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Submitted by
Captain Hypocrisy
a Cross Country Rider
from Bozeman, MT
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Hard climbs, gnarly descents | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$65.00 | | Strengths: | Durable, reliable, consistent shifting. | | Weaknesses: | Not very flashy, but that's okay. | | Similar Products Used: | Deore LX, XT. | | Bike Setup: | 2005 SC Heckler, built for heavy all-mountain riding. | | Bottom Line: | Mine is a 2005 model, and I've been thrashing it since I got it. I've hit it on rocks, concrete walls, and caught it in branches. I do some drops and jumps when the opportunity arises, but mostly I just climb up and then go downhill as fast as I can. I've replaced the cable about once per season, and it has performed flawlessly. Set up is easy, and once it's set up and the new cable has finished stretching, I almost never have to adjust it again. The SRAM trigger shifters are my favorite and I'm totally sold on the 1:1 ratio business. Granted, I never tried Shimano's top of the line derailleur and shifters, but I had nothing but problems with their other products, and I don't think I should have to buy the top of the line product to get consistency. I'll keep riding this thing until it's dead.
Buy this derailleur if you like riding more than adjusting, and if you're interested in rock-solid reliability over bling-factor. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
the dude
a Cross Country Rider
from Richmond, VA USA
Date Reviewed: August 11, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Poison Spider | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Rowletts | | Strengths: | None | | Weaknesses: | weak. | | Similar Products Used: | xt, xtr | | Bike Setup: | Redline D660 29r. (nine speed) | | Bottom Line: | the x.9 came on my bike and on my second ride the thing snapped on me. i've never experienced a bent hanger or derailleur in my 18 years of mt. biking. since then i've bent the new one 3 times. i will admit i'm hard on bikes, but like i said, i've never had this problem until now. i thought i was going crazy until I read the other reivews; it's comforting to know it's the product... | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tomfar
a Cross Country Rider
from napa, ca
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | armstrong pass | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | The Hub (when it was | | Strengths: | not sure | | Weaknesses: | never got it dialed but when it blew up i was glad it was sort of something I wanted to replace | | Similar Products Used: | xt | | Bike Setup: | GF hi fi deluxe ('08) | | Bottom Line: | some people love these things and i could probably get a warranty replacement if I pushed but I'm going back to xt. If it blows up, why risk it unless your riding round your house or something. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
scrote
a Cross Country Rider
from petrolia pa
Date Reviewed: July 21, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | many favorites | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | have always ran shimano xt components,sram has no strengh in comparison to shimano | | Weaknesses: | limit screws screw into plastic.parts of derailleur are plastic.spring is weak has trouble upshifting especially if muddy.cheap rivets hold it together.pulley bearings froze up in a month of riding. | | Similar Products Used: | shimano lx xt xtr similar in that they are both derailleurs,but no comparisom | | Bike Setup: | fisher hi fi deluxe | | Bottom Line: | not a good quality product.been riding since 1993 so ive used alot of products.gonna replace with shimano xt.would not reccomend this product to anyone.buy shimano stay with aseasoned company who knows how to build a quality derailleur.ive been using a xt derailleur on my other bike since 2002 still works | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nexeo
a Weekend Warrior
from Durango, Colorado
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Hermosa Creek Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$65.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA | | Strengths: | Shifts quicker than any other derailleur I have ever used!
Extremely easy to tune due to SRAM's 1:1 actuation ratio technology. Very strong in my experience; many other reviewers complain of how easy it is to break but I have hit this thing against some pretty large rocks multiple times and totally smashed it once and all that happened was a bent derailleur hanger and some scratches on the derailleur, it still works like NEW! This is the best derailleur for your money! | | Weaknesses: | I can't think of one! | | Similar Products Used: | Deore and Deore XT rear derailleurs. | | Bike Setup: | 2005 Iron Horse Warrior Comp
Avid Juicy Three Disc Brakes
SRAM X.9 Rear Derailleur & Trigger Shifter
SRAM PC-991 Chain
E.Thirteen SRS Chain Guide System | | Bottom Line: | This is the best derailleur I have ever used. It shifts very quickly and it is very strong. Many other reviewers have complained of breakage or poor performance; maybe they don't have it tuned correctly? If your derailleur is going in to your spokes you might want to look in to a new derailleur hanger before blaming the derailleur. I have really beat on this derailleur and I couldn't be more happy with my choice in this component. I have ridden in all conditions from dry to completely submerged in water and this hasn't let me down yet.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jared
a Weekend Warrior
from Salt Lake City, Utah
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | One that doesn't break my X.9 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$99.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | CRISP shifting, I love the 1x1 actuation. Self-cleaning is nice. | | Weaknesses: | The cage itself (possibly a long-cage problem) | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Deore | | Bike Setup: | Fully custom Niner Air 9. | | Bottom Line: | I upgraded from a crappy Deore setup to a full X.9 setup and have since snapped two rear derailleurs (both rear) in SIX MONTHS! I should note that I am not a super hard rider, though we do ride some semi-technical stuff. I'm disappointed in the X.9 rears so far. I've been using a long-cage, but since I run a 22/32/bash setup, I'm going to go with a short-cage and see how it works out. Hopefully, I have better luck with that as I dread going back to crap-mano. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
KevinCulla9
a Cross Country Rider
from Kingston, NH USA
Date Reviewed: July 4, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Power lines/ Fort Rock | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Accurate shifting......metal.....cable attatchment | | Weaknesses: | .......none as of yet...... | | Bottom Line: | So Far I am impressed it shifts nicely and seems fairly durable....lets just say my brother crashed into the bike from the back slammed staight into my X9 and it ripped right out of the frame hanger.....threads and all.....X9-1 Frame-0......Still shifts like a champ!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nik Benko
a Racer
from Los Osos CA
Date Reviewed: June 28, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Secret Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Shifts Really Well | | Weaknesses: | Short Cage has an extremely week cage!!!! | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XT shadow | | Bike Setup: | 2008 Norco Aline Park edition | | Bottom Line: | I Broke two of these in two consecutive days. Both times the lower cage broke in the exact same spot! I'm going to try my luck with the mid cage that is metal instead of cheap plastic, but we will see how long that lasts | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
PissedOffCil
a Weekend Warrior
from Montreal
Date Reviewed: June 10, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Strengths: | - Crisp shifting | | Weaknesses: | - Weak | | Similar Products Used: | Deore, LX, XT | | Bike Setup: | 2006 Norco Six One | | Bottom Line: | I really tried loving this product but after going through 3 RD in one season I've got to be disapointed. I almost jumped and switched to Shimano after breaking the 2nd one last year (both time the cage bent on very small impacts, i.e. walking next to the bike and hit a rock) but the guy at the shop told me they fixed this problem on the '07 version. And they did but something else breaks (this time it's the low setup screw that bent). I'm buying a last one. Going for a short cage this time and it will hopefully be compact enough to avoid hitting it but as soon as this one fails, I'm going for an all XT setup, period. SRAM you've already spent your last chance, if it wasn't that I need to change the shifters (and that I spent too much already), I'd buy an XT right away. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Weekend Warrior
from grand rapids - MI
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | cannonsberg state and game area | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$55.00 | | Purchased At: | Freewheeler Bikes Sh | | Strengths: | its light, looks good, and shifts quick and strong. | | Weaknesses: | very weak! i snapped the lower unit off after three months | | Similar Products Used: | shimano LX, XT, deore, and SRAM X7 | | Bike Setup: | haro thread 8 frame, hussefelt crank, BB, bars, and stem SRAM X9 rear derailleur, pivit rims and hubs, and avid BB7 brakes | | Bottom Line: | this derailleur is not all bad..it shifts well and is fairly light but its not the strongest..i ride more freeride/DJ so it took a lot of big hits and its was really just a matter of time..but i would recommend this to any XC or light trail rider but not so much a an aggressive rider.. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Howie
a Cross Country Rider
from Waterloo, Ontario
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Frankenstein | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$85.00 | | Purchased At: | Cambria | | Strengths: | Shifted nicely for 3 years | | Weaknesses: | Self destructed without warning after 3 years | | Similar Products Used: | xt, xtr, lx | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight | | Bottom Line: | I've had the same problem as some reviewers below. It worked well for 3 years, then the body of the derailleur broke where it bolts onto the frame. This resulted in some bent spokes, a mangled chain and a long walk home.
It shifted nicely (no better or worse than above mentioned shimano) but I think it should have last longer and the collateral damage due to the sudden failure is expensive.
I keep my drivetrain maintaned and clean and replace parts as needed to avoid this sort of problem.
I weigh 145 and ride cross country - 2 or 3 24 hour races a year (team of 4) About 800 miles per year on this bike. I usually get good life out of equipment at the xt or X9 level. I got 10 years out of shimano xt so I was hoping for similar performance from SRAM X9. I think I will go back to the dark side and hope Shimano's new version of xt is as durably as the old stuff.
Unless SRAM has addressed this problem with their new X9 derailluers I would not recommend this product to anyone.
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Submitted by
Howie
a Cross Country Rider
from Waterloo, Ontario
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Frankenstein | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$85.00 | | Purchased At: | Cambria | | Strengths: | Shifted nicely for 3 years | | Weaknesses: | Self destructed without warning after 3 years | | Similar Products Used: | xt, xtr, lx | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight | | Bottom Line: | I've had the same problem as some reviewers below. It worked well for 3 years, then the body of the derailleur broke where it bolts onto the frame. This resulted in some bent spokes, a mangled chain and a long walk home.
It shifted nicely (no better or worse than above mentioned shimano) but I think it should have last longer and the collateral damage due to the sudden failure is expensive.
I keep my drivetrain maintaned and clean and replace parts as needed to avoid this sort of problem.
I weigh 145 and ride cross country - 2 or 3 24 hour races a year (team of 4) About 800 miles per year on this bike. I usually get good life out of equipment at the xt or X9 level. I got 10 years out of shimano xt so I was hoping for similar performance from SRAM X9. I think I will go back to the dark side and hope Shimano's new version of xt is as durably as the old stuff.
Unless SRAM has addressed this problem with their new X9 derailluers I would not recommend this product to anyone.
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Submitted by
jon puttick
a Weekend Warrior
from england
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | kingly vale | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$120.00 | | Purchased At: | emsworth car and cycle | | Strengths: | shifts well- for a while | | Weaknesses: | keeps slipping out of alignment
and has a tendancy to destroy itself and your wheel | | Similar Products Used: | x7 | | Bike Setup: | specialized big hit 1 | | Bottom Line: | dont bother seriously. ive had it for like a month, just a gentle ride to work- on the road and it snapped off at the strongest part?! it took out 8 spokes with it too- not impressed
seriously look at something else instead- im not alone on this!!!!!!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
marc castellana
a Cross Country Rider
from bedford,NY,USA
Date Reviewed: May 19, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | local bike shop | | Strengths: | Strengh, easy set up, clearence... | | Weaknesses: | none so far | | Bottom Line: | Great rear derailleur, it is smooth, fast changing gears, strong, very relaliable.
I love this derailleur I would recommend it to anyone who wants to buy a dreailleur. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Gary
a Weekend Warrior
from S. Carolina
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | muddy | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Worx | | Strengths: | Trouble-free operation with occasional cleaning. Shifts well. Not a horrible price. (if they would last) | | Weaknesses: | Breaks easily. Shears off just under the skewer if the wind blows thw wrong way. The X-7 was equally disappointing. | | Similar Products Used: | SRAM X-7 (see my X-7 review, it's about the same as this one) | | Bike Setup: | 06 Rush. Maverick SC32 fork. mech/discs. Nothing fancy otherwise. It will have a new derailleur soon, but not SRAM :-( | | Bottom Line: | I am disappointed by the short life span of both the X-9 and 7. Morseon the 9 because of it's price and because it only lasted a few months. I have a $75 paper weight now, but it does match my X-7 paperweight.
These things really do a number on spokes when they grenade too. Factor that into your replacement price, as you'll be getting wheels rebuilt more than you change socks with these little trouble-makers.
Watch for shrapnel too. They don't go quietly. Bring shoes that are easier to walk home in - or bring a chain breaker so you can at least rig it so you can ride back after the imminent failure that will ensue should the derailleur brush up against a blade of grass or a soft dandelion while you're out riding.
I will do my best to avoid buying their products from now on. Save you money on both the X-7 and the X-9. I have seen quite a few similar reviews about these things. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark B.
a Cross Country Rider
from Ft Wayne, IN
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | the next one | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$65.00 | | Purchased At: | online | | Strengths: | reliability, snap-quick shifting, good looks | | Weaknesses: | doesn't come w/ free food | | Similar Products Used: | x.7 | | Bike Setup: | dakar xlt 1.0, nixon, x.9, race face, 819 wheels, hutch spiders | | Bottom Line: | absolutely the best derailleur i've ever used! NO missed shifts, tiny shift adjustments have only needed to be done AT THE BAR while riding. zero-loss travel shifting is for real! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rain Man
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: January 21, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Local | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Looks good, light, fairly easy to fit. | | Weaknesses: | The derailleur bolt. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano | | Bike Setup: | RIP 9 AM. | | Bottom Line: | Second ride with this brand new derailleur, and it broke the bolt that attaches it to the hanger...and that gave me a long walk home.
I usually run a Rohloff Speedhub, and have been absolutely spoiled by it's reliability and no - fuss shifting.
I am very disappointed in the SRAM X9 derailleur. I never hit anything, I just changed gears, and *SNAP* ... it was busted. It snapped off and slammed itself into the cassette.
The bolt that holds the derailleur to the hanger is a hollow alloy one that is likely to break if you look at it the wrong way....very weak set up, imo.
I test a LOT of equipment, it's part of my job, and this flimsy little hollow alloy bolt is a joke. When you consider the amount of force placed on the hanger bolt, it would be a wise move for SRAM to strengthen this bolt so that it doesn't break so easily. Mine just snapped like a carrot!
.........Not happy with this, at all.
Rainman.
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Submitted by
Mark B.
a Cross Country Rider
from Ft Wayne, IN
Date Reviewed: January 16, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | the next one | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$65.00 | | Purchased At: | pricepoint.com | | Strengths: | sure shifts, reliability, good looks | | Weaknesses: | ???? | | Similar Products Used: | x.7 (shimano doen't make anything similar, just lesser) | | Bike Setup: | Dakar xlt 1.0, nixon, raceface, avid, mavic, hutchinson | | Bottom Line: | as long as the x.9 is made like this, i'll never need another derailleur! coupled w/ the "zero-loss-travel" shifters (also x.9), this is a foolproof, mistake-proof system. never a hitch, always a click/snap, new gear! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Austin Luse
a Weekend Warrior
from CA, USA
Date Reviewed: January 1, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Shifts in triliseconds, looks awzome, direct cable routing | | Weaknesses: | it gets dirty when you ride it | | Similar Products Used: | shimano lx | | Bike Setup: | cannondale prophet, fox float (front & rear), avid juicy five, x.7 shiftas, e.13 supercharger | | Bottom Line: | this derailer is awsome! it's basicly a little bit heavier, less blingage, and stronger(arguably), than the x-0. in fact, i prefer this to the x-o. i would like some x-9 shiftas, but i just got my bike and it has x-7's, so im sure the x-9s would work better. im used to the chain going click click chank pop for like an hour before it acctually shifts, so to me, this thing is like god! i recomend this to any type of serious rider, except a cross-country racer-they would be better with an x-o or an xtr. thank you sram for this AWSOME product!!!! | | Value Rating: |
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$ 67.00
