Submitted by
cowpoke7
a Cross Country Rider
from encinitas, ca
Date Reviewed: June 1, 2009
Strengths: Excellent performance--- Never misses shifts, never drops chain.
Weaknesses: After 12 mos of riding, mine is developing a hairline fracture in the top of the cage. It will break apart soon. My bike shop pointed it out after the last tune up and mentioned that the 2009 model was beefed up in this region. When I discussed warranty, they told me not to expect anything and told me I needed to baby XTR. In their mind, I broke it by shifting it under load. I am experienced and reasonable with my gear so I doubt this. (I ride a lot but do clean the drivetrain and perform a tune-up after every real ride.) I think this problem is really with the shop and will try my normal road shop--- Shimano has always been awesome when it comes to tech support.
Bottom Line:
Awesome performance but the 2008 model has durability issues. Even if I have to pay to replace it, I will. The performance is just too good.
Similar Products Used: Old school XT, Dura Ace and Record on road bikes.
Bike Setup: Ibis mojo, XTR build.
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Submitted by
supersleeper
a Cross Country Rider
from RSA
Date Reviewed: January 17, 2009
Strengths: Lightweight, looks good.
Weaknesses: This is for the M971 top pull bottom swing.
El Crappo.
Bottom Line:
M971. The outside plate bent open when shifting from big to middlering. Had to bend it back to get it functioning again. After a few of these episodes, it broke clean off.
Flimsy. Rubbish.
Bike Setup: Santa Cruz Blur XC, Full XTR, Fox RL 100, DT 4.2d & 240s hubs. KCNC stuff.
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Submitted by
Zachariah
a Cross Country Rider
from Palm Desert, California USA
Date Reviewed: November 13, 2008
Strengths: Light, at 112 grams; shifts flawlessly; differential plates actually LIFT the chain to the next chainring; great design.
Weaknesses: Very tricky to properly setup; aluminum limit screws strip too easily. Instructions are inaccurate.
Bottom Line:
This old school XTR front derailleur is just the BOMB. If you ever get one- keep it forever....Shimano don't make them this nice, anymore. I have a bottom-pull 31.8 one and could not be happier, with this FD. It has NEVER missed a chainring shift. I just select......and it always delivers....and it's FAST too! In fact- it is one of my favorite Weight Weenie parts on the entire bike!
Back in the day(1999), these retailed for $180. I got mine for $30- which is a STEAL. Such a simple, functional design that Shimano should have expanded upon, but didn't. The two lightweight aluminum differential plates literally cradle your chain to the next chainring- what a concept!
The KEY to getting this FD to work like it's intended, is to have your LBS install it on your bike. I tried to do it myself....and almost threw it out!!!
Submitted by
justjoshnya
a Cross Country Rider
from Lake Ozark, Missouri
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2008
Strengths: Best shifting Front Der on market. Light. Sexy. Strong Spring. Fast and smooth up and down shifts
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
Best shifting Front Der on market for sure. I've sold some to customers of mine and they all agree, it makes a huge difference. I had an XT model that I could not swap over onto my new frame, and my shop owner talked me into getting an xtr, he said it was the best. I realy thought that it wouldn't be any better than my xt but I was dead wrong, huge difference. Maybe newer xt is better??? My xt was 4 years old, this xtr is 2 and I've sold newer xtr to customers and they say its the bomb
Favorite Trail: Four Winns, Lake of the Ozarks State Park
Duration Product Used: 2 Years
Price Paid:
$100.00
Purchased At: Oz CYcles
Similar Products Used: Deore, LX, XT, sram garbage
Bike Setup: Custom built 08 Trek Fuel EX 8 with full XT drivetrain (except front der)
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Submitted by
Nuno Prazeres
a Racer
from Lisbon, Portugal
Date Reviewed: June 9, 2008
Strengths: M-970 - Precision and low weight
Weaknesses: Showed some play after 2000k. Broke after 3000km
Bottom Line:
Excelent in the first times but cannot stand a rough winter...
I am a careful cyclist (wash & lube type one) so I cannot imagine how fast this deraileur loses capacity for people who ride in muddyer trails and does not wash and lube that often.
It couples so well with the crankset and it is so precise when new I might buy one again and be ready to replace it yearly
Similar Products Used: Shimano XT - 96 model still around in my HT after 15000 km with zero play
Bike Setup: Fox F100RLC. DT Swiss Wheels (240s, XR 4.2D, Aerolite). XTR crankset and F Der. XO R Der. and twistshifters. Magura Marta SL brakes with Hope Mono Mini Pro rotors. Crankbros EB SL pedals. Nokon cables. XTR cassette. SRAM 991 hollowpin chain. Syntace seatpost and stem. Easton carbon handlebar. SLR XC sadle. Nobby Nic 2.1 kevlar tyres without inner tubes. Total weight 10600g
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Submitted by
Paul
a Cross Country Rider
from Western Australia
Date Reviewed: September 28, 2007
Strengths: None
Weaknesses: Face plate is too weak.
Bottom Line:
This is for the 971 unit. The outer face plate on the cage is too weak near the pivot point. On dropping the chain off the big ring the outer plate will open out, this can lead to the chain coming off on the next up shift and no granny gear. Bending it back in place is only a very temporary solution. This unit didn’t last long at all, very disappointing from Shimano.
Submitted by
Gerald Badoz
a Weekend Warrior
from Orlando, FL, USA
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2007
Strengths: Design, appearance, function, weight, quality, fit, and finish.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
XTR M970 front derailleurs is amazing!!! It shifts butter smooth. I got it with the matching M970 rapid fire pods and the response is simple incredible. Right as you are pressing the button, click the chain shifts... ITS FREAK INCREDIBLE!!!!! Highly recommend it...
I had easy performance with the Deore components. I had to search for the sweet spot for shifting and the lever strokes are much longer on the Deore. The XTR shift is just a short quick stroke...
Bike Setup: 2004 Raleigh Ram 2.0 with full XTR, RockShox 318 Tora and Rear SID, Avid Juicy Carbons, Truvativ Team Carbon Riser, Cane Creek Solo head set, Titec Pluto Carbon seat post, WTB Speed V saddle, and Jagwire cables. Plus a few other things...
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Submitted by
steve holcomb
a Weekend Warrior
from tampa florida
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2007
Strengths: Still working with no flaws. Its 5yrs old with many 1000's of miles of use. The very best !
Similar Products Used: campy record and super record
Bike Setup: doesn't matter
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Submitted by
evilgeek
a Cross Country Rider
from calgary, canada
Date Reviewed: May 30, 2006
Strengths: shifting, setup, bling
Weaknesses: none
Bottom Line:
replaced my 2001 LX front der with 2006 XTR, and the difference is night and day. the XTR is actually 4g heavier than the LX, but the weight has obviously been put where it counts, and isn't just untrimmed fat. the XTR is crisp, really, really crisp, making the LX seem like a piece of bread that's been left in the rain.
Submitted by
Ryan R
a Cross Country Rider
from Long Island N.Y.
Date Reviewed: May 3, 2004
Strengths: Strong, cage is acutally a double cage for extra strength Light weight, for a double caged derailleur Stiff, Never misses a shift not a one, perfect shifting! Reliable, Once it's set it is eally a set a forget item!
Weaknesses: A little on the pain in the a$$ to set up intially. At least the e-type model it took a little bit to set it but no it's a set and forget item . Took two rounds of tuning and a fine tune from a friend at a shop to get it running right. I have yet to have to mess with it since! A little expensive for a Front Derailluer
Bottom Line:
This is the one piece of drivetrain equipment on my bike that will survive my drivetrain rebuild! I like Shimano for their Crank sets so far so good with my XT's and I like the M525 Deore discbraks on my bike. They are inexpensive to mantain and cost less for parts then the XT or the way overpriced XTR's. If they do decide to go then I'm going for Avid or Hayes for brakes. As for this derailluer I like it allot. It has crisp action you don't get with the XT and it is much more reliabable than the LX that came on the bike. The LX never seemed to be able to stay tuned and I was always messing with it on the trails. I like to use my front derailluer I paid for all 27 gears I'm going to use them!! I have yet to miss a shift or have the chain drop of or jam up! It is a little of a chore to set it up though but I think this is only for the E-Type my buddy had no problems setting up his clamp style one what so ever! If your interested why I'm changing over to SRAM X.O see my newest review for the non rapid rise XTR rear derailluer. For this piece of the Shimano XTR drivetrain I like it!
Similar Products Used: Mostly Shimano: LX (SUCKS) XT (Good but has draw backs) XTR (THE BOMB)
Bike Setup: Specialized Stumpjumper FSR XC With a full Shimano XT XTR Drivetrain (soon to be switched out for SRAM X.0) with much too many goodies to list here and do you really want to read the list?
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Submitted by
MAXXED
a Cross Country Rider
from Honolulu
Date Reviewed: March 20, 2004
Strengths: Smooth, silent shifting. Never misses a shift!
Weaknesses: Only comes in top swing configuration. Will not work on Cannondale Jekyll, Mountain Cycle San Andreas, and other frames that require a bottom swing derailleur.
Bottom Line:
This is a review of the '04 FD-M952 derailleur with differential plate action. The two side plates of the cage move independently and are hinged at the rear of the cage. Dramatic improvement in upshifting and downshifting over the rigid cage XTR '03 derailleur. Shifting is lightning fast and never slips or skips on the chainrings. It is noticeably quieter on upshifts and downshifts than the '03 XTR. The chain is literally lifted off the chainrings and dropped onto the next chainring. In the non diff plate action XTR, like the FD-M953, you can feel the chain being forced against the chainring, and grinding into it when you upshift. I was disappointed in the FD-M953, which displayed no improvement in shifting performance over the XT derailleur. The diff plate action also solves a nagging problem inherent in all conventional fixed plate front derailleurs; sluggish shifting or hanging up when downshifting to the granny gear. I can be in the smallest rear cog, and it will instantly and silently downshift to the granny gear. You'll never use that particular gear combo, but try doing it with your current derailleur! Upshifts are amazing silent and quick, without the grinding against the chainring to upshift as described above. Another welcome design improvement is the angled seatpost collar mounting setup. This is a blessing for those with full suspension bikes, as it makes it so much easier to access the derailleur mounting collar allen screw head. Also, the cable mounting clamp bolt is angled, making access much more convenient for those with full suspension frames and elevated chainstays. Another improvement is a wider derailleur cage that makes chain rub almost nonexistent in those awkward chainring/rear cog combos. The older FD-M953 was a real pain with it's narrow cage. It really limited the gearing combos you could use with each chainring. Shimano really did their homework on the new '04 diff plate derailleur! Only problem is, it is currently available only in top swing configuration, which will not work with all frames, as mentioned above. If you can't use a top swing derailleur, you're out of luck. It is quite a bit more expensive than their non diff plate action derailleur, but once you've tried it, there's just no comparison. I'm hooked, and can't go back to the non Diff Plate front derailleurs.
Similar Products Used: Shimano LX, XT, and '03 XTR.
Bike Setup: '04 Mountain Cycle Fury, Avid 160mm discs, Avid Speed Dial 7 brake levers, XTR front and rear derailleurs, '04 Shimano XT crankset, Progressive 5th Element rear shock.
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Submitted by
Saxon Victor
a Cross Country Rider
from Slovakia, Middle Europe
Date Reviewed: February 17, 2004
Strengths: Its beautiful! So strong, rigid, and it works like a dream
Weaknesses: i havent found yet
Bottom Line:
Ive changed my Deore2003 for this. The difference: night and day. It moves so lightly, with the XT rapidfire it moves like a Deore rapidfire without de derailleur. Its incredible for me, cos here in Slovakia we dont have the money to buy things like this, but i think we should. I recommend it to everyone who has the money, and wants incredible shifts. Anyway, i use it with LX chain and Truvativ Stylo Team cranks and its perfect, so i just cant imagine how would it be with XTR chain and XTR cranks...
my shimano LX front derailleur won't even move now - i greased it plenty and it just won't move - i had to buy a new front derailleur - and this solved my problems. It is a very excellent mechanism. Don't let those cheap pansies with their stupid reviews discourage you. The bolt does not strip if you use a metric 5mm alan key. The dumbass was probably using alan keys in inches. the 2003 line of XTR is very good. I recently purchased the 2003 XTR crank and rear derailleur and have yet to try both. Very nice, quality products. I wouldn't pay the ridiculous retail for them, though. Find them in places other than online retaillers - and DON'T GO TO YOUR LOCAL BIKE SHOP. Mine always rapes me on pricing. They mark things up even beyond retail. It's ridiculous. Stupid!
