Shimano have done it again.

[Treadly]

Picked up a new middle chainring for my mountain bike today. Check it
out, yes, genuine Shimano, XT, 4 arm, 104 mm 32 teeth.
Get home, pull the drive side crank off, remove the large and middle
chainring, put the new chainring on, hold on, it doesn't seem to fit.
Wiggle things, clean off dirt, strange.... it still doesn't fit!
Compare the old one with the new one... fer f**ks sake, Shimanos done
it again!
The tabs that sit on the cutaway on the cranks are 90mm and the new
chainring is 88mm.
Shimano is making me buy a new crankset!


--
Treadly

[Donga]

Oh, too bad you missed last week's killer special on XTs at Torpedo7!
Nyuk nyuk I got mine!

Donga

[John Stevenson]

Treadly wrote:
> Picked up a new middle chainring for my mountain bike today. Check it
> out, yes, genuine Shimano, XT, 4 arm, 104 mm 32 teeth.
> Get home, pull the drive side crank off, remove the large and middle
> chainring, put the new chainring on, hold on, it doesn't seem to fit.
> Wiggle things, clean off dirt, strange.... it still doesn't fit!
> Compare the old one with the new one... fer f**ks sake, Shimanos done
> it again!
> The tabs that sit on the cutaway on the cranks are 90mm and the new
> chainring is 88mm.
> Shimano is making me buy a new crankset!

Is it possible you have been sold an XTR ring and not XT? According to
my Shimano catalogue collection, four-arm XT has been 104mm PCD since it
was introduced in 1997. XTR, however, is slightly smaller.

[ratdog]

Both are indeed XT rings.
It's actually the same PCD but slightly different in size of the actual
inner of ring as you have found.
The HT 1 Octalink 32t chainring is actually different to the new HT II
chainring by about a few mm.
Same deal with Hone and LX.
It's also different in colour from memory.


K

[Duncan]

"Treadly" > wrote in message
...
>
> Picked up a new middle chainring for my mountain bike today. Check it
> out, yes, genuine Shimano, XT, 4 arm, 104 mm 32 teeth.
> Get home, pull the drive side crank off, remove the large and middle
> chainring, put the new chainring on, hold on, it doesn't seem to fit.
> Wiggle things, clean off dirt, strange.... it still doesn't fit!
> Compare the old one with the new one... fer f**ks sake, Shimanos done
> it again!

As much as I love my XT x-type cranks, the chainrings that come with them
are made of cheese. There are much more durable chainrings to get. I've
been happy with Blackspire but for extra longevity I'm thining of getting
some surly steel rings.

[John Stevenson]

ratdog wrote:
> Both are indeed XT rings.
> It's actually the same PCD but slightly different in size of the actual
> inner of ring as you have found.

Ah right, so it's the depth of the tabs that different. Got it. Mr
chainring, meet Mr Dremel...