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Submitted by
Bryan Bracy
a Cross Country Rider
from Kadena Okinawa Japan
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Downtown | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | Outdoorshop NEO's | | Strengths: | Shifts quickly and crisply; looks great. | | Weaknesses: | I sometimes hear chain rub and it's expensive. And it's skipped twice already. | | Similar Products Used: | LX | | Bike Setup: | 08 KONA Blast XT cranks, XT F/R der., XT triggers, and Dart2 on Kenda semi-slicks | | Bottom Line: | I should get off my butt and adjust it. It's great product. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
joseph warren
a
from cherry valley
Date Reviewed: April 17, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | ones in my yard | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | crisp smooth fast shifting very durable and strong easy to work on and ajust | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | lx sram x9 | | Bike Setup: | jamis avid fox shox | | Bottom Line: | this is a very nice derailer for good price and very dependible | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Victor
a Cross Country Rider
from Taipei, Taiwan
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | It works, but no better than practically any other front dérailleur I had used on my own or other bikes. | | Weaknesses: | It rusts, yes, it started rusting after 3 months of normal use! None of my previous derailleurs, front or rear, ever rusted. Nothing else on my bike has started rusting, not even the chain.
It also needs frequent adjustment of min-max screws to keep it working within chainring confines. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Acera (still going strong after 4 years), Shimano XTR E-Type (brilliant, I should have kept it) | | Bike Setup: | Custom built from the frame up freeride bike | | Bottom Line: | Do not buy this derailleur. It works no better than the cheaper ones, is only 10g lighter than the LX, and it rusts. Shimano also does not offer any warranty on it once it rusts, as it is apparently the owner's fault for getting it wet and using it as intended. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Snellville, Ga, USA
Date Reviewed: December 28, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | PricePoint.com | | Strengths: | good price and it works. | | Weaknesses: | chain rub is really annoying to me so i took off my FD and just going to let my bike be a 9 speed. i never use my FD anyway so no lose for me. | | Similar Products Used: | cheaper shimano stuff | | Bike Setup: | Specialized HardRock, BB7 disc brakes, RS Dart 3 fork, Stylo2.2 crank, XT rear, LX cassette, and XT dual control shifters, Rhynolite rims on XT hubs. | | Bottom Line: | had chain rub on the inner and outter side of the front derailluer in certain gear combinations and from what i've been told by 2 bike shops that that is a common thing but it gets on my nerves to hear it so i just took off my FD because i never use it anyway. had i not had the chain rub then i would say its good as a FD could be. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Edo
a Weekend Warrior
from Zagreb, Croatia
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | Maraton, Brezice | | Strengths: | Shifts as it it is supposed to. | | Weaknesses: | Doesn't shift quite as smooth like Champagnolo front derailleur on my road bike. | | Similar Products Used: | Acera, Deore | | Bike Setup: | Kona hardtail. LX and XT stuff mix. | | Bottom Line: | I upgraded from Deore to XT and I can feel the difference (contrary to some people claims). Deore had too flexible cage, resulting with problems with shifting both up and down. To shift up, You needed to keep the shifter for a while, until it shifts, and while shifting down, it sometimes droped the chain (say, 1 od 10 times). It was not an adjustment problem because I had it tuned like 10 times by professionals. It is not happening with XT. It shifts quickly and accurately.
My first derailleur was Acera and it was a peace of crap. When I switched to Deore the difference was hughe. Upgrading from Deore to XT is not such a hughe difference but I do feel the difference. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Giancarlo Pelosi
a Weekend Warrior
from Miramar, FL, USA
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Markham Park | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Bell's Bikes | | Strengths: | Rugged and reliable. Great shifting with a smooth action. Great bang for the buck. Lives up to the XT name. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | LX and XTR Front der | | Bike Setup: | 06 Giant Trance 1 stock set up with a Chris King headset, Mavic Crossmax SL disc, Kenda Nevagal UST's, XT rotors, and ODI Rogue lock on grip upgrade. | | Bottom Line: | If you don't want to spend big bucks on an XTR der or a SRAM XO, this is the way to go with the same performance. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Anthony
a Cross Country Rider
from Los Angeles
Date Reviewed: September 15, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$34.00 | | Purchased At: | Incycle | | Strengths: | price? maybe. i paid less for my SRAM which didnt fit my bike as I blankd and didnt realize they only made bottom swings. I paid more for this piece of total garbage. And i have to live with it because SRAM hasnt made a top swing yet and doesnt plan on it. It was a pain in the ass to setup, setup my tension, i could not get it to switch down from the middle ring to the smallest ring. LIMITED CAGE adjustability! I figured i must have been doing something wrong, took it to the LBS where i bought it, they checked it out, readjusted it, and told me thats about as good as its going to get. if i am in anything from 6-9 it wont shift from the middle gear to the bigger gear. and it rubs and rubs and rubs. i had to bend the crap out of it to be able to shift from 2nd to 1st. ugh. theres a reason its called sh!tmano | | Weaknesses: | everything | | Similar Products Used: | SRAM X-Gen front derailleur (beautiful product) | | Bottom Line: | This derailleur sucks compared to its competitors, had it been that my frame accepted a bottom swing, i would have never ever considered buying this pile of junk | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dbohnsai
a Downhiller
from Chilli, Oh
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Shifts well, sturdy, haven't broken one yet, much cheaper than XTR! | | Weaknesses: | suppose the multi clamp/multi pull factor is a bit of a waste. If you can't figure out what kind of FD you need you're better off having the LBS take care of your bike. | | Similar Products Used: | Alivio, ancient STX | | Bike Setup: | 04 Kona Stinky Primo | | Bottom Line: | Can't see paying twice as much for a XTR FD when I hardly use the darn thing anyway. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jay
a Cross Country Rider
from Machesney Park, Illinois
Date Reviewed: June 26, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Came with the bike at the Pony Shop near Chicago | | Strengths: | Its new. | | Weaknesses: | Why dont derailluers come in colors? | | Similar Products Used: | All Shimano, some SRAM. | | Bike Setup: | New 760 XT on my Intense Spider. | | Bottom Line: | I have the new 760 XT front derailluer on my Intense Spider. So its a 34.9, top swing. To be honest, I never notice the function of this product, and thats exactly what a great product will do. It does its job, quietly and effectivly. No complaints on this derailluer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Manchester Uk
Date Reviewed: May 27, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Shifts well when used with a shimano chain. | | Weaknesses: | Doesnt shift so well with an Sram chain | | Bottom Line: | This worked flawlessly with my 7 speed (and therefore a wider chain) setup until I switched the chain to SRam for the powerlink versatility. Since then I have struggled to get down from the big ring to middle. I don't think this is the fault of the mech though. I also suffer chain rub when I am in big chainring and little sprocket. Again I think this is more to do with how I have set the bike up. (So I can run big chainring big sprocket on downhills to reduce chain slap)
Good crisp mech. Might upgrade to XTR when I can afford but good enough for now. Got it for a tenner on ebay so I can't complain. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Al
a Cross Country Rider
from Garden City, MI
Date Reviewed: April 12, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Pontiac Lake | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$33.00 | | Purchased At: | Nashbar.com | | Strengths: | Strong shifting | | Weaknesses: | Multi-clamp size shim thingies, directions that are poorly laid out and, in spots, simply incorrect. | | Similar Products Used: | Alivio that came stock on the bike | | Bike Setup: | K2 hardtail | | Bottom Line: | This is a definite upgrade from the POS Alivio that came on my bike. Now that I finally have it set up correctly, it shifts quite strongly.
That's where the problem comes in. The shims they give to fit any size are a pain to get installed properly, so prepare to swear at them a couple of times before they stay put. So, after navigating the uniquely designed directions, and adding in a bit of guesswork on my own, I got the thing installed. Sweet, let's go riding! But wait! There's more. The first shift I tried to use it for actually twisted the derailleur on the frame, which caused my chain to tangle up in it. This, of course, created a nice tangle of chain, derailleur, and chain stay that I got the joy of untangling on the trail. I wasn't too pleased about the paint I lost off my chainstay, either.
So, I basically reinstalled it, and this time, I tightened the living daylights out of the bolt for the clamp (and far, far exceeded the recommended torque). But, it finally shifts right now.
Bottom line: The shim idea sucks, and installation isn't nearly as easy as it should be, but once you get it done, this things works pretty well. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brad Hill
a Weekend Warrior
from Siloam Springs, AR
Date Reviewed: December 31, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | Lewis & Clark Outfitters | | Strengths: | Smooth shifting | | Weaknesses: | havent found any yet | | Bike Setup: | 2004 Trek 4300 | | Bottom Line: | This part is an inexpensive upgrade that i am very pleased with. I love this derailleur, I have had no problems at all with this product. It shifts very smoothly and quietly.
I would strongly recommend to anybody to upgrade to this part as it is very efficient. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Mason
a
from Brisbane, Qld Australia
Date Reviewed: November 24, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$18.00 | | Purchased At: | Nashbar | | Strengths: | Easy to install.Quick and smooth shifting | | Weaknesses: | Slight chain rub when in big ring/small sproket combo | | Similar Products Used: | Alivo | | Bike Setup: | Rockhopper | | Bottom Line: | I purposely bought the older, 2003 XT derailer after reading other peoples comments on MTBR.com. The derailer is a major (yet inexpensive) upgrade from the stock Alivo derailer that came with the bike. Set up is relatively easy although the instructions that come with it are useless. I found that I had to raise the derailer slightly higher than the recommended 3 or 4 mm above the teeth of the big ring to get perfect shifting. I get a slight chain rub when in the big ring/small sprocket combo even though the derailer has been adjusted for maximal range. It is possible that this a result of using this derailer in combination with an 8 speed cassette which uses a thicker chain. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Russell Ruggiero
a Weekend Warrior
from West Windsor
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | R&D | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Jay's | | Strengths: |
Build and Smoothness | | Weaknesses: |
None | | Similar Products Used: | 2002 XT and 2002 LX | | Bike Setup: | Trek 4900
FD: XT
RD: XT
Crank: Deore | | Bottom Line: |
First and foremost, the 2004 XT is nothing like past models. I have owned both XT and LX on this buke, and the latest XT version breaks new ground in smoothness. The super rigid cage makes the difference, as does the new mounting platform. The price and weight have gone-up, which may put-off some buyers. I currently own two bikes with the LX version, and they cannot come close to the overall feel of the new 2004 XT. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Curtis
a Cross Country Rider
from College Park MD
Date Reviewed: October 9, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$21.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bike | | Strengths: | Dependable, Durable, low weight. | | Weaknesses: | -none I'ver ever found- | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano no-name, then XT on the 2 other bikes I've had since. | | Bike Setup: | Giant Rainier, Duke XC, XT cass, XT fr.der, XT rear der., XT chain, LX crank, LX shifter/brake combo | | Bottom Line: | I love this front der. I've never experienced any of the problems that the other people who posted have experienced, so I have nothing bad to say about this der. They've gone through many a wreck and just keep on rollin, so I'll definitely be buying another XT front der. whenever this one bites the dust. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Huey Woodrum
a Cross Country Rider
from Toledo,Oregon
Date Reviewed: September 25, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Whoop's | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | Universal | | Strengths: | The multi pull and fit is nice.The price is good | | Weaknesses: | This is the worst derailler I think shimano has built.
It rubs in more gears than the older version.If you use
it in the mud it won't shift because the top flange plugs
up with mud and debris.I also don't like you can't goto their web site and let them know that the new xt derailler
is junk.
| | Similar Products Used: | older lx,xtand xtr | | Bike Setup: | all xt Gary fisher Paragon | | Bottom Line: | I wouldn't buy this derailluer. I found a place online and bought the older version. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Seth
a Cross Country Rider
from West Haven, Ct
Date Reviewed: August 30, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Came on bike | | Strengths: | Worked perfectly untill... | | Weaknesses: | I was pedaling down the freakin boardwalk, for god sake(!), when checkkckkkckk kink... I look down and I see my chain twisted up in the metal of my front derailleur. You Biotch... I untangled the twisted metal and push the derailleur back to where it was supposed to be and rode on, making sure not to change gears. I got home, checked the thing out, and discovered that a metal piece on the thing had broken. I removed it from the bike to see that it was actually broken in two places; the second held on merely by "a thread". I will try to descibe the part that broke to you because I have no idea the technical term (maybe someone can enlighten me). So the XT has a few metal parts, one the ss cage, the other the clamp, the other the little thing that attaches to the cable, and a last that hinges the ss cage to the clamp. It has two connection/pivot points on each the cage and the clamp. The clamp side pivot connections on this pieve just snapped, for no good reason.... | | Bike Setup: | 99 Gary Fisher Supercal, mainly stock (new tires obviously) | | Bottom Line: | This Derailleur functioned perfectly for me for a while, but then, out of the blue, this happens. I must say that I expected something much better out of a product that is the 2nd highest model in a manufacturer(shimano)'s line who is possibly the largest company around (bigger isn't always better?) Like I said, I was riding town a boardwalk (I may have ridden down the side of the curb) and the thing just crunched. I'm lucky it didn't suck the chain into my bike and do any damage. I do not know how long or extensively this product had been used before I got my paws on it, but I think that this is a pretty sorry end for it to see. Because of this unknown determinant, I'll end up rating a bit higher. I have ordered an xtr from e-bay, and it came today.Hopefully we'll see some improvement (we'd better with a stock price increase like that). For the xt I will rate 3 stars for value (even for my two yrs of use, 30-40 bucks isn't too bad). 2 stars for overall. Would have been a quick one (or zero, though impossible) if I knew the full history of the product... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
A D
a Weekend Warrior
from Vienna, Austria
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Somewhere in the Vienna Woods | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Components.de | | Strengths: | 2003 (top-pull): Easy to mount (relatively); great shifting up 'n' down.
2004 ("dual" pull): Haven't been able to get the thing to work. | | Weaknesses: | 2003 (top-pull): Not quite full-range; rubs on granny-setting (small front, big rear) and on downhill setting (big front, small rear). I probably need to adjust the limiter.
2004 ("dual" pull): Won't reach the top ring! | | Similar Products Used: | Deore, Alivio, Acera, C050. | | Bike Setup: | Self-built custom setup. | | Bottom Line: | The 2003 model, top-pull, top-swing is the business. When you make an order, make sure to specify last year's model. The 2003 model gets 5 flamin' chilies for value and 4 for overall rating.
Shimano f****d up with 2004 with "cost-cutting" measures. First, it's now only one size (34.8mm/1.5in) with shims/spacers rather than three different size clamps. The grip just isn't as nice.
Second, instead of a top-pull, you now only get a "dual" pull, which is just a bottom-pull with a fancy name. The cable guide for a bottom-pull setup gets in the way. Trying to get into the top ring with a top-pull setup, the cable guide hits the mech itself, preventing further movement. I'm going to have to borrow Stephen Brown's junior hacksaw to fix it (see review below). The 2004 model gets 1 limp, bland chili for value and overall.
Shimano: wake up! Cost-cutting measures only hurt the customers, which affect your bottom line even more!
The total rating is an average of the 2003 and 2004 parts.
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Submitted by
Matt
a Cross Country Rider
from Oxnard
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | SUPERGO | | Strengths: | Crisp Shifts | | Weaknesses: | VERY LIMITED RANGE OF ADJUSTABILITY FOR THE DERAILLEUR CAGE | | Bottom Line: | I have run into the same problems with this derailleur as Freddie posted. I like it, but the fact that it won't adjust properly is a major issue | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Freddie
a Cross Country Rider
from Harbor City, CA USA
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Strengths: | This review is for the '04 M760 front derailleur. The stiff return spring results in crisp shifts to the granny gear. | | Weaknesses: | 1)VERY LIMITED RANGE OF ADJUSTABILITY FOR THE DERAILLEUR CAGE. 2)Derailleur cage is 3mm narrower than last year's XT. 3)Heavy (50 grams heavier than last year's).
4)The adapters that are used to fit the derailleur to multiple seat tube diameters are a hassle to set-up. | | Similar Products Used: | '03 Shimano XT M750 (top swing, top pull). | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight with Truvativ Stylo Team cranks, Race Face XS bottom bracket, SRAM X9 shifters and rear derailleur, XTR chain. | | Bottom Line: | Can someone please tell me why Shimano insists on continually "upgrading" perfectly good stuff with total crap?
Building up my Superlight from scratch, I first dialed my chainline to a perfect 48.5mm. When I went to fine tune the XT front derailleur, I found that after backing out the high gear limit screw just a tad, I quickly reached a point where the screw would keep turning but the derailleur simply would not move any more to the outside. This resulted in lots of chain rub on the big ring up front and the two smallest cogs in the back. (Yes, my cable tension was correct.)
I put up with this for awhile but then couldn't stand it anymore so I purchased last year's model. Low and behold the cage was 3mm wider and the design was much simpler and more compact. The derailleur cage has plenty of side to side adjustability and there is now NO MORE RUB. If you think I didn't adjust the front derailleur correctly the first time you are wrong. I made no other adjustments to the bike other than replacing the crap '04 model with the '03. Plus I have been doing my own mechanical work for many years.
If you decide to get the 04 XT front derailleur anyway, don't say I didn't warn you. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Curtis Bullock
a Cross Country Rider
from College Park, MD, USA
Date Reviewed: June 11, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Sligo Creek | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | REI | | Strengths: | Great clean shifting; durable as hell, looks great, good price | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Various no name shimano parts | | Bike Setup: | FS bike with XT Fr. der. XT rear der. LX shifter/brake combo, Firex Crank, XT cassette. | | Bottom Line: | Love it. A great buy for sure. I got a whole new drivetrain (except crank) installed at REI and I have had absolutely no problems with this derailleur. I'm no super bike expert, but I definitely knew for sure that this was a big step up from previous parts the first time I shifted from first to second and then from second to third. The best part about it is that since it has been on my bike, I haven't had to think about it in the least; definitely a good part. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
William
a
from Laurel Highlands
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | any rocky single track | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | speedgoat | | Strengths: | good value shifts wll once properly adjusted, durable and reliable shifting. | | Weaknesses: | kind of hard to set up. even so called mechanics like jarrod at speed goat couldn't dial it in. | | Similar Products Used: | lx | | Bike Setup: | sugar 2 and trek 8000 | | Bottom Line: | awesome product once dialed in. I figured i'd let speedgoat install it. big mistake. as soon as i got it home i was only able to keep it in the middle ring. upon closer inspection, jarrod had forgotten to tighten the crank bolt which caused the drive train to only align when in the middle ring. it wouldn't even go into the big ring. the crankset was about to fall off and it just came from their shop. the bike obviously wasn't test ridden and to top things off i waited a week to get it back. not good customer service especially for someone who drops a couple hundred a month at their shop. don't be afraid to do things yourself. the shop has become everything they are claiming not to be. a mediocre big internet company that sees dollars and volume instead of people and quality work. once again, thanks to jarrods incompetance as a mechanic to motivate me to sharpen my abilities. speedgoat has lost a good local customer, which it probably doesn't matter since they spend most of their tim |
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$ 25.00
