|
|
|
| |
Submitted by
spaaarky21
a Weekend Warrior
from Omaha, NE
Date Reviewed: August 2, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | Swanson Park | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | You can shifter down four gears in one "push," as opposed to three on the regular Deores | | Weaknesses: | - "2-way release" feature for was a good idea but I was always hitting the release lever while trying to shift to a lower (larger) sprocket.
- Don't always shift when you want them to. You make the shift, the bike does not. When you try again, they "catch up" and shift two.
- Sometimes start trying to climb or drop down a gear by themselves!
- They are finicky. Rides seem to start out by adjusting one direction and end up adjusting the other direction by the end of the ride.
- Locked up the drivetrain while shifting, causing me to smash my knee into the handlebar stem. That's when I decided the XT's had to go! | | Similar Products Used: | - Shimano Deore (now called Deore LX?) which have all the same problems.
- Sram X.9, which so far have been incredible! | | Bike Setup: | - 2007 Iron Horse "Azure - Expert" full suspension XC
- Shimano downswing front derailleur
- Now has Sram X.9 shifters and rear derailleur
- Formula Oro K24 brakes with 180mm discs
- Fox F32R fork, Float R rear shock
- DT/Swiss X1800 wheelset | | Bottom Line: | As far as shifters go, they don't do what they are supposed to do reliably. Every bike I've owned with indexing shifters has had Shimano components on it so I always thought that "finicky" was just the nature of the beast, especially on bikes with somewhat lower level components. I was disappointed to find out that the XT's are just a feature-rich version of the same bad design.
After looking for alternatives online, it seems like Shimano has built quite a reputation for finicky shifters. As a forum user put it, "click click click click thuuunk!" After my XT's locked up the drive train at an inopportune moment in the mountains, I decided to replace them with a set of Sram X.9's. The X.9's are a dream! It sounds ridiculous but I seriously had no idea shifters could be so clean, crisp and stable. It's like a whole new world to me. Ditch your Shimano's NOW! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
GP@Borneo
a Weekend Warrior
from Balikpapan Indonesia
Date Reviewed: July 23, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | various | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Jakarta | | Strengths: | before it broke it worked well
easy to change cables
Shimano tech docs excellent | | Weaknesses: | Questionable build strength as my FD shifter housing broke after ~150 riding hours. | | Similar Products Used: | Deore/LX and SLX | | Bike Setup: | 08 Flux XT M770 GroupSet | | Bottom Line: | Upon closer inspection the plastic housing where the barrel adjuster enters had flared. I took it apart and realigned a few of the 'metal bits' inside the shifter which reduced the flaring but its still not flush. IMO it could probably do with another screw around where the adjuster mates with the shifter.
I'm pretty easy going on the shift, "only" endo'd 1 time in the time I've been using this.
FD does get packed in mud here in the tropics which might explain extra tension on the shifter - but I'ld expect XT to be up to the task.
I'm not going to replace it with XT, currently got an 06 Deore on there - probably just the excuse I need to "upgrade" to SRAM.
| Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ian_carlson
a Cross Country Rider
from Albuquerque, NM, USA
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2009 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Great price/performance ratio | | Weaknesses: | Weak plastic barrel adjuster | | Similar Products Used: | SRAM XO | | Bottom Line: | Ok, So I was replacing my Deore Mega 9 shifters that had the little plastic barrel adjusters completely chewed up through continuous use. So much so, I couldn't do fine adjustments to the derailleur cable tension. I decided to get XT because of the indicators (XTR doesn't have them). When I installed the XTs, I saw the same plastic barrel adjusters on the them as well. I didn't think too much of it since I though since I was buying XT, I would be getting a durable product.
My first ride out with the new XTs, I biffed it on a rocky descent. Everything seemed ok except my rear derailleur shifting was off. Low and behold, the XT plastic barrel shifter had snapped off. My brand new shifter rendered completely useless. Now, I know that I put the shifter under a lot of stress by falling, and maybe I was just really unlucky, since I've fallen much worse before and no harm was rendered to my bike. But I'm still weary of such weak part of the shifter pods. I decided to go with XTR since they have a different type of barrel shifter that appears more durable. Hopefully that's actually the case. Otherwise, the shifters seem fine. They don't have the real clicky metal feel of the SRAM XOs, but they had really good indexing and feel when they did work. Just something to think about if you like to ride aggressively and ocassionally take the plunge.
3 chilis if you want good shifters. But don't expect them to survive a good fall, which is something that I'm concerned about these days. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
carlosferreira1975
a Cross Country Rider
from Ladera Ranch
Date Reviewed: January 20, 2009 | | Favorite Trail: | San Juan | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | The Bike Company | | Strengths: | Shifts... | | Weaknesses: | When trying to change to an easier gear using my thumb finger the shifter "clongs" cuz my thumb is also touching thr shifter that would make it harder. Long story short, I am not able to shif as fast as I used with my 2003 XT shifter. Another horrible point is that I need more power on my finger because these new shifter are harder... I hate it. I would love my old ones bacl | | Similar Products Used: | XT 2003 | | Bike Setup: | 5.5 Intense with mostly XTR... | | Bottom Line: | I would love to take it back to shimano and ask them to biuld something better. It works but it is not made to someone who needs fast shifting. When I say fast, I mean fast finger shifting | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
devo5
a Racer
from Petaluma, CA
Date Reviewed: November 26, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Aluminum upshift lever
finger/thumb downshift lever
Removable windows
Short and smooth shifts
| | Weaknesses: | Breaks after dirt gets inside (rachet is too cheap)
Seizes
Rear shifter rachet is weak
Unreliable
Too much plastic
| | Similar Products Used: | XTR
LX
X9
X0
| | Bike Setup: | Trek 8500 full XT
| | Bottom Line: | Do not ride them in the mud because they will break or freeze like a lot of shifters. These just seem more prone to seizing and malfunction. If they freeze up or arent working, take them apart and soak them in simple green then lube the whole thing and they should work for a while after.
Buy XTR shifters or SRAM and you wont be wasting your money. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Weed_RC
a Weekend Warrior
from Indo
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | My Secret Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Local Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Precision,shift smoothly & Rapid fire it really help for quick shifting, | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | Deore | | Bike Setup: | Dabomb Tora Bora XC,Manitou R7,XT drivetrain | | Bottom Line: | This is for the 2008 M770s. They shift smooth and look great What more can you ask for? after two way release what else? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
XC Runner
a Cross Country Rider
from Asheville, NC
Date Reviewed: July 5, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Reliability, smooth shifting, light weight, great looks, quality feel, precision | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | Sram MXR shifters, Shimano Deore shifters, Sram X.9 shifters | | Bike Setup: | 2005 Gary Fisher Marlin, eggbeaters, xt shifters and rear derailleur, different saddle, 2003 Maniou Black Elite Air, a few other changes | | Bottom Line: | this is a review on the M750 old school xt shifters. my pair is seven years old and still works flawlessly. the shifting is unbelievably smooth and effortless. i recently tried out the sram x.9 shifters, and i was surprised by the feel of the x.9's. i really expected to love them, and the 1 to 1 actuation is from a mechanical standpoint more reliable, and easier to adjust, but the x.9's just felt clunky and unrefined compared to the xt shifters. the M750's shift levers start pulling the cable almost immediately, there's little friction inside the mechanism, and they don't give the loud ratcheting clicks that the x.9's do.
as to hugh's review on the m750's, unless there's something restricting cable movement, and causing excess tension in the cables, or the cables aren't set up properly (especially the loop that goes in the rear derailleur), these things shift just fine, they're a breeze to adjust (i've recently had to replace housing twice, and it's taken just a few minutes to readjust both times), and they preform flawlessly. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason
a Cross Country Rider
from Reading, PA
Date Reviewed: May 6, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | Neversink Mountain | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | eBay | | Strengths: | This is for the 2008 M770s. These thing shift so smoothly coupled with the XT shadow rear! This a night and day upgrade from my old shifters. I LOVE the two way release feature, and will be using it from now on. | | Weaknesses: | a little plasticky in places, but if that doesn't affect performance then I don't care. | | Similar Products Used: | Deore, Acera, and LX shifters | | Bike Setup: | 2007 Cannondale Caffeine 3 frame, XT shifters, w/shadow XT rear, and XT front. Rock shox fork, Avid bb7 brakes, Raceface evolve xc crank. | | Bottom Line: | These were a great deal. Originally bought a 2007 set, and the eBay retailer ran out so they sent me the 2008s. These are what I wanted anyway. These shifters are one of the best things about my bike. They tuned up great, and shift very smoothly. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Hugh
a Racer
from Sweden
Date Reviewed: November 15, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Works like butter when new. | | Weaknesses: | Very sensitive to cable adjustment. Poor quality. | | Similar Products Used: | Deore, Deore LX, 8 speed, 9 speed, SRAM | | Bike Setup: | 27 speed XC. All Shimano drivetrain. | | Bottom Line: | Review for M750 2006 XT 9spd Trigger Shifter Pods. (the light grey ones)
Shifters are very sensitive to cable adjustment because of the small amount of cable they pull. I find I need to lube cables almost every ride to keep the shifting working well.
After 1 year the rear shifter broke. Taking it apart I was expecting something in the ratchet to have failed. In fact the main steel shaft for the downshift lever had broken in half. Fatigue failure.
I'm off to try to get it warrantied tomorrow.
Who should buy it? Riders who don't mind single-speeding back home one of these days on a 22/11 gear. :) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike
a Weekend Warrior
from Neuhaus Germany
Date Reviewed: November 9, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | all | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$95.00 | | Purchased At: | Radau Fahrradladen GmbH, Auerbach DE | | Strengths: | 2008 XT - solid construction, variable mounting options, smooth function, defined feel, removable indicator. | | Weaknesses: | none yet | | Similar Products Used: | Deore | | Bike Setup: | Custom home build, Swiss dual suspension Frame from HM Bikes, Disc Brakes, 2008 XT drive train (11-34 & 44-32-22) with M772 Shadow RD | | Bottom Line: | Was using a pair of Shimano Deore 9sp (M511) with a XT (M761) RD and had nothing but problems dialing in the rear end. After weeks of trouble shooting after botched rides I dialed it down to a bad Deore shifter. Installed the new M770 and M772RD today and words cannot describe what a difference. Dialed right in, heavy test ride over steep ascents and descents and it shifted crisp and reliable everytime. Love the dual action and overall feel of the 2008 XT shifter over the Deore. Also liked the way the new RD sits - will see how it works this weekend on some tough muddy single track with lots of rolling trail! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin Larsen
a Downhiller
from Silverado
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | All Of EM' | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$53.00 | | Purchased At: | Adrenaline Bikes | | Strengths: | Easy To Install
shift smoothly
| | Weaknesses: | none so far | | Similar Products Used: | shimano alivilo | | Bike Setup: | GT LTS | | Bottom Line: | These shifters are great for the price and would recomend these to anyone | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin Larsen
a Downhiller
from Silverado
Date Reviewed: September 11, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | All Of EM' | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$53.00 | | Purchased At: | Adrenaline Bikes | | Strengths: | Easy To Install
shift smoothly
| | Weaknesses: | none so far | | Similar Products Used: | shimano alivilo | | Bike Setup: | GT LTS | | Bottom Line: | These shifters are great for the price and would recomend these to anyone | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew
a Cross Country Rider
from Brisbane
Date Reviewed: August 13, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Turning Japanese, Daisy Hill | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$85.00 | | Purchased At: | CRC | | Strengths: | - Cheap
- Quick shifting
- Smooth
- Reliable | | Weaknesses: | - None so far | | Similar Products Used: | - Deore Rapidfire
- SRAM X-9 | | Bike Setup: | 2006 Trek 6500 with following mods: Manitou R7 Comp 100mm, Bontrager Race X-Lite seatpost, Fizik Nisene Saddle, Deore XT FD, Custom Wheelset, Amoeba Scud HB, 80mm Oval M600 stem, Shimano M520 clipless | | Bottom Line: | For 2006 XT M751 shifters
Great set of shifters. Cheap, responsive and smooth. Has not missed a beat. What more can you ask for? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Hoff
a Cross Country Rider
from Sacramento
Date Reviewed: May 11, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Dyke 8 - Folsom Lake | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$63.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson Usa | | Strengths: | Short shifts, Positive feedback, Reliable(haven't missed a shift), cheap, Best I've owned! | | Weaknesses: | None, So far | | Similar Products Used: | Deore brake shifter combo | | Bike Setup: | 2002 dual suspention Specialized Rockhopper. LX Drive train exept shifters. LX crank, Judy C fork, fox float rear 4", sette xlr bars( .75inch riser), LX brake levers, rim brakes(still work great but not as sexy as disks), Blackburn light, XC fire pro tires(love them)--Rest is stock. | | Bottom Line: | I love the Shimano LX line up. It offers a great price and pretty much the same as XT and XTR but maybe a little heavier. I don't compete so weight isn't a huge concern of mine. I read the reviews on the,Shimano XT SL-M751 Rapidfire Shifters, and what caught my attention was the "short shifts". My regular Deore shifters had to be pushed in longer than I liked. I put these XT shifters on and Wham! I'm in heaven. They fit great with my LX 571 brake levers. I heard from the tech at JensonUSA that these shifters do well with long cage rear derailers.
--------------------------------------------------------
I was going to go with the new dual action shifters but was discouraged due to my more aggressive riding style. I love my new shifters. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steven Salmons
a Cross Country Rider
from Rolla, MO, USA
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | E*** | | Strengths: | Smoooooth Shifting, good looks | | Weaknesses: | none so far | | Similar Products Used: | Deore | | Bike Setup: | Pimpin' Pirahna | | Bottom Line: | I spent a little extra for the new '07 model because I thought they looked better, turns out they are dual-release now. How cool is that?
They shift smooth and look great, I don't know what more you can ask of shifters. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mark
a Cross Country Rider
from Superior, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: February 6, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | One with dirt | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | eBay | | Strengths: | Easy to setup, inexpensive (eBay, baby!), smooooth. | | Weaknesses: | Can be difficult changing cables, lots of little fiddly screws. | | Similar Products Used: | Deore & LX shifters. | | Bike Setup: | Kona hardtail with XT (rear)/Deore (front) derailleurs. | | Bottom Line: | Although you can get Deore and LX shifters cheaper, the XTs are definitely worth the extra cash. The bearings make for much smoother shifting, and they seem to require less maintenance, and they hold their adjustment longer. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a
from Victoria
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | AdrenalineBikes.com | | Strengths: | Smooth, accurate shifting!! Reliable and long-lasting. | | Weaknesses: | hard to find the 8-speeds | | Similar Products Used: | SRAM X-7, SL-R440, LX | | Bike Setup: | Hanging from the garage ceiling. ;-) | | Bottom Line: | These shifters are excellent and Adrenalinebikes had an awesome deal on 'em! Easy to install, reliable, couldn't ask for better! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a
from Victoria
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | AdrenalineBikes.com | | Strengths: | Smooth, accurate shifting!! Reliable and long-lasting. | | Weaknesses: | hard to find the 8-speeds | | Similar Products Used: | SRAM X-7, SL-R440, LX | | Bike Setup: | Hanging from the garage ceiling. ;-) | | Bottom Line: | These shifters are excellent and Adrenalinebikes had an awesome deal on 'em! Easy to install, reliable, couldn't ask for better! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a
from Victoria
Date Reviewed: December 3, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | AdrenalineBikes.com | | Strengths: | Smooth, accurate shifting!! Reliable and long-lasting. | | Weaknesses: | hard to find the 8-speeds | | Similar Products Used: | SRAM X-7, SL-R440, LX | | Bike Setup: | Hanging from the garage ceiling. ;-) | | Bottom Line: | These shifters are excellent and Adrenalinebikes had an awesome deal on 'em! Easy to install, reliable, couldn't ask for better! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Weekend Warrior
from Eaton Rapids,MI USA
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Smooth shifting when it works | | Weaknesses: | Breaks when temperature falls below 35 deg F1 | | Bike Setup: | Trek Y-22- updated from XL big mistake | | Bottom Line: | The dealer gave me a complete new setup after complaining countless times. The gear catch dog is too hard and breaks when temperature gets cold. I have rebuilt serveral rear shifter pods with salvaged parts, but have just about run out and getting sick of riding out of a hilly trail stuck with gears 5-8.
I will not recommend this produt, unless you ride the road and at mild temperatures | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Victoria, BC
Date Reviewed: November 17, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | any | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with Bike | | Strengths: | Smooth, accurate, crisp shifting. Easy to adjust. | | Weaknesses: | Price and availability (8 speeds are harder to find these days) | | Similar Products Used: | Acera, Alivio, SRAM X-7 | | Bike Setup: | XT Rear Derailleur, LX Front, Avid 2.0 brakes, etc.. | | Bottom Line: | Couldn't really want more. These are solid. | | 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: | Smooth shifting during intense situations. Rugged and very comfortable. Typical XT component. Reliable and a work horse. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | XTR rapid fire shifters | | Bike Setup: | 06 Giant Trance 1, 06 XTR rear der, 06 XT front der, XT rotors, chain, and shifters. FOX F100 RL, FOX Float RP3, Mavic Crossmax SL disc, Kenda Nevagal UST's, Chris King headset, Race Face Dues XC bars, stem, and seatpost, ODI Rogue lock on grips, WTB Rocket V Stealth saddle, and SRAM 990 rear cog. | | Bottom Line: | Its reputation speaks for itself. If you don't want to spend the extra dollars on an SRAM XO or an XTR shifter, than this is the way to go with the same performance. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew
a
from Sydney AUSTRALIA
Date Reviewed: June 24, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Ergonomics - they are very comfortable to use | | Weaknesses: | Its a disposable product you cannot repair. They have a cheap plastic feel. You cannot quickly shift up the whole range of gears like you can with gripshift or thumbies | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XTR rapidfire 8 speed, XT thumbshifters | | Bottom Line: | This review is for the 8 speed rapidfire...
These worked well for the first year I used them but they began to develop a problem with the downshifting on the rear. They would just randomnly change up 3 gears instead of one, forcing you to pedal in the same gear out of fear the shifters would place you in the wrong gear when pedalling up a hill. I only used these for a year for my commute and would expect them to last a lot longer. Back to thumbies now, love them!
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Germany
Date Reviewed: February 28, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Black Forest Singeltrails | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Strengths: | Work well together with XT-gruppo when new. Relatively lightweight. | | Weaknesses: | Lower shifitng-lever (operated with your thumb) fails to engage after several months of use. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano LX, Sram Gripshift. | | Bike Setup: | Intense Tracer, with comlete XT-gruppo and GT-Avalanche, also with XT-gruppo. | | Bottom Line: | I have been riding Shimano XT-components for the last 10 years now and have generally been pleased with their performance considering their price.
The most striking negative aspect I have consistently noticed on the 2003/-04 model XT rapidfire shifters is that the lower lever, which is pushed forward with your thumb, sometimes fails to engage after several months of use.
The ratchet-mechanism inside the shifting-pod fails to grip the shifting cable and hence the lever moves forward without resistance as if gripping thin air. I have to push the lever upwards AND forwards, to get the lever to engage and to shift. That's extremely annoying.
This has happened with levers for the front and rear derailleur and on both of my bikes. Upon opening the shifting pods, I noticed that the teeth of this ratchet, get worn with time and fail to work reliably. Lubrication and adjustment of the teeth with a small screwdriver helps sometimes, but the problem will eventually return. It appears to get worse during winter temperatures by the way (around freezing). I did not have this problem with much oder model shimano shifters in the years before.
Also, the red gear indicators are completely unnecessary. I never look at them and I suspect not many people do either. The correct gear-setting, especially on a trail which invites speed and rapidly switched gears, is a matter of "feeling" not seeing, in my opinion. These things are just objects which break.
Considering, that your shifters are among the most often used components on your rig, (just try to estimate for a second how many times you shift per ride) shouldn't it make sense to install a really reliable and well performing component to do this job? It is this question which leaves me wanting to switch to Sram X9s.
Bottom line: current XT-shifters are a decent value when new or rarely used. But considering how critically important their function and level of use is, they don't hold up to the level of reliability I expect - especially if you ride trails where many rapid gear changes are required. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Warren
a Weekend Warrior
from The OB, MS
Date Reviewed: February 11, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Womble Trail, Mt, Ida AR | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bike | | Strengths: | Seem to be durable, good spacing, and light | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Sram 7spd that came on my bike | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale F300 Aluminum Frame, XT derailures, XT rapid fire shifters, XT casset and cranks, Manitou Splice Elite fork, Rhynolite Rims w/ XT hubs | | Bottom Line: | Seem to be great, i love the rapid fire shiftting system, beats the hell out of pulling on crappy srams... I'm satisfied with the perfomance so far on my training trail in Memphis(Tour de Wolf)I havent put them to a stress level test yet so i will wait and see how they do in two weeks... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
joshua halter
a Weekend Warrior
from port richey, fl,us
Date Reviewed: January 1, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | alafia state park | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | got as a gift on my diamondback coil ex | | Strengths: | dont have to pull it back | | Weaknesses: | cant go all the way down in one try | | Similar Products Used: | pulling ones | | Bottom Line: | a lot easier and works good on my diamondback coil ex | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Richard Yang
a Cross Country Rider
from Toronto, ON, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 5, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Don Valley | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | Duke's Cycle | | Strengths: | Very light shifting, responds faster than an X9 (marginally) | | Weaknesses: | May break easily.. the shifter pod is already scratched by tree branches.... | | Similar Products Used: | Sram X9, Shimano Deore | | Bike Setup: | 2005 Kona Coiler, with XT drivetrain at-purchase-upgrade (cassette, chain, shifter, f/d derailleurs (rear is rapid rise)) | | Bottom Line: | I've ridden my Kona Cindercone with X9 drivetrain for almost a year now, just got my Coiler with the XT setup. X9 and XT are quite similar in terms of performance; each has its strength and weakness. But I must say that the XT shifter shifts a bit faster, and it seems to take slightly less effort than the X9. However, the up-shift (lighter) is not nearly as fast as X9 because you need to use your second finger to click one by one. And sometimes if you don't click to the bottom, it doesn't happen.
Strength of the X9 is the ability to shift 5 cogs with one push. It makes a lot more sense that way. For instance, you're riding at high speed, and suddenly you are going to slow down and prepare for an uphill, with one push, it's done. While going uphill, it's a different story, with the rapid rise shifter, you can actually keep pedalling while you upshift. If you do the same to X9, you *feel* (not that it'll happen) that the cassette is under so much stress that it'll break.
This is a contribution to the derailleur as well actually. The rapid rise really helps a lot. But at the same time, the XT derailleur going to smaller cogs is not so crisp as the X9 (sometimes you don't hear anything). You always hear something with the XT. Well, it's a sound of crisp shifting, but having no sound at all means smoother.
Cons... XT shifter really doesn't seem so sturdy, it seems like it can break easily... But hasn't happen yet...
Finally... if in the future, XT shifter can work with SRAM derailleur... wow... that'd be a great combo... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dbohnsai
a Downhiller
from Chilli, Oh
Date Reviewed: August 28, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | shifts pretty well | | Weaknesses: | front shifter started to stick after a while | | Similar Products Used: | dual controls (don't get me started) | | Bike Setup: | 04 Haro X1 | | Bottom Line: | for the 750 shifters. These are pretty decent shifters but the front one started to stick really bad when I wanted to shift into the granny gear. This was remedyed by pulling the lever back with the thumb but what a hassle. even took it apart and re lubed, seamed to help for a while. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Drake
a Cross Country Rider
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: August 1, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$72.00 | | Strengths: | accurate and quick shifting. has a distinct shifting feel from deore shifters. fast, light, crisp | | Weaknesses: | thumb position is very VERY bad. i've got sore thumbs after a day of shifting | | Similar Products Used: | deore shifters | | Bike Setup: | GT avalanche 1.0
manitou mars eltite
XT drivetrain except crank
a humble wheelset | | Bottom Line: | These shifters have excellent shifting capabilities! I felt an immediate difference from the deore shifters and the normal shimanon ones. The action is extremely quick and it performs excellent with my XT derailluers.
HOWEVER
the thumb position is angled so awkwardly my thumbs go sore after a day of shifting. i wrote this review after using it less than a month cause i noticed the differences were distinct. All in all a good shifter which leaves the rider sucking his thumb after a rough ride. 4 chilis | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a
from Fort Collins, CO
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Good shifting when new, completely superfluous tint red gear indicator always good for a laugh. | | Weaknesses: | Cheap thin plastic casing, lack of durability, declining quality of XT grouppo | | Similar Products Used: | I've used all the shimano components over the years; since switched to SRAM gripshizzle. | | Bottom Line: | What happened to XT quality?
This was the question I asked myself as I gazed upon the wreckage of my 2 month old Shimano XT RapidFire® rear shifter that now lay strewn about the trail in front of me. It had exploded during what must’ve been an abnormally forceful move from the fourth sprocket to the granny. I had no idea how strong my thumb really was. It must have been all that Nintendo I played as a child.
It was also the question I asked as I painstakingly wrapped tiny strips of duct tape around the cracked casing of my front shifter, after I made the gregariously irresponsible decision of packing my bike in a truck bed, with another bike’s handlebars touching the shifter – gasp! I should point out that the latter shifter actually continued to operate, après taping, although some part of me does feel that it might look better without it. Or maybe I just need a different color duct tape (or friends that don’t make fun of me).
Once upon a time Shimano XT were the best value components in the world. Those days are gone. The new XT shifters work great when new, but they are the least durable I’ve ever used. On the quality and craftsmanship scale, I would rate Shimano’s XT shifters right up there with the fabulously crap tapered LX cranks they produced in the late 90’s. That would be in the 1-2 chili range, in MTBR terms.
Perhaps I am not the easiest on bike components. I usually enjoy a good crash or two per year, and sometimes I find it hurts less to leave the bike behind me and land on my feet instead, which my bike hates. And while I understand that such extreme, black-diamond-like behavior may exceed the manufacturer’s specifications from time to time, I don’t think it’s anything unusual in the sport. MTB parts should be built to withstand a certain degree of duress, especially if the manufacturer expects people to continue buying them. The incidents that broke these shifters were not even proper crashes, and I hate to think of the thin plastic carnage that would doubtless ensue from a full-speed wreck. Not to get all nostalgic on you, but if components were like people or small, shy dogs (where the corresponding metaphor requires it), an old XT top-mount shifter would laugh and point at a new XT shifter, which would run away crying with its tail between its legs, then explode out of embarrassment.
But my sad "breakup" with Shimano XT has a happy ending! As luck would have it, someone gave me an old SRAM 9.0 SL grip shifter a while ago, and it had been sitting in the bottom of my toolbox. I strapped the suspiciously lightweight, well-worn cylinder on my handlebars, and I have been consistently impressed ever since. I bought an X.9 derailleur to match and trust me - this is a great, inexpensive, super-durable setup that needs little or no adjustments. It's the best shifter setup I have ever had. Yes, even better than those good old XT thumb shifters that laughed at the poor little whiney dog that XT became sometime in the third millennium. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris
a Cross Country Rider
from Vancouver, WA
Date Reviewed: April 7, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$65.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson | | Strengths: | smooth shifting | | Weaknesses: | The red gear position indicators rattle so loud that I should wear ear plugs. Pretty poor design. | | Similar Products Used: | LX, Deore | | Bike Setup: | 2003 specialized enduro | | Bottom Line: | I wouldn't buy them again. Poor quality for the money. Might as well just buy Deore or better yet Sram. If you only ride on paved trails then the rattle won't bother you too much. If you go off the road and have a quiet bike otherwise, don't even try them. If you want to scare the cougars and bears away as you cruise a trail then these are for you! Is this a design feature? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tom
a
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: April 6, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Fantasy Island | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$59.00 | | Purchased At: | E-bay | | Strengths: | Smooth shifting | | Weaknesses: | A little plush on depression | | Similar Products Used: | Deore | | Bike Setup: | Iguana, XT/XTR/Thomson Elite, blah, blah, blah | | Bottom Line: | These are great shifters with an XT drivetrain. Shifting is SO SMOOTH. I think thumb depression though is still a little too plush and after a few months one shifter developed an internal vibration that became very audbible @ 20+ mph. I just bought my 2nd pair, hopefully, the vibration thingy was just an anomaly. Overall, these shifter's rock! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Larry
a Cross Country Rider
from California
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Shifts really well when new. | | Weaknesses: | Doesn't last long. Disposable product. | | Similar Products Used: | LX shifters | | Bottom Line: | These are great shifters when new and working well. However, they don't last long and as far as I can tell, are impossible to repair. Also, I'm pretty easy on my gear... i try to keep things clean and adjusted and don't abuse them much.
Have decided to replace my current dead XT shifter pod with a low-end Deore unit... if I'm going to run biodegradable components, I might as well use cheap ones. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
james
a Cross Country Rider
from rockford IL, US
Date Reviewed: December 26, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Strengths: | shifts well, good value compared to XTR | | Weaknesses: | adjustment could be better, sometimes a bit finicky | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XTR, alivio | | Bike Setup: | XT shifters/derailleurs, LX cassette, deore crank | | Bottom Line: | Shifts well, almost as well as XTR does for about half the price. I did manage to break one- the central axle in the shifter broke, killing the shifter dead, but shimano replaced it free under warranty (received new one about 2 weeks after mailing in broken one). Shifters can be a bit finicky and regular maintainence is required. Some say SRAM 1:1 shifters are better in this area, and they might become the only choice for those who want to run non-shimano brakes, if shimano continues with the trend towards dual control only. I want to give these 3.5 chilis overall, as they are pretty good, not great. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Igor
a Downhiller
from Brooklyn, NY, USA
Date Reviewed: December 23, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$35.00 | | Purchased At: | eBay | | Strengths: | Smooth Shifting, great feel on the thumb lever. Great silver look (M750 Shifer POD) | | Weaknesses: | None... | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano LX 9 Spd Shifter Pod | | Bike Setup: | BigHit w/ Avy, Shiver DC, XT, XTR, RF, CK | | Bottom Line: | I dont know what you guys are talking about but this is one of the best shifers I've tried. Never had a problem with it and I race DOWNHILL.
Set it up correctly and it'll never fail on your
We're talking about the Shimano LX M750 SHIFTER PODS, right?
Atleast I am. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim
a Racer
from Oakland
Date Reviewed: December 1, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | online | | Strengths: | Good ergonomics | | Weaknesses: | It has a design flaw. The shifting pawl has a small hooked tip that breaks. That is why all these people are haveing problems with shifting | | Bottom Line: | This shifter would be ok, but it has a design flaw. I don't complain about products that work - most of my other parts are shimano and work well and I give good reviews for them. This is my second shifter that broke this way after 6 months of use. I will use grip shift from now on. SHIMANO SHOULD PUT OUT A RECALL ON THIS SHIFTER. If there are any lawyers out there, please file a class suit against them and inform everyone here. We should get replacements. DONT BUY IT. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter
a Cross Country Rider
from Saratoga, california
Date Reviewed: September 19, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Saratoga Gap | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$57.00 | | Purchased At: | eBay | | Strengths: | seemless, silky shifting, changing multiple gears takes an effortless thumb stroke. Instantaneous, percise shifts everytime. Bargain price for what you get. | | Weaknesses: | brake levers could be a bit stiffer, they feel low-grade and a tad slushy; i prefer Avids. | | Similar Products Used: | Deore, ESP 9.0 | | Bike Setup: | K2 xt drivetrain, xtr rear derailleur | | Bottom Line: | I must confess, i've never tried xtr rapids - but for $57, these older 8 speed XT shifters work so well, it'd have to take a lot to convince me that the extra 40-50 bucks for XTR are worth it. Levers could be better, but the shifting is simply sublime. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
vince h.
a Weekend Warrior
from river grove, IL
Date Reviewed: September 2, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | all of them | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | cambria | | Strengths: | perfect shifts up and down the cog- sounds like music | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | acera, alivio, stx-rc, deore, lx, and xtr shifters | | Bike Setup: | '03 Azonic ds-1, xt 8speed everything, xt disc hubs to rhynolites w/wtb motoraptors 2.4, psylo SL, deus stem w/ kore lite risers, avid mechanicals | | Bottom Line: | As every seasoned and experienced riders know, 8 speed xt (and 8speed xtr) drivetains are the best shimano has ever made. its shifting is precise with all detents, can cover a range gears w/ one thumb shift and can quickly bring them back as fast as you can pull the trigger. 8 speed is less finicky in the mud than 9 speed b/c wider spacing of the cogs gears. this same feature also keeps the ghost shifting down in the rough and bumpy stuff. most of the time i never feel any ghost shifts. 8speed chains seem to be more durable than the nine speed counter parts. the nine speed stuff does have a nice range of gears for fine tuning cadence, but 8speed stuff is just much more reliable. if shimano is smart, they will continue producing these 8 speed shifters and compatible products. these 8speed shifters are pricey but worth every penny. i have used a pair for two years and havent had any problems at all. i even bought a spare set of shifters for replacement when my first pair dies -it'll be a long time! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
O.Z Chi
a
from San Mateo, CA
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA | | Strengths: | Light action, cool black color, gear indicator window with all 8 gears labeled. | | Weaknesses: | Looks and feels flimsy. | | Similar Products Used: | Alivio shifters that blew up (literally). | | Bike Setup: | Trek 7000 mtb full XT 8-speed. | | Bottom Line: | After about 3 months of breaking in and getting used to the light-action feel, I got these dialed in so perfectly, it's scary. A little tap on the thumb knob and the gear goes up ... sometimes so quietly that I don't even know it did ... only after my cadence goes up do I notice something changed. They are so smooth and precise.
They do feel flimsy, but I haven't had any problems with broken parts yet. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
adam
a Cross Country Rider
from ft. hood, tx
Date Reviewed: July 10, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$56.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay the best thing on the market | | Strengths: | looks, crisp clean shifting, can shift more than one gear at a time | | Weaknesses: | yeah right | | Similar Products Used: | deore, lx, sram twist grip crap | | Bike Setup: | 04 stumpjumper fsr stock except for avid mech disc brakes, avid sl mag levers, xt shifters, xt cassette, and sram pc 89 chain (yeah i'm that guy) | | Bottom Line: | i wasn't sure about this purchase, i've had lx shifters before and no real differece between them and deore but i hate for my bike to say deore on it so i bought them and wow what a difference it took about six miles to stop shifting through more than one gear but now that's a handy feature yes the levers are plastic and maybe they would break but if i go through three in ten years like the guy below me i would be very happy i ride hard and don't expect things to last forever this is a good upgrade especially if you already have the xt read derailliur | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Keith Wood
a Racer
from Morrison, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: May 24, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Secret private trail... | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | Can't remember now | | Strengths: | Cheap, works with Shimano. | | Weaknesses: | Cheap, works with Shimano. Lots of plastic internals that break. | | Similar Products Used: | More XT, 7spd. | | Bike Setup: | Titus hardtail XT 8spd. | | Bottom Line: | This is the third XT rear shifter I've broken in the last 10 years. Two have broken during races. When I autopsied the last shifter, the mechanic said "Yep, people whine because XTR is heavier, but in XTR, this little part is metal." I just got a SRAM cassette, and it works sweet, so I'm going all SRAM for my now-required 9 spd upgrade. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Robert
a Cross Country Rider
from Flagstaff, AZ USA
Date Reviewed: April 15, 2004 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Smooth, effortless shifting. They look sharp too. | | Weaknesses: | Durability seems to be a real question. The indicators scratch and break easily, and the levers are made of weak plastic. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Deore Shifters and LX Shifters. | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight with full XT drivetrain, Thomson seatpost, Ruffian grips, and Eggbeater pedals | | Bottom Line: | These shifters are a nice upgrade over the Deore shifters in terms of performance. They shift more smoothly overall, and I noticed a huge difference with my Deore front derailleur even before I switched it out for an XT. Like some of the other reviewers below, however, I broke one of the indicators after less than four months of using them. Yes, I wrecked, and parts sometimes break when you wreck. I realize this, but I have been riding for three years and never came close to shattering my Deore indicators. Also, the finger levers on these shifters seem really flimsy to me compared to the Deore ones. I've been nervous about them since the moment I clamped them to my bike. They are still great shifters performance-wise, but for a product of this price I expect the construction to be a little more solid.
On the positive side, the indicators can be removed easily if you bust one of them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Shane Gouldthread
a Racer
from Weedville
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | resivior loop | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$64.00 | | Purchased At: | Pricepoint.com | | Strengths: | light,smooth easy shifting,can get a pile of gears in one stroke..... | | Weaknesses: | just that their more silver, but im pickie for looks to! | | Similar Products Used: | Lx..... | | Bike Setup: | CANNONDALE F700 CAD 3, all XT drivetrain,mavic 223 disc,shimano deore mechs disc(soon to be gone) | | Bottom Line: | these are very nice shifters. smooth precise shifting. one long stroke and couple of gears go. nice for last seconds in a race when you need to grad so little teeth! i was planning on getting the new XT's like the XTR but wasnt sure if when your riding and your fingers on the lever if you hit a bump if you shift down gear??? did like that idea if so... i like these better... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrey Nikolsky
a Cross Country Rider
from Irkutsk, Russia
Date Reviewed: December 8, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Giant Upland | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | nearest shop | | Strengths: | Very quick shift up and bottom brackets in wet/hot/extracold weather | | Weaknesses: | weak plastic ends of shifts with extremely cold -20-25C - some looks broken but still works properly | | Similar Products Used: | LX, Acera X | | Bike Setup: | Giant Upland alu 6061 ram with Shimano LX hubs, cassete, fr.der., Alex rims, XT shift&rear der. bontrager stem, ritchey WCS flat handlebar | | Bottom Line: | Very quick and strong shifts as LX but more smother than ones. Works extremely good even with Acera X rear derailer. Tested whole year at -25C up +40C degrees rainy/snowy weather. With 6 months -C temps used more than 2 years and still no any questions to shifters. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
reconone
a
from Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 23, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | jensonusa.com | | Strengths: | -precise quick shifts
-indicator says which gear you are in (helps for adjusting cable)
-cable tension adjuster at shifter makes adjustments while riding easy | | Weaknesses: | -broke the thumb lever off while riding in the winter (kinda my fault, I was mad and pressed it very hard, it was also -20oC) shimano replaced it. | | Similar Products Used: | shimano deore, LX, XTR, SRAM gripshift | | Bike Setup: | 03 Norco Sasquatch stock execpt for XT shifters and brake levers | | Bottom Line: | I got the 8-spd model from jensonusa.
Very precise shifting makes for a fun ride. Be careful on them when it is below zero outside
5 chillis for great shifters at $50
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cody
a Weekend Warrior
from Houston, TX
Date Reviewed: October 7, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Ant hills | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | price point | | Strengths: | Extremely crisp shifting, durable, set it and forget about it. | | Weaknesses: | Red indicators don't help much, but that's pretty nit-picky. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano deore | | Bike Setup: | Trek 4500, XT shifter/brake leaver pods, Duke SL, Race Face Prodigy cranks, Avid SD-7 brakes, XT rear der, blah, blah, blah. | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is these babies rock. I couldn't believe the difference between these and the stock POS Deore shifters that came stock on my bike. I bought the shifter/brake lever pods, and I don't regret it one bit. The shifting is flawless. I haven't had to adjust them once since I put them on, and that was over a year ago. I've even had about 5 endos in the past year, with the shifters taking the blunt of the crash, and they continue to work flawlessly. I've never tried XTR shifters, but since the XT's work this good, I don't see the need in spending the extra change. 5 flamin' piles o' poo.
Side note: The XT brake levers coupled with the Avid SD-7 brakes are a God-sent. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
adam
a Cross Country Rider
from Kokomo, IN
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | pricepoint.com | | Strengths: | very cool and smooth shifting. downshifting is accurate and crisp. and upshifting doesn't require a lot of thumb strength. good looking too. | | Weaknesses: | none really. it is that good. i wonder what xtr could be like? | | Bike Setup: | EPX Terrashark frame, mostly XT drivetrain, easton bar and stem and marzoochi MX Pro fork | | Bottom Line: | hella cool shifters. can upshift from one gear to about 5 gears higher in one easy push and in about 1.5 cranks. great value | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Ottawa
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Gatineau Wolf Trail | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | Pecco's | | Strengths: | Crisp accurate shifts, good range of barrel adjustment, built like brick $hithouse! Just railed on the STX RC shifter in the other product review. Servo wave brake lever feels good and solid! | | Weaknesses: | Gear indicator continuously deteriorates every time I invert the bike to remove wheels. Wish metal protrusions were a little taller to protect the faceplates from scratches. | | Similar Products Used: | STX RC, thumbshifters | | Bike Setup: | '99 Kona Cinder Cone, '02 Manitou Black Elite, Terry Liberator Ti Race, XT shifters / levers, Wellgo platform pedals. Santa Cruz Heckler with Vanilla 125R, 5th element air, full XT, Mallet Cs on order! | | Bottom Line: | I've had these 8-speed shifters / levers for 4 years now and they've taken a hella lot of abuse! They've never let me down despite all my crashes on rock, pavement, and dirt. Lots of sturdy metal in the construction. I dunno what everybody else is complaining about. These things rock! I'm ordering a new set in the 9-speed version for my Santa Cruz Heckler! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
C
a Cross Country Rider
from Colorado
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | Online, Frankfordbike.com | | Strengths: | sweet crisp shifting, weight and gear indicators, I have the shift/brake lever combo, and I love the 3 levels of braking power | | Weaknesses: | None yet | | Similar Products Used: | Low end Shimano rapid fire D-Deck | | Bike Setup: | Jamis w/ XT/LX drivetrain, Duke XC | | Bottom Line: | These shifters are way better than my old P.O.S., Their lighter, smaller, and look alot better. Once I configured my front and rear derailleurs, all shifting is perfect and on the dot. Of course the derailleurs help too. These shifter are perfect for those of us who can't afford or justify spending over a hundred dollars for XTR. I've had them for almost a month and I ride atleast 4 days a week and havn't had a problem. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Max
a Cross Country Rider
from Baltimore
Date Reviewed: July 15, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Robert E. Lee | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | Cambria Bike | | Strengths: | Light shifting action, strong | | Weaknesses: | gear display is a little messed up to the left (but why do you need it anyway?) | | Similar Products Used: | alivio, '03 xtr, sram mrx | | Bike Setup: | '00 giant iguana se 6061, '03 crossroc, '03 duke xc uturn | | Bottom Line: | These are good shifters. can stand up to anything I give them. Really smooth, significantly faster shifter than anything lower. gear display is a little bit messed up (red thing is a little too much to the left). I'm never goin lower than this. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
big stonz
a
from Swain
Date Reviewed: June 3, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | lbs | | Strengths: | worked fine fot 2 months | | Weaknesses: | right shifter broke/stripped like in other reviews | | Similar Products Used: | sram attack shorties on my razorback-work great | | Bike Setup: | Heckler | | Bottom Line: | I did not misuse them. $50+ shifters should do their job for more than 2 months. Also, both gear indicators cracked.
Unfortunately, I ordered a new set ($70)before reading these reviews. We'll see if I got lucky and these last for awhile. I should have switched to sram, but I like my lock on grips | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brian
a Cross Country Rider
from Ft. Wayne, IN
Date Reviewed: April 14, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Looks - very light action | | Weaknesses: | Sometimes doesn't shift quickly - could be I need to work on the setup a bit more. I just put them on my rig. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano LX shifter/brake lever combo | | Bike Setup: | Trek 8000 - now I've got it all XT | | Bottom Line: | HUGE improvement over the LX shifter/brake lever that came with the bike. The brake levers were super flexy and uncomfortable, and the shifters were not a model for efficiency or smooth action. Don't get me wrong, they weren't horrible, but now that they are out the window and I have the XT's (w/ Avid SD7 brakes and levers) my bike is much more fun to ride.
Bottom line - they work well. I didn't want to spend $100 more for XTR considering I am not a professional racer. These work quickly (normally) and have a very positive action; there is a nice "click" for each gear.
Perhaps I need to dial them in a bit more by adjusting the derailleurs to remedy the slow shift every now and again, but otherwise no complaints. I'd recommend these to anyone!
5 for value - $70 for something that you notice several hundred times on a ride is CHEAP.
4 for overall - I would love to give them a 5, but XTR is out there! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
B
a Cross Country Rider
from Tulsa
Date Reviewed: February 3, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | McMurtry NW | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | Cooper's Cycle Center | | Strengths: | It shifts. | | Weaknesses: | Internal durability questionable. | | Similar Products Used: | LX, STX, and Alivio rapidfires | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Specialized S-Works Hardtail, nearly stock. | | Bottom Line: | Just thought I'd submit this review to report an internal failure of some sort in my rear shifter pod. Sometimes, particularly in the cold, the internal ratching mechanism doesn't catch anything. No shift, just empty lever travel. Had same problem with an LX shifter on another bike.
Saw a previous review that reported a similar problem (same?) to which Shimano evidently replied that the rider was shifting incorrectly. How do you shift incorrectly? Whatever.
I suppose I'll be replacing mine with another pair of XT's. And I'll probably whine a bit more about having to do so. Aside from outright failure to shift, these levers were great. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jim baldwin
a Weekend Warrior
from northshore canada
Date Reviewed: January 24, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | any norhshore trail | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$55.00 | | Purchased At: | ns bike swap | | Strengths: | crispt quick shifting | | Weaknesses: | broke left lever on second ride, feels flimsy | | Similar Products Used: | xt thumb | | Bike Setup: | specialized enduro, xtr and race face | | Bottom Line: | i used my xt thumb shifters for 10 years with no troubles, i broke the left push lever on my second ride using these, i am very leary as to how these shifters are going to hold up on the northshore, i am glad i kept my old shifters. the shifting feels great but the qaulity leaves something to be desired. if you live and ride on flat trails you will love them.after my first ride i would have rated these at 4 to 5 chiles, now 3 to 4 and time will tell if this rating changes | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mike Cisek
a Cross Country Rider
from Lake Forest, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: January 23, 2003 | | Favorite Trail: | Rock-it | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$65.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | They're great! Very smooooth, less noise, more durable, shifts faster, the looks, price, etc. | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | 2001 Shimano Deore Shifters | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Schwinn Moab Disc with XT set | | Bottom Line: | GREAT SHIFTERS! The price wasn't too bad! When I shift it makes less noise than my previous ones! It takes less strength and effort to change gears! Great for XC riders! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Manny E.
a
from Austin, TX
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Excellent Performance. ----despite the 'weakness'(below), the shifters continue to function flawlessly!----
| | Weaknesses: | GEAR WINDOW INDICATORS break off if ya hit something hard enough. Both of 'em broke on my Isuzu Trooper: One as I loaded bike inside; the other when the bike slid off the fender and bopped the bumper. | | Bike Setup: | '01 Tracer | | Bottom Line: | Although you like to keep your bike and parts in decent shape --things happen! All I did was remove the screws and take off the remaining jagged plastic[housing from both shifters. I cut out and placed matching silver coloured duct tape over the holes.
The parts work as good as they ever have! -No other bad incidents to report.
Who needs "International Orange" window indicators anyway?
Value is great for XT parts. Aside from the window pods breaking off, XT level components work better than 'good'! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Chris Herraghty
a Cross Country Rider
from Edinburgh, Scotland
Date Reviewed: September 3, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Glentress | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Edinburgh Bike Coop | | Strengths: | Look Cool, shift well. | | Weaknesses: | Unsure about internal strength | | Similar Products Used: | LX, SRAM 3.0, 5.0, Alivio | | Bike Setup: | Old steel Marin (Steel rocks!!!), Full XT groupset, Avid Arch rival brakes, Ceramic rims, Judy XC '96 (Oh yes) | | Bottom Line: | These have performed admirably, only problem has been during a really, REALLY muddy race when the front shifter got stuck in the largest ring. However, a blast of water inside and a good helping of lube and grease sorted it out. I think it was just the extreme conditions.
Also, the indicator on the 8-speed side sometimes isn't quite where it should be. Doesn't affect the shifting though. Good product. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James
a Weekend Warrior
from San Jose, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: August 27, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$65.00 | | Purchased At: | Performance Bikes | | Strengths: | Buttery smooth shifting, nice metallic silver color, takes little effort to shift to smaller gears. | | Weaknesses: | The right indicator broke after it fell and landed on the metal part that held the mattress (bike fell near my bed). I was really pissed because I only had it for 4 days!! I said to myself, "What a POS!!" I had no choice but to get new shifters | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Deore | | Bike Setup: | Deore front, XTR rear, LX Hollowtech cranks, XTR shifters (after XT broke), Avid SD 7 levers, Avid 20 calipers | | Bottom Line: | I really liked these shifters for the price. Cheap($65!!), good looking, reliable and smooth. But it broke in less than a week b/c the right shifter indicator window shattered after it landed on the metal part of my bed....proves that its not very strongly built. Oh well, at least it gave me a good reason to upgrade to XTR. 5 chillis for cheap price, 1 for quality. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter
a Cross Country Rider
from Vermont
Date Reviewed: August 27, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Antwhere in VT | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$70.00 | | Purchased At: | Performancebikes.com | | Strengths: | Shifts very well. Smooth!! | | Weaknesses: | Used for one ride. Dumped the bike in a minor fall and the right thumb tab broke. Can replace for $40.00 . Terrible rip off. This shifter is garbage. | | Similar Products Used: | Deore, grip shifts | | Bike Setup: | All XTR except shifters. | | Bottom Line: | Any suggestions on an alternative. Will sacrifice smoothness for strength. Send suggestions>>>>> | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
data
a Cross Country Rider
from Texas
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Flat Rock, Comfort TX | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Strengths: | Little effort required to shift. Good feel of engagement. | | Weaknesses: | Internal components weak. Have seen 2 pair where the shifting has broke leaving only the 4 high gears usable. | | Similar Products Used: | Alivio, LX | | Bike Setup: | Marin with XT, Arch Rival Brakes, Zoke Atom 80 Race. | | Bottom Line: | Nice feel to these shifters, but they break, both myself and a friend are on our second set. I had Alivio shifters, with no problems, for a year before upgrading to the XT's. While riding along I suddenly lost my top 4 gears??? After the LBS tore down the shifter they discovered the internal engagement claw had shattered, this was after 2 months of use. I've actually been riding less than when I was using my old shifters and did not do anything different, it just broke. My friend's did exactly the same thing 2 weeks after mine? Coincidence?? According to Shimano we shifted wrong, and they won't warranty them. My friend has been a Sport racer for 3 years and I've been racing for 2. Neither one of us has ever broken a shifter before. I'm on my second set now, after 1 month they are still holding up. I still have my Alivios as backup, and I take them with me just in case. I will not give them the lowest rating as they actually shift excellent when they don't break!! 8 speed is getting harder and harder to find so I hope these hold up for long time to come! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
XC Man
a Cross Country Rider
from San Jose, CA
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Braile | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Supergo | | Strengths: | Quick response, cool looking, durable, affordable | | Weaknesses: | It's not black | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano LX, XTR | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher all XT | | Bottom Line: | I've tried both XT and XTR and the different is so little that it's not noticeable. I ride 4 times a week with this and it's still holding up very well. Remember, I only like rocky and steep single trails. However, it you want the cool black color that comes only with the XTR, then go ahead and pay twice as much for it. Otherwise, this should be way good enough. As for the super extreme riders who wants the milliseconders quicker response rate, forget the XRT and get the Shimano airplanes. As far as the problems about breaking the thumb, I never seems to have a problem with it-it takes quite a lot of power in order to break it. Therefore, for the $50-$60 price range, you can't get anything better than this. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a Racer
from Santa Rosa, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: April 25, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Marin Headlands | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Strengths: | I like the quick shifting capability. Plus the ease of shifting many gears at once. | | Weaknesses: | Very weak. The internal thumb shifter hook broke on three shifters. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano LX | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Stumpjumper, set up for Dual Slalom | | Bottom Line: | I've broken 3 of them. 2 under warranty. All three of them broke while riding on flat ground not under load. I religiously maintain and service my bike after every ride. Since the shifter is for an 8 speed, Shimano doesn't sell them any more. Now I have to upgrade my system to a 9 speed. Big expense. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Daniel Scholz
a Racer
from New York, Ny
Date Reviewed: April 2, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$64.00 | | Purchased At: | SuperGo | | Strengths: | light, strong, crisp, almost telepathic | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | deore, sram 7.0 esp | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Mongoose Pro Ti. LX splined cranks, XT derailleurs/shifters, Rolf Dolomites, Time ATACS, Maxxis wormdrives, 2000 Judy race (soon to be cannondale P-bone rigid) | | Bottom Line: | sweet shifters for an amazing price. one of the best investments that i've made on the bike so far. crisper and cleaner than even my sram 7.0/9.0 esp setup. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew Marcucci
a Weekend Warrior
from Pomona, NJ
Date Reviewed: March 17, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | The Next One | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Crisp Shifting! Looks & Accurate! | | Weaknesses: | NONE | | Similar Products Used: | Grip Shift 400s | | Bike Setup: | Giant AC Air Lite | | Bottom Line: | A Very accurate shift, No skips of mis-shifts! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe Elliott
a Cross Country Rider
from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: February 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Kanata Lakes | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | www.spokewrench.com | | Strengths: | Smooth Shifting
Look Good | | Weaknesses: | A little pricey | | Similar Products Used: | LX Deore Shifters (Combo-pod Mega-9)
STX-RC | | Bike Setup: | '01 Fisher Sugar 3, XT all-round, Hope Disc. | | Bottom Line: | Great shifters! I like the feel and the 'click' when you change gears. As long as you set your cables right, the shifters are almost telepathic! New cables and casing helps too I suppose. I bought the XT Mega-9 shifters to replace my LX combo pods when I installed the Hope levers... great upgrade... you really don't realise how good shifting can be until you try something better than you have. These work for my XC riding style, and will do anything you need them to (Within Shifting reason... :) )
I am giving these shifters only 4 Chillies... Reason being, that they are twice the price of LX... even though they are better, are they really twice as good? Hard to say.
Joe
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan
a Weekend Warrior
from Massillon, Ohio USA
Date Reviewed: February 4, 2002 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | they are under warranty for 2 years | | Weaknesses: | they will all break sooner than later, see my earlier review | | Bottom Line: | After much dealing with Shimano warranty dept. and after asking very nicely for a set of Alivio brake/shift levers to replace my XT's, all they could do to stop the bleeding was send me an EXTRA rear pod so when the one they repaired breaks, I can just go ahead and replace it and at least use the extra one until they send another replacement. I went ahead and ordered some Alivio combo's, 40 american dollars, look cheap, feel cheap, but shift w/o breaking. Already sold my XT's w/the extra pod....for those of you who haven't broke yours, remember ther are still people driving Yugo's, but that doesn't mean they're all dependable....ride on | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jerry
a Weekend Warrior
from Royal Oak, Michigan
Date Reviewed: January 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | I like em all | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | I like the fact that you can shift up to 4 gears at a time in the rear | | Weaknesses: | I had my rear shifter break on me after about a month.
I had areal hard time getting my new ones from shimano it took 5 weeks to get everything squared away. | | Similar Products Used: | None like it | | Bike Setup: | 97' xt shifter pods, Chromo schwinn moab 96', Judy XC, xt/lx component mix raceface bars & stem, mavic 230 rims w lx rear and ultegra front hubs, race face turbine crankset w/shimano rings, panaracer fire xc pro tires. | | Bottom Line: | After the first failure I havn't had any problems. I would recomend these shifters to for any body who likes shimano parts. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dennisd
a
from Cornwall, Ontario
Date Reviewed: January 4, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Kanata Lakes | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle World | | Strengths: | Accurate shifts
Reasonably light
Cool looking | | Weaknesses: | A little pricey | | Similar Products Used: | Just about everything out there. | | Bike Setup: | These XT's are the eight speed version. | | Bottom Line: | I'm no fan of big and evil corporations, but until an american made product comes along that actually works I'll stick with these shifters anyday.
What about Grpshift stuff? C'mon, get serious. I tried twist shifters for six months and they were the biggest disasters I'd ever used. Gripshift is total joke.
Xt shifters are not perfect either, but they do work very well. I haven't had a problem with mechanical failure at all. If you blow these shifters, then you're just being a ham-fisted idiot. Sorry, but you have to be realistic, NOTHING is indestructable. If you're wrecking stuff on your bike, then check your riding style, for crying out loud.
Excellent shifters, highly recommended. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
tlthehun
a Weekend Warrior
from Mountain View, CA
Date Reviewed: December 18, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | oem | | Strengths: | compact, purposeful design, intuitive operation | | Weaknesses: | weak pawl in rear shifter that can break during a downshift (to bigger cog) | | Similar Products Used: | old XT thumb shifters | | Bike Setup: | SC Heckler, Z1CR | | Bottom Line: | My experience is with 1999 Shimano Deore XT 8speed shifters.
Worked well until the pawl in the rear shifter broke. Failure inexcusable in my opinion as the shifter wasn't subjected to forces outside of its anticipated useage.
Amused that MTBR ommited my much more colorful and passionate review that was here a week or two ago that better reflected how tweaked I was to have a ride ruined by the failure.
As far as I can find, the exact shifter that I have is no longer available, so saying that I would never buy one again is a little moot but I can say that I'll be treating whatever Shimano shifter I buy to replace it as a brittle POS so as to avoid another ride-ending failure.
I don't know enough about SRAM triggers and don't like the functionality of twist shifters which seem like they'd be bullet-proof.
I'm giving the lowest scores possible because nothing should break this easily without a crash impact. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
mike b
a Cross Country Rider
from Sodom in the North
Date Reviewed: December 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | boggs | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | bike shop a and bike shop b | | Strengths: | smooth action
intuitive | | Weaknesses: | pawl breaks | | Similar Products Used: | grip sh*&
sachs powergrip
lx thumbshifters | | Bike Setup: | 25.5 lb suspension bike, 25.5 lb hartail | | Bottom Line: | i cannot understand how anyone with the means would use anything other than shimano trigger shifters. yes, i broke the pawl on my right shifter, but this was after many many rides and races--and i'm ham-thumbed.
twist shifting is inherently evil. thwist shifters are a product of beezlebub and should all be tossed into a lake of hydrochloric acid.
mountain bike stuff breaks. get over it. if shimano warranties the part, than be happy. if you want to know the meaning of the word "sucks", try twist shifters. you'll come whining back to shimano like you came crying for your mom's titty-milk.
three stars for value, since the pawl on mine broke and four overall, for performance. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Berkeley Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Berkeley
Date Reviewed: December 8, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | 3rd Divide | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | Sharp Bikes | | Strengths: | They do what they need to do and don't seem to want a bunch of maintainance. | | Weaknesses: | Not rebuildable | | Similar Products Used: | Gripshift, LX | | Bike Setup: | Bonti Racelite, XT, Mavic, LP | | Bottom Line: | These were of the 8 spd. variety with brake levers, from 98, spec'ed on my Bonti and lasted 4500 miles when they finally failed to shift up. It seems that they've failed in the way everyone describes; aluminum pawl and light spring finally give up the ghost. Now I have a basd right one and a good left one.
I have mixed feeling about this. I mean, jeez, how long is stuff supposed to last? I really can't complain but would feel better if I could repair them. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Stuart
a Weekend Warrior
from Hobart, Australia
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | Chain reaction cycles | | Strengths: | Crisp shifting, precision | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | STX-RC, Gripshift, Shimano Friction Thumb shifters | | Bike Setup: | Giant ATX-900 | | Bottom Line: | I didn't know how good shifting could be until I got these. They manage four upshifts in one movement, not something I'll ever ask of them, if you have problems with this then tune your bike. As for durability they are fine. Though I haven't used them for a great deal of time I have done alot of riding (about 1000km), and had my fair share of unplanned excursions on the bike and they have remained intact even after a couple of heavy connections with the ground.
Awesome shifter, get them if you can't afford XTR | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John Kolojejchick
a Cross Country Rider
from Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Date Reviewed: November 14, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Birdland (Snowshoe, WV) | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Crisp shifting | | Weaknesses: | I have also had the "pall break" problem others describe on the original equipment as well as on the replacements I've found. Can't decide if I should switch to SRAM shifters or give XTR a try. | | Similar Products Used: | 7 Speed DX Rapidfire and XT Rapidfire+ | | Bottom Line: | Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, ... | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan
a Weekend Warrior
from Massillon, Ohio usa
Date Reviewed: November 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Vultures Knob | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | these are the brake/shift combo's...look good, easy to shift, take up minimal bar space | | Weaknesses: | broke the right shifter twice in about 350 miles | | Similar Products Used: | alivio,lx pods | | Bike Setup: | I put these on my handlebars.... | | Bottom Line: | Once again the corporate monster that is Shimano strikes the heart of the American public. These things have the upshift(thumb lever R) pawl breakage problem so many reviewers are talking about. I just rec'vd mine back from warranty repair and they lasted all of 70 miles before the exact same thing happened. Of course now 8-speed is obsolete so what can they do besides repair them. A 2 year warr. sucks if you have more in shipping them back again and again than buying a new set of Alivio's for $40. The trouble is not worth it, oh sure, they work well BEFORE THEY BREAK. One reviewer wrote that the pawl is aluminum, but it is steel, just cheap pot metal, or else the only magnetic aluminum I've ever seen. I will wait until SRAM makes their 2cd generation triggers this winter before I change to 9-speed shimano. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Grant
a Racer
from South Africa
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | The one in the Mountain | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came on Bike | | Strengths: | Crisp,Crisp, Crisp, | | Weaknesses: | Too Crisp | | Similar Products Used: | deore, alivio, ez fire , XTR | | Bike Setup: | Giant 880 Full xt. NUff said | | Bottom Line: | good shifters not as xtr ,but nearly there | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Aj yup
a Weekend Warrior
from England mighty Enlgand
Date Reviewed: August 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Bum Hole | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | John Borwells in mighty England | | Strengths: | Its very good at shifting | | Weaknesses: | Would been better if it was English. Royal Britannia-Britannia rules the world | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano LX | | Bike Setup: | Dr Jekyll frame with other identiti + 24/7 parts | | Bottom Line: | A very good shifter its relativly low in wieght and when its used with a mech as good as a deore or better its superb. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Aj yup
a Weekend Warrior
from England mighty Enlgand
Date Reviewed: August 17, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Bum Hole | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | John Borwells in mighty England | | Strengths: | Its very good at shifting | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano LX | | Bike Setup: | Dr Jekyll frame with other identiti + 24/7 parts | | Bottom Line: | A very good shifter its relativly low in wieght and when its used with a mech as good as a deore or better its superb. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeff
a Cross Country Rider
from T.O. Canada
Date Reviewed: August 10, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Hardwood Hills | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | Universal Cycles | | Strengths: | -Look cool
-Smooth shifting
-Made of aluminum, not plastic | | Weaknesses: | -heavy!
-Made by the big S | | Similar Products Used: | -LX (pice of crap, broke it in a matter of weeks)
-SRAM 9.0sl | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Chameleon, Race Face, King, XT . . . | | Bottom Line: | These shifters have proven to be a pretty good investment. They work best with an XT rear derailleur, and have held together through quite some abuse. (Unlike some LX I had - horrible all 'round) Smooth and quick shifting, almost as good as XTR, without the rediculous price tag. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick Fenton
a Racer
from Clinton Connecticut
Date Reviewed: July 7, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Any one with rocks | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | www.performacebike.com | | Strengths: | Light, crisp shifting, better then twisters, color doesn't look like LX from far away (XTR), very large gear display | | Weaknesses: | People constantly ramble on about how they have broken this off and worn this itty bitty piece out but apparantly none of you have used SRAM. SRAM uses composite bearings, that means one face plant in mud and your shifters are shot. | | Similar Products Used: | SRAM (destroyed from one muddy ride) LX (great value) STX (LX is better) and a few others | | Bike Setup: | K2 with race set up | | Bottom Line: | They are stronger and last longer then SRAM especially in muddy conditions. XT's are rebuildable other brands are not. XT's can be dragged through mud (but require a cleaning) other brands will grenade on you before the end of the ride. This shifters are strong, light, very smooth. I love them.
Go to www.performancebike.com
I buy their 9 speed upgrade kit at the end of every season (racing and training does a number on parts) and will continue to until the end of time. It includes shifters, cables, rear deraliure, chain and casset. And at quite a nice price | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Fort Collins
Date Reviewed: June 17, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Nice feels - work well (at first!) | | Weaknesses: | Easy to break | | Bike Setup: | GT Avalanch LE | | Bottom Line: | I bought my first higher end bike in '98 and assumed the higher price would = longer lasting. Wrong. I've had to replace most of the components on the bike so far because of wearout - but the worst offending component has been by right XT shifter.
This part deserves a Hall of Shame design award. I've gone through 3 of them - all for the same reason - the pawl breaks. I got 2 of them replaced under warranty and I had to buy one on my own. Shimano finally did save some face by upgrading me to XTR - which so far has proven reliable. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jimmy
a Cross Country Rider
from san diego
Date Reviewed: April 24, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | performancebikes | | Strengths: | great shifting. easy to install and adjust. | | Weaknesses: | levers break when you fall. | | Similar Products Used: | sram grip shifters | | Bike Setup: | xrc-5000 gt i Drive. XT drivetrain and shifters. | | Bottom Line: | I changed the complete drivetrain from the stock stuff to SHIMANO XT stuff....about 250.00 total. Last week i went riding. The tires went from under me and i noticed the right hand thumb shifter was broken. i went to the bike shop for a replacement only to find out that the one shifter is 60 bucks but the set is 70. SH*mano could have made a break away lever, or at least make the price of replacing one shifter half the price of a set. i'm SHIFTING to grip shift. I can't imagine paying 60 bucks everytime the shifter breaks. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ed
a Cross Country Rider
from mi
Date Reviewed: April 23, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | wheel world | | Strengths: | Nice shifting
light | | Weaknesses: | poor durability
design flaws | | Similar Products Used: | stx-rc
alivio
LX | | Bottom Line: | While I must admit that these shift very nicely in the beginning, they do break. It has nothing to do with maintenance, the real problem is design. Shimano decided to use an aluminum pawl inside to catch the internal gears. The aluminum failes eventually causing the shifter to feel "stripped". What happens is that the sharp tip on the pawl eventually chips, rendering the shifter useless. Why shimano used a material like aluminum for this part is beyond logic. THe part takes lots of abuse and is very small, thus it would seem logical to forego the minimal weight savings and make it out of steel so that the shifter lasts longer. However, I'm sure Shimano had the Mega-9 on the drawing board before these shifters were produced and figured thay would make the part fail after a given time, thus forcing the consumer to buy into their idiotic 9-speed system. Ahhh, but there is a way to fix it and trick the tricksters themselves. You can easily disassemble the shifter and, using a Dremel tool, re-shape the pawl so that its like new again. Simple grind it back to a somewhat sharp tip, square it off, and reassemble. You now have a new shifter again. This can be done once or twice to avoid having to purchase the complete 9-speed system. I have written a letter to shimano criticizing their obvious scam. They could have easily made the pice out of steel, brass, or at least anodized it for strength. Instead they used plain old aluminum, the one metal that has the lowest fatigue strength. Nice try shimano. Everyone else please try this fix beofre you let shimano screw you over. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
LITOS
a Weekend Warrior
from Menorca, Spain
Date Reviewed: March 24, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Bea´s tits | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Jorma Bikes | | Strengths: | Precise and rapid | | Weaknesses: | Weight | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano STX | | Bike Setup: | Jeckyll 1000 with Shimano XT disc brakes | | Bottom Line: | I love Shimano, I hate CODA. The Jeckyll, a must. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jimmy feely
a Racer
from eagan,mn,usa
Date Reviewed: March 19, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | rock lake/cable wisconson | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | supergo | | Strengths: | if your a person that likes quick clean shifts these are for you. the first time i tried them i fell in love with them. i have a 3 sets of these and plan to stick with them! | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | sram 9.0 half pipe, lx rapid,xtr rapid | | Bike Setup: | 00 m4 s-works,sid xc,xtr rear,xtr front,xtr brake lever-shoes,xt shifters | | Bottom Line: | bottom line is these are great shifters! like them better than the xtr's. they are just as fast and even a tad bit lighter. i race every weekend and these have all ready lasted me a season and a half. they work great if your cables are freshly cleaned with white lightning/it acts as a wax to keep dirt away. i give them 5 flammers | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott Middleton
a Weekend Warrior
from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Date Reviewed: March 10, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Cambodia | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | Klondike Cycle | | Strengths: | Good when new. | | Weaknesses: | Poor durability. Gears strip with normal use. | | Similar Products Used: | Acera | | Bike Setup: | Schwinn Moab, full XT and Psylo | | Bottom Line: | Don't listen to anybody who's reviewing this product when first bought. They're OK until the cheap bushings wear and the levers develop play which puts stress on the points of the shifter pawls. They break off and our upshift is gone. Springs inside are mickey mouse - my hair is thicker! Time Shimano went back to the drawing board and designed a product tough enough for real mountain bikes.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Andrew
a Racer
from Winthrop ME
Date Reviewed: December 29, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Light afortable shifts smoothly strong. | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | none | | Bike Setup: | GT Avelanche LE with full xt set up | | Bottom Line: | The bottom line is that I race just about every weekend and i have put this product through hell. After having it for over 2 years it has to be replaced, but it has gone a long way with me and i plan on getting another set of XT shifters. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ruben de Ruiter
a Cross Country Rider
from The Netherlands
Date Reviewed: December 25, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Anything | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Quick and smooth shifting | | Weaknesses: | When you shift when you're not riding/pedalling, the shifters brake.
Cannot buy just one shifter when you brake one. | | Bike Setup: | Fisher Sugar 3 ('00) with (much) upgrades, Be One Torix ('99) with upgrades. | | Bottom Line: | Nice, quick and smooth shifting. Shifting is better in combination with XT derailleur than with LX derailleur. With one push of the right thumb you can shift four gears. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
S.E. Muller
a Cross Country Rider
from Sac Ca
Date Reviewed: December 22, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Slalmon Falls | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1500.00 | | Purchased At: | REI | | Strengths: | Dependable, light, | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | SIS system, STX and SRAM | | Bike Setup: | K2 OZX. XT drive train, XT hubs, Bontragger rims, Race Face cranks and rings, Cross Link fork, TI Tec steering, Arch Rival 4 brakes. | | Bottom Line: | Like any thing these shifters work as well as they are maintained. That means clean cables correctly routed! After a year of heavy use, ridden every weekend they acted like the ratchet was stripped, not the case, dirt had built up in the shift housing and with the cold winter weather and congealed grease they were missing engagement with the ratchet gears. I took them apart, cleaned them, put on some silicon dry lube and they shift good as new. WARNING, do this over a large parts pan to catch falling stuff, taking apart and succesfully reassenbeling a shifter is not for the mechanically challenged, or DH types. A shop won't do it, it costs as much as replacing the shifter for time, and if they loose one of the gazillion parts they have to buy you a shifter.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jim
a Cross Country Rider
from Fremont
Date Reviewed: November 24, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Toads | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$55.00 | | Purchased At: | came with bikes | | Strengths: | works ok as long as shifter cable is clean | | Weaknesses: | breaks leaving you with no low gears on a steep climb | | Similar Products Used: | Gripsht - sucks and XTR - the best | | Bike Setup: | Intense Tracer with all the good stuff | | Bottom Line: | Pay extra for the XTR and you will be much better off. This is my second XT shifter that grenaded itself when I pushed to hard with right thumb and for the second time it ruinned my ride. For now on XTR on everything I ride. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pat Gleason
a
from OH
Date Reviewed: November 24, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Horsethiefs Bench, CO | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | Jenson USA | | Strengths: | Light, shifts well and consistently | | Weaknesses: | Internal gears strip out without any notice of failure | | Similar Products Used: | XTR, SRAM 9.0/ LX, XRay 800, etc. you name it | | Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Heckler X | | Bottom Line: | This shifter work very well...that is until the internal gears strip out. I wouldn't really bash the product if it didn't happen again and again. Two sets on my bike, and two sets on my wifes Cannondale Raven. I replace a shifter on her bike last week, and on her first ride with a brand new shifter, the gears or cogs stripped out. Currenlty on my Heckler the set has been going strong for 6 months. On my hardtail they lasted on year and stripped. Going back to XTR and seeing how that expensive option works out. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jose Rodriguez
a Cross Country Rider
from Atlanta
Date Reviewed: November 21, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$90.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUsa.com | | Strengths: | Look, feeling, reliability | | Weaknesses: | Downshifting lever in plastic... not to strong or durable. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Deore | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale F400, overall XT. | | Bottom Line: | My review is based in the XT Shifter-Brake lever combo 2000 (Mega9 drivetrain). completely different than the one pictured here.
I have been giving time to these shifters to show some of the defects other people have shown here. Contrarily, after six months of hard use, I have not found any problem regarless durability or reliability (so far). In fact, these shifters have received a lot of abuse and nothing has changed in terms of precision changing gears on my derallieurs. However, I have talked with several friends in Spain and Italy and they have told me that XT components are designed to work good only with XT components. This could be one of the reasons why many people have problems with these shifters. Some of my friends advised me about the problems I could have if I decided to use XT shifters with LX or even Deore basic derallieurs.
Due that I haven't had any problem so far, and I am very satisfied with these shifters. I will give them 5 chillies. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David Bolt
a
from Inverness
Date Reviewed: November 19, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | The Mast | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Good quick shifting
Good looks
| | Weaknesses: | Downshifting is not as quick | | Similar Products Used: | Alivio shifters | | Bottom Line: | Good shifting, especially upshifting. Downshifting is quite slow though. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Trekboy
a Cross Country Rider
from Singapore
Date Reviewed: September 9, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Bukit Timah, Singapore | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Bottom Line: | My 98 XT Shifters(8 Speed) have seen several drivetrains. I first installed it on a Shimano Tourney drivetrain(7 speed).. it worked great. Then I paired it up with a Shimano Alivio drivetrain(8 speed). Again it worked well. Currently it's on a Shimano Deore drivetrain with a XT 8 speed cogset. It still works.... and I am very very impressed with the durability of the product | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
sam
a Downhiller
from scotland
Date Reviewed: July 27, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | anything steep | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Absolutley None | | Weaknesses: | Breaks
Takes ages to repair
Crappy shifting window thing gets in the way | | Similar Products Used: | stx-rc | | Bike Setup: | Marin Team Dh , Manitou x-vert carbons etc | | Bottom Line: | Useless , i brought the single version for my dh bike , firstly it didn't fit on my bars (azonic PDW's) so i unscrewed that little indicator and crammed it on , then on about the 4th ride , i try to shift and hey its broken apparently if you push to hard it breaks the insides. So i recovered my trusty stx-rc from the bin and put that on , i sent off the broken thing and they take ages to be repaired. i've put the xt shifter on my sh1t bike and i keep the stx-rc on my dh bike.
3 points for value because its the only shifter you can buy singlely for dh use , but unforuntaley its about as good as shifting as a wooden stick | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Vern
a Downhiller
from Montreal, Canada
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | any at bromont | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | shifts | | Weaknesses: | breaks immediatley | | Similar Products Used: | thumb thumb shifters, Gripshift x-ray | | Bike Setup: | RM DH T.O., Boxxer, Deemax, Magura | | Bottom Line: | The first shifter i had was used and it lasted 6 months until i nudged it with my knee and it broke, the second broke on the second ride, and all i did was shift normally, didn't crash or hit it at all...but shift great when they're not broke | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
dave
a Racer
from Kelowna
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | friday the 13th | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | reliable shifting | | Weaknesses: | who designed these to be set up on top on the handlebars. obviously someone who hopes everytime you go over your handle bars they hit a rock and smash. come on shimano!!!! | | Bottom Line: | I ride or try to ride just about everything so some days are better than others, i fly over my handle bars and thank God for roach gear but if i ever have to replace these again because of the lousy positioning SRAM is getting a new customer!!! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Doug
a Weekend Warrior
from Mpls,MN
Date Reviewed: July 4, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Everynew Trail | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | When it is not broke, it works great | | Weaknesses: | They do not last very long | | Bike Setup: | GT XCR4000 | | Bottom Line: | It seems the inner spring componets are not durable, I have used this set for 6 months/ 1000 miles. I thought XT meant quality and long lasting. LBS is trying for warranty repair, I put my old STX-RS set back on, it is has about 4 months and 800 miles on it, I wonder when that will go. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Billy Woodward
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: June 21, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Laguna/Noble Canyon | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | Light, smooth, accurate, reasonably priced, easy setup. | | Weaknesses: | Release lever is plastic and may break but not from regular use. | | Similar Products Used: | Grip shift, LX | | Bike Setup: | FSR Comp/XT components. | | Bottom Line: | Bang for the $, best out there. The XT is built better and more durable than the LX. XT also allows for shifting down 4 gears in one stroke versus the LX's 3. If you like to abuse your bike like I do, this is for you. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James Broome
a Weekend Warrior
from Tampa, Florida
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Belleview & Lakeland | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Stronger than STX-RC - made from metal instead of plastic | | Weaknesses: | Haven't found any yet. | | Similar Products Used: | STX-RC integrated levers / shifters | | Bike Setup: | Mostly stock '94 Giant ATX 760 - STX-RC stuff. | | Bottom Line: | Upgraded integrated STX-RC levers/shifters with '98 (never used, purchased new) XT shifter pods without OGD for $45. Was a little wary of purchase since I wasn't sure I'd see a difference. Um, I was wrong. Noticable difference in quickness of shifting. Shifters felt more solid and secure. Currently XT shifters control STX-RC rear and front derailleur. XT rear and XT front are in the mail to me now.
Money was well spent.
Purchase these if you are upgrading a bike purchased for $700 or so (or less) and want to start improving on the shifting performance of an STX-RC setup or LX setup. Have never really heard anyone say the top of the line XTR shifters are really worth it since all you save is weight. (eh, I'm sure that's arguable, but we're talking about weekend warriors here - not racers) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Drew
a Cross Country Rider
from Calgary, Canada
Date Reviewed: May 31, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Light, can't really tell the difference between it and XTR as far as shift quality goes. Relatively cheap (compared to XTR which doesn't really work any better anyway.) | | Weaknesses: | Weak shift leavers, release leaver broke right off. | | Similar Products Used: | Grip shift, Shimano LX | | Bottom Line: | These shifters certainly do shift well. Unfortunatley, one of the levers on the left pod snapped off while I was out for a ride. That sucks cause what can you do. Shimano won't warranty it because they assume that you broke it during a brutal crash so you are forced to shell out money to buy new ones. Not terribly impressed. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
| |
|
Photo Caption Contest
(sponsored by Maxxis)
|
Enter here
|
|
|
$ 60.00
