Submitted by
jkrispies
a Cross Country Rider
from Palmdale, CA
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2011
Strengths: None by my account
Weaknesses: Won't stay in adjustment-- period!!! So what's the point???
Bottom Line:
Other reviewers claim that this is intended for an easy-going city bike rider, so I won't give it a single chili as an overall rating for that reason alone. Will definitely give it a single chili as a value because it isn't one-- will replace it with way too few miles on it to be considered anything but a liability. Having acknowledged that this is allegedly a "lightweight" shifter, it came to me as OEM on a cross-country bike that I ride cross country, ten miles at a stretch, on dirt, with lots of bumps... and the last time I checked this was a site for real riders. So, take this review as you will. This front Altus refuses to stay in adjustment. End of discussion. My LBS has adjusted it 4 times so far, and it'll usually make it about a mile before it starts giving me fits. I've given up on it-- heck, I've ridden Schwinns bought at a Target that stay in adjustment longer than this thing!!! Will be replacing it with a higher end Shimano or SRAM in the near future.
Bike Setup: Shimano Altus RD, Altus shifters, Tourney FD, SR Suntour fork, SR Suntour crankset.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
AWDfreak
a Weekend Warrior
from SF Bay Area, CA (USA)
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2011
Strengths: Cheap
Weaknesses: Slow shifts, extremely weak
Bottom Line:
Not for anyone who even thinks about riding on mountains or adventuring. I would say the Altus is only suitable for those who ride mostly on pavement, don't care so much about their bike, and will only ride off-pavement once in a long time.
My personal experience is from much riding in mud. The Altus was clearly not for those adventuring in mud.
Very light-use derailleur, not for the adventurous or those wishing to ride on trails a lot.
Submitted by
CheezyBack
a Cross Country Rider
from Gosford, NSW, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2011
Strengths: Alright shifting if you get it set up well, a little slow at times and occasionally skips.
Weaknesses: WEAK AS ALL HELL. the thing keeps bending at the connection to my rear forks, then cause of a few problem spokes it decides to play a little orchestra behind me of spoke to derailleur contact. looks pretty damn ugly aswell.
Bottom Line:
If your just going to use it to much around on to and from the shops, or perhaps commuting then i guess its ok. anything above that and your asking too much of it. the construction is sturdy except at the connection to your frame, the shifting is slow and sometimes innacurate and takes a fair amount of fiddling to get it shifting nicely. dont even try and use this for jumps...your just asking for bent spokes.
Similar Products Used: Shimano SLX shadow, Alivio.
Bike Setup: Weinman xtb 26" rims, 2.1 Crossmarks, Sr Suntour xct v3's, bb7 with 6" tektro rotors, alivio cassette, alivio crank, prolite saddle blah blah blah....
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
csmac2004
a Cross Country Rider
from Kamloops, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 30, 2010
Strengths: Cheap, reliable
Weaknesses: Cheap, ugly
Bottom Line:
The bottom line is that this derailleur is perfect for the money. I hit a log within 1 month of buying my bike in the spring (Alivio derailleur originally on then) and bent/busted the rear derailleur. Not having much cash but needing to ride, I bought the Altus for $30. Yes, it's ugly. Yes, it's cheap.
However, do I have issues with it? Not in the least. I have put over 2500 kilometres on it and it shifts just as nicely as when new. Each cog is hit precisely. I clean and do any necessary tuning every weekend (I commute to work, 5 days a week, 2 hours a day riding trails). I ride this bike with buddies riding bikes that cost 3x as much just as fast if not faster than them, so this derailleur is seeing more abuse than it was made for and yet it is standing up without an issue.
With proper maintenance and tuning, this derailleur is a great buy for the money. For those complaining about it not keeping adjustements for more than a few minutes, there might be other factors to consider (like shifters, cables, housing). Honestly, my bike is entry level with cheap components and it is all holding up to my abuse in stride. I ride the bike as intended, CROSS COUNTRY. I do not drop off 10' drops or hit berms and jumps! Obviously for that riding, spend the money to get something durable. For cross country, this is a fine product.
Similar Products Used: Alivio, STX, Deore LX, Deore XT
Bike Setup: Altus drivetrain, RST Gila front fork, Tektro I/O mechanical disk brakes
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Stefan Stojanovic
a Cross Country Rider
from Belgrade, Serbia
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2010
Strengths: Cheep
Weaknesses: Needs adjustments constantly. I would go to the mechanic and he would adjust it so that it works flawlesly. Ten minutes later it needs readjustment again (chain slips off, it's hard to change from the second to the third gear, the chain rubs against the cage etc.) It even broke six spokes on my largest chainwheel on my first Tourney crankset, and one on my second Deore crankset.
Bottom Line:
If you don't change the front gears too often - it's great for the money. It changes gears pretty okay apart from going from the second to the third gear. Of course, if it breakes cranksets while going to the third gear, it's no good at all.
Strengths: Excellent performance when used as intended.
Shifts smoothly.
Weaknesses: None.
Bottom Line:
The bottom lins is that the Altus like other moderately priced derailleurs will function flawlessly for years IF they are used as intended and maintained. When used with a Shimano indexed shifter under the conditions it was intended for, the Altus will flawlessly move the chain from one cog to another with no missed shifts.
According to Shimano literature the Altus is designed for city and youth bikes. Consequently it is not meant for trail and mountin riding. Those of us who are purchasing a mountain bike should do their homework and look beyond the price tag and actually consider whether the components are designed for mountain riding.
Submitted by
gvaccleration
a Cross Country Rider
from medford
Date Reviewed: April 14, 2010
Strengths: shifts nice
Weaknesses: weak aluminum
Bottom Line:
ITS CRAP! it does shift nicely but is weak just today it snapped at the top bracket connecting it to my bike its not good if you are a serious mtber it wasnt the bolt that broke it was just below it the hex key is still in the frame its the main arm i think that snapped and i have not a clue how
Submitted by
winterwarrior93
a Downhiller
from Saugerties Ny, USA
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2009
Strengths: shifted well, not to many skip shifting, good for climbing,
Weaknesses: weak cage, parts wore out fast, came off jump the cage bent, went into my rim and cost me 5 spokes,a new derailleur, hanger, and cassette
Bottom Line:
worked well for the first few months but wore out fast, shifted well, i would recommend for the cross country or road cyclist, but it isnt to good for freeriding and downhill, bottom line worked good but ended causing more damage then it was worth
Similar Products Used: other shimano shifters/derailleurs
Bike Setup: kona coilair mostly stock besides derailleur and tires and coil shock in rear
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Pooolio
a Cross Country Rider
from GVegas, SC
Date Reviewed: September 27, 2009
Strengths: Trying to think of one.....yea none.
Weaknesses: Doesn't shift. Grinds when shifting. Heavy. Cheap looking.
Bottom Line:
Terrible product from shimano. I've tried to adjust it and it will be decent for 5 minutes and back to crap. Can't believe Specialized put this stock on an $800 hardtail.
Submitted by
snow16boarderdude
a Cross Country Rider
from jenison, michigan, usa
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2009
Strengths: It came on my mongoose sector bike, after i adjusted it it worked great. I dont have trouble shifting at all. Before I adjusted it, the derailleur wasnt good at all.
Weaknesses: Needed adjustment
Bottom Line:
Good product after I spent time adjusting the derailluer.
Bike Setup: mongoose sector, mozo fork, pro max disks,
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
diced
a Cross Country Rider
from vancouver
Date Reviewed: July 11, 2009
Strengths: Once adjusted, just keep clean and it works just as good as my LX/XT, but with weaker spring in the RD. Mine is fron 1993 with lots of steel construction and is very durable.
Weaknesses: Heavy, looks ugly, plastic on rear derailluer(weak, potential breakage), parts rust if ignored after ride.
Bottom Line:
Once everything is setup and broken in, it works flawless. It's slower shifting than higher end but just as precise. Keep the drivetrain clean. The ALTUS' steel chainrings have outlasted my alloy ones. The front rapidfire shifters I have used, all have some slack built in after you have reached the indexed rachet gear, so that it moves back a bit after you let go of the thumb button. Keep this in mind when shifting/tuning. Keep holding down the shifter button when shifting up to larger rings(usally takes less than a second)until the chain jumps to the larger ring. You can use that bit of that fall back slack to minimized chain rub too. when I tune the FD to up shift quick without holdingdown the shifter, then I get chain rub over 3 or 4 gears, and the wire is too tight to downshift quickly.
Bike Setup: The one with ALTUS A10-rapid fire SL: Giant Sedona ATX = all STOCK
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
MIKE
a Cross Country Rider
from Pacific Grove, CA
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2009
Strengths: does not fall off the bike
Weaknesses: slow shifting, locks up, doesn't shift, innacurate shifting causes the chain to bump against the front derailleur
Bottom Line:
This is a crap shifter, sometimes especially when shifting from 2-3 or 1-2, this shifter just doesn't perform, the shifting is inaccurate no matter when I shift or where I ride, this innacuracy makes the chain bump against the front derailleur all the time, sometimes I shift and the front derallieur hangs up in mid shift; the only way for me to remedy this problem is if I get off the bike, and manually move the chain up one sprocket: DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER THIS SHIFTER:::::::::I WOULD GIVE IT A ZER0 IF I COULD!!!!!
Similar Products Used: none; this is by far the worst shifter i've ever used
Bike Setup: Specialized Crosstrail 2009
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Lemon hater
a Weekend Warrior
from Phoenix, AZ, 85044
Date Reviewed: May 31, 2009
Strengths: None
Weaknesses: Does not shift good
Bottom Line:
After a year of use and putting up with its crappy shifting capabilities. One night riding home I was riding up a steep hill. I dropped it down to the lowest gear just as I get to the top of the hill. Keep in mind I am traveling at walking speed. The rear wheel locks up I look back to see what the problem is and the derailer caught one of the spokes and bent it up bending not only the derailer but later I found out it bent my frame. So now my $300 bike is garbage because of a $20 defective part. I will never buy anything by Shimano or Mongoose. Even if I tried to bend the frame back I am sure it will just malfunction again so why bother wasting the money. I am going to buy a new bike Haro makes a nice beach cruiser and that is all I really want. Anybody need spare parts for the Mongoose Blackcomb LEMON? ragebreak@aol.com
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