This SRAM X.0 front derailleur is built withThe special direct mount design for bikes requiringThe "high direct mount" style front derailleur. for use with SRAM 2x10 mountain bike drivetrains Dual pull cable handlesTop or bottom pull routing For use with 36 or 38T outer chainring (a different model suitsThe 42T ring)
I love SRAM. The PC-series are the only chains I use. Their rear derailers put Shimano's to shame--at least on the east coast, where you never escape the mud, rocks, and logs. But this one's a dud. First, the shifting is nowhere near as smooth as Shimano's. Second the cable line is ridiculous: rather than being routed closely following the seat-tube, it flares out so that where the cable is secured to the derailer, it's sticking out a little more than an inch from the bike. Thirdly, the mounting clamp sits right between the seat-tube's water bottle grommets, so you cannot mount a second water bottle cage. And finally, it's nearly impossible to adjust to the point where the chain won't rub the derailer actuator in any but the most straight-line chain gearings. FAIL!
I forgive you, though, SRAM, for making a rear-derailer system that is impervious to dirt, ice, and bent derailer hangers. I criticize because I love!
Bike Setup: 1997 Bontrager Privateer Comp w/ custom Marzocchi
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Submitted by
Mark
a Weekend Warrior
from San Francisco, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2006
Strengths: Quality/Solid construction. Appears to be well made.
Weaknesses: This thing is HUGE!!!!
Bottom Line:
I love my X9 Shifters and Deraileur and decided to go back to a 2 ring/Bash setup from a single ring so I went out and bought an X0 Front Deraileuer. The first thing I noticed was how huge this thing is. It is extremely wide and tall. It did not come close to fitting on my Bullit with a 34 tooth ring. I had to remove the swingarm to get to the bolt on the braket for tightening. After all that I installed the crank and even with only 34 tooth big ring the X0 will not mount high enough on the seat tube to clear the top of the chainring. I was soooo disappointed as I really wanted to try out this deraileuer. So, I returned it and picked up another Shimano XT which fits with plenty of room to spare because it is such a compact design. I hear good thigs about the X0 and perhaps I'll have a different bike that it would fit on in the future. Bottom line, don't buy for a Santa Cruz Heckler or Bullit.
I'll give it a full five Chilis for value but have to give it 3 overall because they need a more compact design to be more universal.
Bike Setup: 2004 Bullit All Mountain/Freeride Fox 36 Vanilla, X9 deraileuer and shifters, 5th Element, Juicy 5's with 203mm rotors, Thomson seatpost, WTB Saddle, Raceface Atlas cranks, Deemax Wheels set up tubeless with Michelin 16F/24R, EA70 bar, Diabolus Stem totalling up to 38.5Lbs of Joy!
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Submitted by
Vic
a Cross Country Rider
from Moscow, Russia
Date Reviewed: May 9, 2006
Strengths: Stiff, responsive, great shifting performance, robust construction, excellent cabling for bottom pull version
Weaknesses: Heavy, clumpsy, poor cabling for top pull, takes the place, the pump could have taken.
Bottom Line:
I've heard a lot of compliments on this X-gen der., and when it came to the next upgrade, I have had no doubts which one to buy. Installation for my Zaskar was quick and easy, although the mount point went just between the two bolts reserved for pump mount, which was quite unexpected. Easy tuning passed in minutes, and the bike performed significantly better to my point of view. Yes, the thing is heavy, but this seems to be the price for pivot stiffness, and I'm not that weight-mad to take this seriously in account. So, if that was my only setup, the X-gen would have got it's 5 chills no problem. BUT...
I liked this der so much, I decided to change the front der. on my wife's bike as well. It has components of slightly lower rank (Shimano Deore/XT) than mine and top pull. And here problems come. First, the angle for the cable going from top is visibly more than 15 degrees from straight vertical (that's how it works with bottom pull). This positively creates friction. Second, cable shot is not straight, which is a usual advantage for SRAM tech. This in fact makes the cable shot scheme virtually identical with shimano with a heavier product. So only stiffness remain and possibly greater force distribution. But, man, I've spent over 2 hours tuning the tension for this thing in top pull setup!
So, the thing is great for bottom pull, never tried any better, but positively not the choice for top pull. That ate one chill from the perfect value. SRAM should rethink this design, possibly not trying to save money manufacturing versatile model, but making the separate model for top pullers instead.
Bike Setup: Custom built on GT Zaskar frame, currently full top SRAM setup.
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Submitted by
B Digital
a Cross Country Rider
from California --Bay Area
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2006
Strengths: Excellent shifting: Much better than Shimano
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
By far the cheapest investment for my bike, yet the most impacted. These derailluers are superb, coming from Stock shimano crap... you can't go wrong. And the Price is uncomparable. If i known they were this good I would have easily paid $100 w/o question.... and trust me, i'm far from rich !!
Submitted by
matt j
a Downhiller
from hansville wa usa
Date Reviewed: April 10, 2006
Strengths: well, pretty much everything, durability from it's shear size, the size of the thing is the first thing you notice when you first receive it. looks extremely cool for just a derailleur in the silver color, not black. shifts extremely well, is consistent with shifts and does what it's suppose too, keep the chain in place.
Weaknesses: everyone complains about the weight but it's soooo beefy i don't think i'll break it for the longest time, and it's maybe a couple grams so if your gonna whine about stupid crap like that i don't care, spend your $50 or $60 on a shimano xt save a couple stupid grams on the derailleur that works basically the same from what i have tried of it. cable routing on a top pull is a little akward but no big deal, don't let that keep you from buying it because it doesn't really look bad it's just kinda out there but won't snag cause your leg is in the way, i don't know it's just akward. looking
Bottom Line:
great derailleur don't let little stupid things make you pay more for something that doesn't look as cool and only saves a couple grams, but if you must be a weight weenie which i disagree with and if you want all sram wait a little while and sram should be coming out in 2007 with sram x.9 front derailleur which is supposed to have a lighter cage and was suppose to be about i think 20-30 grams lighter or somewhere around there. But set it up right if you don't you'll end up like the guy that got the hight limiter stuck and wouldn't let him go to his other gears, i can almost guarntee that it wasn't the derailleurs fault.
Similar Products Used: shmano, xt,deore,lx,alivio, few others
Bike Setup: 35 pound versus blitz 4,5,6" travel with mostly freeride componenets such as race face, thomson, sun, odi, THE, sram, easton, fox, michelin, avid, fsa.
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Submitted by
Dave Cook
a Cross Country Rider
from New Zealand
Date Reviewed: April 7, 2006
Strengths: None.
Weaknesses: Always needed adjusted after every 3x rides.High Limit screw ground track in it's stop and locked up in big chain ring in middle of a race.
Strengths: Not Shimano (I like options and competition creates a better bread so I am supporting the up and comer who has to be better to gain the market).
Weaknesses: Huge, clunky, heavy. Poor cable management/routing (which is funny because this is in my opinion one of their biggest strengths with their rear deraileurs).
Bottom Line:
I saw my chance to go with everything non-Shimano and have been very impressed overall with SRAM's products on my other bikes. At first impression I was very disappointed with the shear size and weight of the new X-gen front derailleur. This is not an efficient design but hey Shimano has a big lead on them so I'll cut them some slack. It shifts well but there is not a lot you can mess up with a front derailleur. The price is good it should work for most bike configurations (top/botom pull, 28.6/31.8/34.9 seat tube) so I will give it an average value rating. Here is where my biased experience comes into play. I am using the top pull configuration. The design is such that the cable attachment point on the derailleur is almost 2 inches out from the centerline of the seat tube. This creates such an exagerated angle in the cable routing as it leaves the last cable guide and heads to the derailleur that the seat stay yoke over my tire actually contacts the cable at full travel. I admit that this is something very specific to the Titus frame in the 5 inch travel position but I am going to switch back to a small, svelt, Shimano front derailleur to get that cable running tight and parallel to fix my problem and hey it will look cleaner and be lighter in the process. Overall I expect a whole lot more from you SRAM. Come on!!
Similar Products Used: Just about everything Shimano has.
Bike Setup: 06 Titus Moto Lite, Fox Talas RLC, XO everything, Mavic Crosmax SL wheels, Raceface Deus cranks and stem, Raceface carbon riser bar, Gravity Dropper seatpost, Magura Marta brakes.
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Submitted by
colt collis
from nacogdoches tx US
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2006
Strengths: none
Weaknesses: it would rub the chain it the small ring/big cog and the small cog big ring combo's no matter how i adjusted it. i followed the park tool intstruction and i tried the sram instructions... then i got experimental... i never could get it to not rub... i spent many hours trying to get it to work... the cage was just too narrow.... my lovely new xt derailleur on the other hand shifts absolutely wonderfully... i mean... its bloody miraculous... i thought i was the problem... that i just couldn't handle mounting a front deraileur... or that front indexing was for losers... but the xt threw those theories out the window... the xt work perfectly
Bottom Line:
the x gen is crap. xt is god! i think the x gen is actually more flexy than the xt... and the xt shifts perfectly in about 1/2 to 3/4 of a revolution... it's just amazing... night and day... i really think the outer cage indention on the sram just just inward too far... maybe they have quality controll problems?
i wish i could give the x gen a negative 27 score for the $27 i wasted on it.
Similar Products Used: xt top swing derailleur of delight!!!
Bike Setup: soon to be:
nashbar steel frame and fork lx hubs with rhynolites un73 bb with deore square taper cranks speed dial 7's single digit 5's schwalbe big apples specialized avatar saddle (i can ride and get it up now!) primo super tenderizers sram x.7 rear derailleur and trigger shifters kool stop pads
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Submitted by
Oni
a Weekend Warrior
from Honolulu
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2006
Strengths: Not Shimano. Fits everything/anything. Black colour. Wide stance of cage pivot.
Weaknesses: Heavy. Doesn't seem durable.
Bottom Line:
Welllllll, threw this derailleur on when I couldn't get my hands on an XT. One of those late night build kind of things and a friend had this sitting in his storage room. Initially I was pleased with it, weight not-withstanding. Shifts well, doesn't have that occasional flexy Shimano feel and avoids all the Shimano linkages that tend to wear out. The black colour fit in well with the whole black theme of the bike. Always nice to not run Shimano things.
I've had the derailleur since July '05. The bike hasn't seen a lot of riding and since it doesn't have a big ring (and I don't use granny all that much) I don't think I should be able to grab the cage and wiggle it as much as I can. Leaves me to believe that it isn't too durable. We shall see....
Bike Setup: XT shifters, rr derailleur, cassette, Wipperman chain, RF Deus cranks, with bash guard instead of third ring.
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Submitted by
Russ
a Cross Country Rider
from Corvallis, OR USA
Date Reviewed: December 12, 2005
Strengths: Burly design, looks indestructible.
Weaknesses: None, but see below
Bottom Line:
I'm writing this to supplement my earlier review. After upgrading the rest of the drivetrain I'm very happy with the Xgen. The problem was that I did not have it set up correctly. If you don't have it dialed in perfectly it will rub...but once you do it shifts great. There's a good thread in the SRAM forum with more info. If you follow SRAM's instructions to the letter and give yourself time to get it right it works great.
Bike Setup: Magnesium hardtail, X7 triggers, X9 rear der.
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Submitted by
Andro Galero
a Weekend Warrior
from Butuan City, Philippines
Date Reviewed: September 22, 2005
Strengths: -very stiff and strong -very easy to setup and adjust -very cool looks -very cheap
Weaknesses: -weight (186 grams)
Bottom Line:
Nothing very significant, works just like the latest offerings from shimano but its cheaper, easier, cooler and stronger. Buy it if you want to have a full SRAM drivetrain.
Similar Products Used: Shimano Deore, XT, XTR and Sram 9.O
Bike Setup: Sram X.9 Shifters, Sram X.O rear derailleur, Sram PG-990 cassette, Sram PC-990 chain and Truvativ Stylo Team GXP Crankset all attached to an old Cannondale Raven...
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Submitted by
N.B.GAS
a Cross Country Rider
from Las Vegas,NV.
Date Reviewed: August 29, 2005
Strengths: IT WORKS! IT'S NOT OVER PRICED! Easy set up. Shifts are fast and flawless...
Weaknesses: NONE!
Bottom Line:
This is just one of the many AWESOME parts SRAM has masterd.
About 3years ago I installed my first set of SRAM ATTACK shifters. What a difference...MORE RIDE-LESS TUNE...Added a Rollamajig...MORE RIDE-MORE RIDE-CANT STOP!!! Tried Avid brakes...I could go on and on...NO LONGER ADDICTED TO THE big S...
It really does feel good to [GO RIDE FOREST RIDE!]
Similar Products Used: Deore M510, XT 750. [Both are good when used with SRAM 2:1 shifters....]
Bike Setup: 05"IBEX Frame..Manitou AXEL 100mm. SRAM [X-9 RD&GS,X-GEN FD, PG-970,PC-99,9.0 Levers...AVID [SD-7,FLAK JACKET Cables... RACE FACE EVOLVE XC [Cranks,Flat Bar,Stem and Seatpost... MAVIC F-519. DT SWISS. WTB SPEED XC Hubs. Michlin Comp.24-1. ARONIC XTENSION Pedals...SALLE ITALIA TRANS AM X0...OURY....
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Submitted by
Russ Born
a Cross Country Rider
from Corvallis, OR USA
Date Reviewed: August 16, 2005
Strengths: Very strong, well built. Looks like it will last forever. Works as a top or bottom pull.
Weaknesses: 9-speed specific? See below. Probably not the lightest around, but what do you expect for 30 bucks?
Bottom Line:
I bought this to build up a new frame. It has an oversized downtube, which forced the derailler too high up the seat tube for any Shimano (exept the e-type, of course). The X-gen has a slightly longer cage and is just long enough to use on this frame. I've been happy with it, but the chain tends to rub a bit in most gears. Might be my chainline is a little out of wack, or it could be because I'm using an 8-speed chain, which is a bit thicker than 9-speed. SRAM says this derailer is for 9-speed setups. I plan to convert soon, we'll see if that changes things.
5 flames for value, I'd give 5 overall but subract one for the rubbing.
Submitted by
joe wagner
a Cross Country Rider
from westland, mi
Date Reviewed: July 22, 2005
Strengths: easy set up, cheap, works
Weaknesses: none yet, only got 2 rides and i crashed and broke my shoulder
Bottom Line:
I have adjusted my xtr derailleur over and over again, two of my riding buddies have done the same, and their both mechanics, and always the same results. They both refused to think the derailleur was bad, shimano guys, so for a cheap $26 I figured I would try a gen x, what could happen I have 2 derailleurs that give me a hassle. I put it on my bike, set the high and low limits, adjusted it and ready to ride, took less then 15 minuets. Now I am ordering sram shifters and rear derailleur, im tired of adjusting xtr rear.