Submitted by
bumberding
a Weekend Warrior
from Wiltshire
Date Reviewed: January 13, 2009
Strengths: look ok, good action, easy to maintain, never fail
Weaknesses: front mech requires very long action to shift up, cheap materials
Bottom Line:
do as they should never fail, if you want want better quality go for an xtr although don't expect too much more better shifting action as LX's are good!
I used these things for 5 years (~8000 miles) and they are literally the last component I've needed to replace except the Fox fork. Technically they don't even need to be replaced (still work, but I just want something new). They never failed, always shifted well. I'll give them 5 chilis.
Submitted by
Lowell
a Cross Country Rider
from Brunswick, ME
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2007
Strengths: Have worked fairly consistently for 6 years. Don't see any need to replace them any time soon.
Weaknesses: The ratchet mechanism will sometimes not catch in the winter. This is only when riding in sub-zero temps though. The problem is also decreased by putting a couple drops of lube in the hole (remove the plastic screw). the indexing on the rear shifter has gotten a bit softer after 6 years of fairly heavy use.
Bottom Line:
These shifters, along with the xt rear derrailleur, have lasted me 6 years, performing well with little maintenance the whole time. THey're not too pricey and work well with little effort. Highly recommended. So you know, I ride a lot of xc and have been racing the past two years, and there's still no need to upgrade after 6 years and two bikes.
Bike Setup: jamis dakar sport 1997. lx shifters, xt rear, lx front derrailleur, manitou skareb fork, cane creek ad10 shock. Crossmax/crossride wheels, v brakes.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
John
a Weekend Warrior
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2007
Strengths: Shimano quality, function & durability.
Weaknesses: The red needle on the display dosen't line up 100% correctly with the marks for the gear your in on the shifter pod.
Bottom Line:
These shifter came stock on my 2001 Trek Fuel 90 Disk that I got brand new on July 02,2001. I'd of prefered a full Shimano Deore XT grouppo, but ah, what can you do? These do an excellent job shifting, the needle issue is what prevents me from giving the Overall Rating a perfect 5/5. Since getting this bike brand new on July 02,2001. I've only needed to re-tension the shifter wires in 2004 & 2005. Bottom Line: An excellent shifter set that's not let me down in nearly 6 seasons of cycling.
Purchased At: Stock on my 2001 Trek Fuel 90 Disk - Earl's Cycle (closed 2003)
Similar Products Used: Shimano Tourney Thumb shifter stock on 1994 Raleigh Matterhorn, Shimano Alivio's stock on 1996 GT Ricochet & replacement Shimano shifters after Alivio's broke.
Bike Setup: 2001 Trek Fuel 90 Dsik.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Josh
a Weekend Warrior
from Ellensburg, WA
Date Reviewed: November 21, 2006
Strengths: It just works! The rear shifter works outstanding and there is absolutely nothing to complain about.
Weaknesses: The front shifter has a really long throw when you upshift, I've found myself having to rotate my wrist around to get it to click up. It's just annoying enough to complain about, but not a huge deal.
Bottom Line:
As a whole, great value for the money and does the job well. I do have a beef with the front shifter and I'll probably be looking for something to replace it with soon, but these will definitely be seeing duty on my other bike when that happens.
Strengths: QUIET EASY SHIFTS, EASY TO SEE DISPLAY, UNDER THE BAR SO THE LOOK CLAEN AND ARE LESS LIKELY TO GET RIPED OFF IN A CRASH, WORK WELL WITH MY LX BRAKE LEVERS
Weaknesses: NONE
Bottom Line:
GOOD VALUE IF YOU WANT TO KEEP THINGS EASY AND CHEAP. WORKS GREAT, VERY COMFORTABLE TO USE. SO SMALL YOU HARDLY SEE ANYTHING BUT THE CONTROLS
Strengths: not pricey. they do what they must do. the lightest 9-spd shimano shifters. they are still produced after shimano introduced their dual controls.
Weaknesses: none.
Bottom Line:
I've got several sets of 9-spd LX shifters on different bikes from their first appearence on the market. They do what they are designed for - they shift and do it well and flawless. I've never wanted to upgrade to XT/XTR.
Similar Products Used: a lot of stuff from shimano and SRAM
Bike Setup: lots of bikes
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Guille
a Weekend Warrior
from Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2005
Strengths: Strong, durable and cheap.
Weaknesses: Weight, colors, the display should be over the handlebar (and not beneath it) and it doesn't work that good with a 9 speed rear derraulier. Ah, and it's not that easy to change to upper crowns.
Bottom Line:
THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 24 SPEED SHIFTERS, NOT FOR THE 27 ONES. I've been using this shifters for more than three years now, and the only reason why I'm changing them is because I'm switching to 27 speeds. They worked really fine for all this time, even though they used to work much better when I had an 8 speed Acera rear D (now I have a Deore one). They seem to be really heavy, but well finished and durable also. If you're using 24 speeds this shifters are a good shot for sure.
Weaknesses: Probably only on mine- the display on the right shifter seems to make a really annoying buzzing noise. Sometimes a little tricky to adjust
Bottom Line:
These shifters have done pretty well for me. My only issue is that weird buzzing noise- does anyone know if a replacement display can be purchased? I have ridden these for almost two years and no major problems.
Bike Setup: custom xc hardtail- XT derailluers, lx crank, SRAM pc 99 chain
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Turd Furgeson
a Cross Country Rider
from Merryland
Date Reviewed: August 25, 2004
Strengths: Durable and have worked just fine for many years.
Weaknesses: Not the best looking units with the blue finish (I guess it's an optional finish as I've seen them in black too). Some shifts take more effort than I'd like. The displays are a bit hard to tell which gear you're in sometimes as there are no numbers on it, but it's not always necessary.
Bottom Line:
The LX's aren't bad shifters at all and even after 4yrs. of continuous use they still do the job just fine. As mentioned above I don't care for the blue finish on them, but it may be an optional finish as I believe I've seen them in black or silver too. I'm considering upgrading to a newer set of shifters eventually as technology has changed/improved in the 4yrs. I've owned them, but they still work just the way they were designed.
Bike Setup: '00 Trek VRX300: Azonic Love Seat & O.R.S. stem, Sette APX post, ODI lockers, otherwise stock for now...
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Brad
a Racer
from San Francisco, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2004
Strengths: Durable, quick and accurate shifting with easy adjustments
Weaknesses: Increasing resistance, starting to show a little wear
Bottom Line:
Overall, the LX shifters have been reliable and feel solid. They've started to give quite a bit more resistance (especially the rear shifter) lately, but they are also going on 4 seasons of absolute punishment, including races and wrecks. I haven't done anything to them in the way of maintenance; only changed out the cables once. I've set up the bike to be about as light as a full suspension bike can get (23 lbs) without compromising quality and durability. I'm sure XT/XTR are lighter but as a wise rider once told me, "if you really want to drop weight, save your money and drop the lb's around your waist!"
Submitted by
Nikolas
a Weekend Warrior
from Greece
Date Reviewed: January 4, 2004
Strengths: Nice looks,work prety well
Weaknesses: indicators are VERY fragile
Bottom Line:
Good for the money you spend byt a bit heavy compared to gripshifters.I'd never get srams though.The only problem is tha when i crashed the indicator boke and i searched the ground for 30 mins to recover the pieces.my friend has xt and the same thing happened to him.they should be metalic or something.But my biggest complain is that when i visited the so called 'official' shimano dealer to order a new indicator(according to shimano that can be done) he didint even knew that the indicators can be removed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!shimano needs to be very carefull about the people that sell its products
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