I've been hearing that Shimano is pushing the Saint group pretty hard right now to get rid of their stock. I heard they aren't planning on making it anymore. I've noticed that most new FR/DH bikes aren't coming speced with it for 05. So...does anyone now the truth?
Shimano has pulled a component group because of slow sales in the past.
Most of you are probably too young to remember Sante and Exage.
Saint reminds me of Sante, and attempt by Shimano to create a niche to make more money.
Seriously, if they quit making it and they blow out the brakes/hubs, I might be interested.
konarider said:
I've been hearing that Shimano is pushing the Saint group pretty hard right now to get rid of their stock. I heard they aren't planning on making it anymore. I've noticed that most new FR/DH bikes aren't coming speced with it for 05. So...does anyone now the truth?
I dont know if theyre gonna discontinue Saint , I doubt it though as 05 will bring a 150x12mm Saint hub +matching rearmech(12mm axel) , a 83mm BB width crank, a matching frontmech , brakelevers and dualcontrollevers with Saint stickers.
I think the reason that U dont see many bikes with Saint is becuz of the reverse spring rearmech . To me the reveser spring makes sense if U use a dualcontrol lever , but I prefer a "normal" rearmech with rapidfire.And i guess most product managers think that a dualcontrol lever is too vunerable for the kinda bike that could use the rearmech , and then theres the whole "usetherearmechUgottausethehubUgottausethebrake(oratleattherotor)" thing.
Im sure the Saint sales would rocket if they offers the rearmech "normal" and the hubs 6bolt.
Cheers
yeah im pretty sure i saw photos of a new front derailleur and levers (flippy and normal) i think they're keeping the rest of it the same though. oh the 150 axle, thought i heard something about that.
I dont know if theyre gonna discontinue Saint , I doubt it though as 05 will bring a 150x12mm Saint hub +matching rearmech(12mm axel) , a 83mm BB width crank, a matching frontmech , brakelevers and dualcontrollevers with Saint stickers.
I think the reason that U dont see many bikes with Saint is becuz of the reverse spring rearmech . To me the reveser spring makes sense if U use a dualcontrol lever , but I prefer a "normal" rearmech with rapidfire.And i guess most product managers think that a dualcontrol lever is too vunerable for the kinda bike that could use the rearmech , and then theres the whole "usetherearmechUgottausethehubUgottausethebrake(oratleattherotor)" thing.
Im sure the Saint sales would rocket if they offers the rearmech "normal" and the hubs 6bolt.
Cheers
Word man. I think if they tryed to just mesh into the peoples hardware better....they would not only get better sales, but get a following of a type. Possibly at that point they could make their products exclusive, and not have people hate them for it.
ya... to my knowledge they are definatly keeping saint
ive seen alot of the new 05 saint stuff and i doubt they are droping it... i think the reason your not seeing it on to many bikes is cuz shimano is upping all there prices and the bike companies are trying to keep there prices low so they arent putting the highest stuff on anymore.
PS: have you seen the new hone stuff... its like a lower grade saint, i heard its gona cost around the LX price range
...well, incompatability has been around for a while...
...Profile cranks are considered and recommended by many to be the strongest cranks available, yet they are certainly not compatible with any other BB standard. I luv my Profiles, even if they have to be on my BMX.
And wht was the last incarnation of this we just went through ? Square taper vs Octalink/ISIS ?
It's getting a bit tough now to find rings for my XTR M900 5 arm 110mm cranks and it's an even tougher to make them fit on my XTR 950 4 arm 112mm cranks. Come to think of it, my M900 and M950 BB's don't work well together, either. But man do they work great.
I am so glad I skipped right through the ISIS thing - next year I am going straight from square taper (or XTR) to Diabolous.
I am looking forward to my new Norco having the 150/12 rear end...finally, a rear wheel with sem-legit tension in both sets of the spokes - even though I had to purchase a +$200.00 rear hub...but I'll have a significantly better rear wheel.
Saint Brakes where available (at least from Cambria) in 6 bolt configurations as an option to the spline interface.
Ok...I am not trying to offend anyone but incompatibility may always be an issue, and it has been for some time. However, the choice of (and subsequent advancement) of technology is something that is certainly a plus.
I really doubt theyre dropping it or are any where close,especially if they have a 05 lineup. I think saint is a good componet group and i would be disappointent if for soem reason they dropped it.
Ok...I am not trying to offend anyone but incompatibility may always be an issue, and it has been for some time. However, the choice of (and subsequent advancement) of technology is something that is certainly a plus.
Yes, I am aware that incompatilbility is an issue, and its not going anywhere soon. Fact is that you can get away with it if you make a very strong and widely accepted product. Mac tryed to do it with their computers, and before they started to make their i-macs, they were going out of buisness. They will hit that point again.
I feel the same way about shimano. With great companies like sram comming to town, and all the other new and respectable ideas out here, shimano is actually starting to get outpaced IMHO.
Even Japan itself had to open its doors to everyone when they realized solitude just was not an option anymore.
The problem with Saint isn't the incompatability so much as it's the perceived incompatability. People think that you need to run saint hubs with saint brakes. They also think that you need to run a saint hub with a saint rear mech... a this would nessitate them running saint brakes.
What Shimano should do is to package the splined rotors with the hubs rather than the calipers. This way if someone buys the hubs, they have the rotors they need to run ANY caliper. Packaging the the saint axle with the rear mech rather than the hub would make it easier for someone to run a saint mech with a hadley or hugi 10mm thru-axle hub... which is possible.
I just picked up a pair of saint cranks for a song and the cranks/bb combo don't creak like every other set-up I've tried thus far. And, they don't have a reputation for boogering like the diabolus already have. The brake calipers are top-notch quality. Much better than my juicys.
The problem with Saint isn't the incompatability so much as it's the perceived incompatability. People think that you need to run saint hubs with saint brakes. They also think that you need to run a saint hub with a saint rear mech... a this would nessitate them running saint brakes.
What Shimano should do is to package the splined rotors with the hubs rather than the calipers. This way if someone buys the hubs, they have the rotors they need to run ANY caliper. Packaging the the saint axle with the rear mech rather than the hub would make it easier for someone to run a saint mech with a hadley or hugi 10mm thru-axle hub... which is possible.
I just picked up a pair of saint cranks for a song and the cranks/bb combo don't creak like every other set-up I've tried thus far. And, they don't have a reputation for boogering like the diabolus already have. The brake calipers are top-notch quality. Much better than my juicys.
It's not all good news in my experience with saint though... I tried the saint rear derailleur but just couldn't get used to the rapid rise. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
It's not all good news in my experience with saint though... I tried the saint rear derailleur but just couldn't get used to the rapid rise. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
There is no plan to discontinue Saint. I just got back from the show and they have a full '05 product line for saint. They also introduced a lighter weight "trail/freeride" group called Hone. It looks like a really nice group. I spoke with one of their product testers and he swears by Hone, even for XC in areas with nasty terrain. They are also introducing the integrated brake/shift levers into the LX line. All in all, shimano looks good this year.
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