Thinking of change a derailleur set for my current XC MTB, Which one should I choose between Shimano Deore XT and SRAM X01 ? Or should I just pay more money and get a XTR ? Or do you have other recommendations ? What factors should I pay attention to ? Thx for answering!! :wub: :wub:
Need Advice On Derailleur Select, Shimano Or Sram
- Thread starter iris ji
- Start date
If you have Shimano shifters, then you need to buy & use Shimano derailleurs ...
Similarly, if you have SRAM shifters, then you need to buy & use SRAM derailleurs BECAUSE they are generally not interchangeable.
The derailleur cable "pull" rate of Shimano & SRAM shifters is different ...
FWIW. I have tentatively determined that you CAN "modify" a SRAM rear derailleur to possibly function with Shimano's shifters by excluding the dongle on the rear of many SRAM rear derailleurs ...
The so-called, fore mentioned exclusion can simply be done by routing the cable around the dongle OR by drilling a hole between the dongle & the derailleur.
The dongle is VERY EVIDENT on the cheaper SRAM rear derailleurs ... I don't know if that is the case with SRAM's better rear derailleurs.
As far as XT vs. XTR ... if weight isn't a factor, then consider a SHIMANO SLX rear derailleur, first. Otherwise, I would opt for an XT rear derailleur (with a "clutch") before the XTR rear derailleur (which has a huge difference in cost for less weight which is partially gained through its relatively-fragile-when-compared-to-aluminum carbon fiber cage; at least, that was the case in the past).
Similarly, if you have SRAM shifters, then you need to buy & use SRAM derailleurs BECAUSE they are generally not interchangeable.
The derailleur cable "pull" rate of Shimano & SRAM shifters is different ...
FWIW. I have tentatively determined that you CAN "modify" a SRAM rear derailleur to possibly function with Shimano's shifters by excluding the dongle on the rear of many SRAM rear derailleurs ...
The so-called, fore mentioned exclusion can simply be done by routing the cable around the dongle OR by drilling a hole between the dongle & the derailleur.
The dongle is VERY EVIDENT on the cheaper SRAM rear derailleurs ... I don't know if that is the case with SRAM's better rear derailleurs.
As far as XT vs. XTR ... if weight isn't a factor, then consider a SHIMANO SLX rear derailleur, first. Otherwise, I would opt for an XT rear derailleur (with a "clutch") before the XTR rear derailleur (which has a huge difference in cost for less weight which is partially gained through its relatively-fragile-when-compared-to-aluminum carbon fiber cage; at least, that was the case in the past).
The SLX line is intermediate to the LX & XT lines ...iris ji said:
SLX is a good (currently, possibly the best?) value if you are working with a budget ...
I think that Shimano felt that there was too large a gap between their LX line (very good quality) & the XT line (better quality); so, they came up with the SLX line,
BTW. swampy1970 poses a good question ... "Why do you feel the need to change?"
If you are going to buy a ready-to-ride bike, then you probably can't go wrong if you buy a bike which has Shimano LX-or-better (i.e., XTR/XT/SLX are better) components ...iris ji said:
LX components are very good ...
The XTR/XT/SLX components are "better" in that they are generally lighter AND (depending on one's aesthetic sensibilities) the finish may-or-may-not be considered nicer.
Presuming you are looking for a MTB ...
For MTBs, you need to ask people who are local to where you will be riding what type of suspension is preferred for where you want to ride AND THEN decide how much you can budget for a bike which has what has been recommended.
Depending on your size (very arbitrarily, I'll suggest 5'3" or taller) & weight AND where you plan to be riding, you may want to consider a bike with 650B wheels & tires rather than a 26er.
If you are looking at a Road bike or Hybrid, then 700c wheels are the norm unless you are shorter than 5'0".
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