ratio gap (if you ride cadence more than half your rides), but how often u guys spin out 22-34 or even 36 anyway? I do not have a 22, but a 26-36 does the job well for where I'm riding.

12kgs, well you should try a 10kg bike if you have the chance. sometimes it's how efficient you can be to enjoy the game, 12kg for XC is ok for a hardtail but 15kgs will be slightly overkill. yep rotational wt on the wheels does feel a lot of a diff.

popcorn time, everyone thinks differently, it's when you take time to listen, that's the time you learn. may it be right or wrong, sharing is gooding.

depend on design, some bb can change the bearing catriage. usually aftermarket bb can do that, eg hope, chrisking and such. but hey shimano bb are cheap.
ceramic is smoother but only noticeable if u have have iron leg like anuar manan. but then they cracks easier than steel balls.

best bet is stainless steel bearings for longer lasting. most come with steel and they rust.

10 speed does help imo... but not a major fallback if still riding on 9 speed. if upgrade, it should be the last item to consider, upgrade other component like wheel and crankset make better difference.

My bike is more than 15kg and I only have 34t in the rear

deswhy u no wan ride with garryfatty...

He fast maaa... Die die cannot follow

just belanja him ice cold soya bean drink to slow him down jer. the colder the better

Upper leg pain? I suggest doing other sorts of training to build muscle strength and endurance. Do squats and better if u have dumbells or a barbell, weighted squats. and dont forget do deadlifts.

These two lifts help a lot for riding. Keeping our back strong as well as power transfer through the legs. Try bodyweight squats and pistol squats and see if ur climbing gets better. For muscle endurance, do timed squats. hold for as long as you can. make sure u have good form.

And when you ride, dont forget to warm up properly. Warm up then do the appropriate stretches.

Just my two cents

@garyfatty
How heavy is your minion 2.5?