Submitted by
saladFork
a Racer
from San Diego, CA Date Reviewed: November 18, 2009
Favorite Trail:
Big Bear 1E01
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$160.00
Purchased At:
eBay / BestBikeZone
Strengths:
Superlight - which was my #1 consideration. Titanium cogs can't be beat. Nice shifting with XTR derailleurs. Easy to replace single cog if constantly riding one cog.
Weaknesses:
PRICE. Cassettes wear out. $280 MSRP for an item you need to replace every 200 ride hours? Ouch. This cassette does wear out fast if you don't replace your chain when you need to.
Similar Products Used:
SRAM - similar durability, much less expensive, but heavier.
Bike Setup:
Blur XC Carbon, Fox RP23, SID Team, XTR, Avid Elixir disc, Easton Monkey Lite SL, WTB, Kenda
Bottom Line:
Recreational - save your money with SRAM 990. Racing - Pull the trigger on these when you find a steeply discounted price - use Google shopping search M970 and sort from least expensive.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mikelanie21
a Cross Country Rider
from banff alberta canada Date Reviewed: August 14, 2009
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$175.00
Purchased At:
jenson
Strengths:
smooth shifting light hooks the chain holes easily
Weaknesses:
a little bit noisy expensive
Similar Products Used:
sram pg990
Bike Setup:
ginat xtc1 09 with monkeylight sl handlebars xt dual shifters
Bottom Line:
this cassette is one of the best i used but expensive and noisy
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
culturesponge
a Cross Country Rider
from santa monica Date Reviewed: April 14, 2009
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$125.00
Purchased At:
online
Strengths:
your legs tell your brain its getting harder or easier to pedal - brain tells your thumb to change gear - click you've changed gear - that's XTR!
.................................
(my point being) XTR cassettes are so reliable and precise - IF you maintain your drivetrain the cassette will last for many 1,000's of miles.
XTR's are probably the lightest of the mass produced cassettes on the market.
the titanium cogs don't seem to wear at all.
easy to install + easy to remove + easy to clean.
there is a fairly good range of speeds to choose from i like the 11-32 & 11-34.
they seem to be compatable with most brands of 9 speed chains + rear derailleurs.
Weaknesses:
...have you seen the price of them lately?
the titanium cogs are at the wrong end of the cassette for where i ride.
Similar Products Used:
SRAM, XTR M960
Bike Setup:
S-Works, KMC X9 SL, Schmolke, Syntace, Marta Magnesium, Race King Supersonic, SLR Carbonio Flow, 4Ti, XTR, SRAM X.O
Bottom Line:
XTR sets the standard by which all mtb cassettes are compared.
the newer design is stiffer + lighter = better.
5 chilis for value - if you can nab them for under MSRP.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
midbunchlurker
a Cross Country Rider
from Cape Town Date Reviewed: October 12, 2008
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
Light
Weaknesses:
Not as durable as XT. Expensive
Similar Products Used:
XT, LX, SRAM
Bike Setup:
SRAM chain and XO derailleur
Bottom Line:
Bought this to save some precious grams off my racing wheels. Although shifting performance is equal to the rest of the Shimano range, durability of the Ti sprockets is poor. There was visible wear after less than 1000km.
Definitely for racing only. For everyday use rather get the XT which has steel sprockets throughout.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
briggr1
a Racer
from Fairfax, CA USA Date Reviewed: September 19, 2008
Favorite Trail:
skinny ones
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$199.00
Purchased At:
groupo
Strengths:
Light, great shifting
Weaknesses:
I've broken 2 of them now
Similar Products Used:
previous years of XTR and XT
Bike Setup:
Moots 29er
Bottom Line:
There is a problem with this cassette that i've hit TWICE now. one of the pairs of rings (5&6 I believe) completely snapped off from the frame/spindle/cage/whatever.
Shimano is great and has sent me a new one, but.. this is twice now, and it looks like one of the other reviews describes the same problem.
i'm a big guy also (6'7", 185) and do mash on the gears a lot, but always have and have never broken a cassette before this model.
if you are a masher, beware!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
mazspeed
a Cross Country Rider
from Campbell Ca Date Reviewed: September 10, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Montivina
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$125.00
Purchased At:
can't remember
Strengths:
Lightweight
Weaknesses:
Bends
Similar Products Used:
xt
Bike Setup:
Specialized Epic s-works custom
Bottom Line:
Well I bent this cassette. I was on an uphill and shifted down and slightly bent the cassette, but it ended up making mishifts the rest of the day. Went back to the XT. I'm 225 and can put the power down, so it has to be pretty tough to take my abuse, but it's not as strong as I had hoped.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
wannabfast
a Cross Country Rider
from Saratoga, CA Date Reviewed: June 7, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Demo Forest
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$140.00
Strengths:
Light, pretty stiff given weight and smooth shifting
Submitted by
Mike Neubauer
a Racer
from Ft Thomas KY Date Reviewed: May 29, 2008
Favorite Trail:
The Tower of Power!
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Strengths:
light weight
Weaknesses:
light weight might take away strength
Similar Products Used:
XT, Dura Ace, and Ultegra
Bike Setup:
shes a Specialized Sworks M5 hardtail, all XTR, King headset, Mavic CrossMax SL's, Thomson stem and post
Bottom Line:
I'm contemplating on NOT getting this cassette again, but a few of the reviews are actually pretty good so I might decide to go with it again.....I was racing on Sunday5/25 and cracked this cassette on a hill which caused my foot to pop out of the pedal and bounce off the stem, which caused me to throw around cuss words like a sailor! I didnt have the middle range of gears after that but it wasnt bad enough for me to stop racing, I was still able to finish and actually do pretty good considering mt problem...this cassette can break! it doesnt mean it will, but it can happen...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
daver
a Downhiller
from Kentville, NS CAN Date Reviewed: November 22, 2007
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$290.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Light weight, great shifting, claimed durability, Titanium pimpness
Weaknesses:
?????? Cost
Similar Products Used:
Sram PG-980, shimano XT
Bike Setup:
Giant Faith, 07 66 RC2X, DHX-4 with Ti coil, XO shifter/RD, Juicy Carbons, Mavic 729's with Hadley hubs, Diabolus cranks, E-13 LG-1 guide, Thomson post and Stem, Easton Monkey light DH bar
Bottom Line:
Top of the food chain as far as cassettes go.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Gerald
a Weekend Warrior
from Orlando, FL USA Date Reviewed: August 10, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Jones Trail
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$135.00
Purchased At:
eBay
Strengths:
Quality, weight, and design.
Weaknesses:
None...the retail price is a little on the expensive side...
Similar Products Used:
Shimano HG-50 9 speed.
Bike Setup:
Heavily modified Raleigh Ram 2.0.
Bottom Line:
This is an awesome cassette. Super lite weight compared to my stock cassette. Shifts smoothly and quietly. Don't know what else to say... It's the best!!!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Jeff
a Cross Country Rider
from Canada Date Reviewed: May 30, 2007
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Strengths:
It is very light, and very durable, it has lasted through a hard winter and 4 chains, and is still going strong.
Bottom Line:
This cassette XTR 970 has at least double the life of an LX cassette and is much lighter.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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