Submitted by
Carl Mare
a Cross Country Rider
from Nelspruit, South Africa
Date Reviewed: November 10, 2007
Strengths: Smooth shifts, accurate. Strong enough for me.
Weaknesses: A bit more pricey than corresponding SRAM-products.
Bottom Line:
Works well with good shifting. Light. Less expensive than the XTR. Shifts just as well. Does not have the lifespan of the XTR. Good for cross country racing. Buy it.
Submitted by
Stan
a Cross Country Rider
from Sandy, Utah, USA
Date Reviewed: October 11, 2005
Strengths: 11 to 34 tooth cogs
Weaknesses: Expensive, my set broke after 11 months, no warranty
Bottom Line:
Rode for 11 months, with all the good reports on this product I ended up with a lemon. A portion of the 3rd largest cog broke off, during a ride. Not sure when, noticed the shifting was funny, just thought I needed a derailer adjustment. Got home, cleaned the bike and noticed the broken cog. I dont consider myself a hard rider on equipment, most likely broke on one of the uphill sections. Guess I will try and find one on ebay, they are fairly expensive, I liked the 11-34 tooth cassette and not sure of any better or less expensive alternatives.
Bike Setup: Ventana X5 Spinergy wheels, XT shifters, XT Crank, XTR derailers, Chris King Head Set, Marz. Bomber and RP#
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
David Santillan
a Weekend Warrior
from philippines
Date Reviewed: September 29, 2005
Strengths: weight, plating doen't easily chips off, four arm looks cool
Weaknesses: none!!!!
Bottom Line:
this cassette has been in service to me since oct of 2002... it has'nt failed me yet... i ride urban and trails... highly recommended... cheaper alternative to an xtr or an sram....
Mine last about 6 months before you can see substantial wear on the teeth. That's probably more my fault because I prefer to torque on the tougher gears instead of shifting to the "correct" gear. I'm more than happy with the way it performs. The weight is good. Look on eBay and you can find them for around $55-$65. I'm sticking with this cassette forever. Knocking one chili off for value because they are a little expensive.
Weaknesses: none, really- may be designed for lighter riders?
Bottom Line:
I bought this cassette to replace my LX almost two years ago, and I used it on several mountain biking trips, and now I use it for commute to school. So far, I haven't really noticed a lot of wear, and I've ridden on it quite a bit. Maybe it lasts longer because I weigh 150? I use it with a SRAM PC 99 chain, which seem to work well together. Other than me not cleaning it often enough, it's been great.
Bike Setup: custom xc hardtail- drivetrain: LX crank, XT derailluers(9 speed), LX shifters, pc 99 chain
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Ryan R
a Cross Country Rider
from Long Island, New York
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2004
Strengths: Fairly Light; Compared to the LX Model Decently Strong: Able to take a good beating while shifting Durable: Have yet to bend a cog or round out the teeth Shifts well: No bad skipping
Weaknesses: a Little on the heavy side but that is compared to the XTR, Picks up trail garbage really easy but what cassette dosen't in the fall with all the leaves down. Shifts well but sometimes I think the stock one that came with my bike (LX) shifted slightly better than the XT version. Some skipping but nothing too bad.
Bottom Line:
This is a good cassette I have experienced none of the things in some of the poor reviews for it. It is far durable than the XTR cassette that was on my buddies Fuel. The XTR is far lighter but much less durable than the XT. So I decided to use the XT version. Most of the pro riders use the XT version unless you do short track XC or World cup Racing. They can afford them when they strip them out but the common folks like us should use the XT for it's weight and durablity and price. Compared to the XTR version you could buy four of these for the price of one XTR! As for the shifting it is good but sometimes I think my heavier LX did a better job of shifting than this one does. Sometimes my chain will skip under load but it only happens when I know I'm pushing way too bid of a gear up hill. As for the bottom line I belive the Shimano XT cassette is the better one on the market it is durable enough to survive out on the trail and it is light enough not to bog down the bike on that long climb. If your looking for a new cassette look to the XT for a good one if your a racer who only uses his bike to compete then look to the XTR for weight saving, but for durablity use the XT. The cogs teeth round out way too easy on the XTR and are known to bend very easy, some pro's have had this problem in the past. For a trail bike it's great and affordable expect to replace your cassette once a season if you ride religously like most mountain biker do and don't forget a new chain at least once to twice a season and you won't have any shifting problems PEACE!
Bike Setup: 01 NRS1, 02 SID-sl, xt disc 6", mavic F519 with DT onyx hub mainly xt drivetrain
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
JaKo
a Weekend Warrior
from Truro, NS, Canada
Date Reviewed: April 1, 2004
Strengths: Fairly light and great range.
Weaknesses: The cogs are very "sensitive" to the stuff we ride through -- twigs and sticks. Fortunately a scredriver and pliers would "fix" the bends ...
Bottom Line:
XT used to be a good value (before the 760). The 34 to 11 has a "big step" on 6-7th, which is OK for a causual rider, but I would like to see a bigger step on 1-2nd.
One day perhaps, we'd see an internal shifting and driveshaft instead of the chain and deraileurs ...
Favorite Trail: the well known up and down variety
Duration Product Used: 1 Year
Price Paid:
$40.00
Purchased At: eBay
Similar Products Used: Deore, LX, SRAM
Bike Setup: MtB
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
Dan
a Weekend Warrior
from Marlborough, MA USA
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2003
Strengths: Now that I'm looking for another one, I can't find a better value. Half the price for twice as long.
Weaknesses: OK, so I got a lemon. The 4th cog snapped w/ two pieces lying on the trail. Not sure yet if I can get the local shop to fix just that cog. Bummer because the cassette is near brand new. I'm in a new area of the country and its not worth sending it all back to the original bike shop. I like the argument about 8sp vs. 9sp is a good one. 8 sp has bigger chain, bigger cogs, and who needs 27 speeds on a mountain bike? (Looks like I kinda got my wish for 8 spds) For that matter, the big up front 44 chain ring is just a bash guard anyway that eventually flats out all its teeth. So a 16 speed would be bulletproof. Oops, back to the subject. The XT cassette shifts fine and have had no trouble w/ bent rings on my other bikes. The XTR cassette was even fine except for the big cog, but wore out quickly. Seems that if you can get through the break in, then these things will be reasonably reliable until they wear out.
Bottom Line:
Looks like there is no better value out there. Even if money were no object, a Ti cassette w/ chronic bending and 20 miles to go is no use to anyone. For that matter, make it out of steel and market that it is a lot lighter than carrying 2 extra cassettes in your backpack. OK so 5 chili's for value and only 3 chili's until I find out I'm not going to break (bend is better than break) another cog w/ a new one.
Submitted by
Nitish Nag
a Cross Country Rider
from Fremont, CA
Date Reviewed: December 19, 2003
Strengths: Durable, Cheap, Good looks, Great Shifts,
Weaknesses: Not as light as XTR,
Bottom Line:
This the best value in the cassette market. Nothign beats the durablity and performance of the XT cogset at the price that it is offered at. Get this if you prize value and performance.
Bike Setup: 2003 Santa Cruz Blur, 2003 XTR with discs, Progressive 5th Element Air Shock, Easton Carbon Cockpit, eggbeaters SS,
Overall Rating:
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Submitted by
adam
a Cross Country Rider
from kokomo, in, usa
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2003
Strengths: performs well under regular riding conditions. changes gears when i need it to. looks good (when clean).
Weaknesses: a tad expensive and shifts a little loud at high cadence. maybe that is normal, this is my first cassette purchased seperate from the bike.
Bottom Line:
it seem expensive for a cassette, but i have heard (and read) it is very durable. i hope i get my money's worth after a few thousand miles when i have to replace it instead of a few hundred miles
Strengths: Good Wear. Smooth Shifting. Affordable. They have treated me well.
Weaknesses: The interface between the cassette and the free hub has slightly worn (deformed) on the cassette. Causing annoying amount of wiggle room which results in some rattling while coasting (but this cassette is two years old, and I ride hard, so I can live with this one (I have broken two sets of cranks during the life of this cassette)). This is probably due to the large amount of torque that I generate (since I use platform pedals).
Bottom Line:
I gave up my clipless pedals about 4 years ago for platforms (to accomodate the technical trails that were spouting up everywhere here on the NW Coast). I have noticed that this puts alot more strain on the drivetrain due to increased pedal pressure (read: no spinning). For this reason I have stuck with 8 speed components, because they are thicker and therefore stronger. I have been happy with the 8 sp XT cassettes. I am about to install my 4th one since 1996.
Change your chain periodically to reduce wear on your cassette. As the bushings (?) on the chain wear, the effective engagement length between the pins increases, causing the chain to "ride up" on the teeth of both the cassette and the chainrings. Through in some mud, dust and road grit, and the teeth are forced to wear down to accomodate the "longer" distance between pins. $20 for a new chain is a lot cheaper than spending $150 on a new drivetrain.
For heavier riders or those who ride with platform pedals, use 7 or 8 speed setups. They are much stronger.
Similar Products Used: Shimano LX, XT, lower grade IG and HG stuff (30 or 50 series)
Bike Setup: Steel Hard Tail Custom Ride. Built Strong w/ Old School Parts like Syncros, Race Face Cranks, Titec Hellbent Ti-Riser Bars and XT Front Derailleur & Front Hub. New school XTR shifters, V-brakes, Rear Hub and Derailleur. Chris King Headset. Marzocchi Z-1.
i think that this cass is really stong,i can use two different chain on this cass, but no any scratch,not many cass can do that. but some guys told me that the sram 9.0 cass is much more strong than the xt,is't it?can anyone answer me?thx!
Submitted by
axel
a Cross Country Rider
from yakima
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2003
Strengths: great shifting, strong, stiff, lasts forever, looks good, stays clean on its own
Weaknesses: no so far
Bottom Line:
Buy one of these cassetes if you want a bike that shifts good and looks good. the sram pile of crap that i used to have wore out so fast i didnt even know that it came on my bike untill i took it off. i now have two of these cog sets one in a 32 tooth and a 34 tooth both work grean and i have had them both forever and they still work great. in a week or two i am going to try an XTR,but i am going to keep the XT around and if the expensive stuff doesnt work i am going back to reliable.
Strengths: shifts very well. Mine were quite durable.
Weaknesses: too expensive
Bottom Line:
Can't complain about the durability. I changed my first XT cassette after 2800 miles because I took my bike to Ireland and I wanted it to work well for a while. The second cassette has seen some 600 miles of boggy Irish trails in spring, a whole race season and countless very muddy winter rides (overall more than 3500 miles). Shifting is not up to race standards any more now but the chain still doesn't slip. Nice.
