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Submitted by
phils trailehead mtb
a Weekend Warrior
from Bend, Oregon, USA
Date Reviewed: June 21, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | Kent's Trail | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$430.00 | | Purchased At: | Costco | | Strengths: | Fast, Strong | | Weaknesses: | none | | Similar Products Used: | another shimano derallier | | Bike Setup: | don't know | | Bottom Line: | Fast, Strong, Easy to shift | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
joe
a Weekend Warrior
from ireland
Date Reviewed: February 25, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | local shop | | Strengths: | price was okey... | | Weaknesses: | spring tension-too loose,,,didnt have crisp shifting | | Similar Products Used: | xt,,deore,,,older xt | | Bottom Line: | it is a cheap derailleur which is fine for normal use....but for racing or heavy use a higher model would be better...price is good though,, | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Weekend Warrior
from Michigan
Date Reviewed: January 17, 2008 | | Favoriate Trail: | cannonsberg state and game | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$34.00 | | Purchased At: | Freewheeler bike shop | | Strengths: | LX shifts good, can take a beating, easy to work on and generally dependable. | | Weaknesses: | none so far | | Similar Products Used: | deore, SRAM X9 | | Bike Setup: | Haro Zero-Eight frame, truvativ howitzer crank/bottom bracket ,avid BB7 brakes and shimano LX derailler | | Bottom Line: | This is a great derailler, I ride just about every day, every thing from road rides to 10-15ft drops. I've had this bike for two years and probably put between 3000-5000 miles on this same derailler. The jockey wheels are starting to show a little wear. I'm 15 and don't have a job so I cant exactly afford SRAM XO but this is a great derailler and I would recommend it to any rider at just about any skill level. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Louis Wilner
a Weekend Warrior
from Shawnee KS USA
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Overland Park | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$60.00 | | Purchased At: | Trek store | | Strengths: | fast accurate shifts | | Weaknesses: | reverse to previous | | Similar Products Used: | tourney | | Bike Setup: | Gary Fisher Mako LX rear, straps, specialized nimbus tires, medium bar ends. | | Bottom Line: | The rear tourney finally went out after 4months(the chain ripped through the cage and bent the heck out of it)
Instead of replacing it I went to the LX. It was an awesome choice!!! It shifts super-fast and accurate. It was 10x better than the stock stuff.
| Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nicholas
a Cross Country Rider
from Louisville, KY, US
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | Bicycle Sport | | Strengths: | It's uniform in color? | | Weaknesses: | Kind of heavy. Ghost shifting, delayed shifts, hard shifts, skipping. Really, really noisy. | | Bike Setup: | 2006 GF Piranha (mostly stock). | | Bottom Line: | I had a 2006 Shimano Deore LX on my bike that lasted for about six months of hard riding and only needed to be adjusted once. It finally died, blowing apart and launching itself into the spokes (and bending several). I replaced it with a brand new Shimano Deore LX and I am really, really disappointed. I wouldn't say that it's total junk, but it comes close. Sorely disappointed in my purchase. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Michael Bielas
a Weekend Warrior
from Tucson
Date Reviewed: March 20, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Fantasy Island | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Fair Wheel Bikes | | Strengths: | They were not expensive they came with the bike. | | Weaknesses: | Unreliable shifting, hard shifts, ghost shifts, and constant adjustments | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Acera | | Bike Setup: | Rock Hopper Pro disc, LX on the rear, and Deore for the front, and Deore trigger shifters | | Bottom Line: | The LX rear derailleur since day one when I brought my bike home from the shop have needed to be adjusted. They ghost shift, they are loud, and they are unreliable. I don't have any fancy stories of eating logs in my derailleur or bending it backwards but what they do consistantly is always needing adjusting. Also, there is plenty of chain slap on my frame when the ride gets rough. I have used the low end Acera derailleurs on my first bike and did not have as much trouble as the LX. Bottom line I do not recommend this product. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nik Graham
a Weekend Warrior
from Scotland
Date Reviewed: January 31, 2007 | | Favoriate Trail: | Glentress Red | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | some now non-existant mail order firm in 1999 | | Strengths: | It changes your Gears, and changes them, and changes them, and changes them, and changes them, and changes them, and changes them, and changes them, and changes them, and changes them, and changes them, and changes them, and changes them... you get the idea! | | Weaknesses: | Never really liked that weird Bluey Grey colour! | | Similar Products Used: | Various Shimano | | Bike Setup: | S-Works Epic, Rock Shock Revelation 426 air u-turn forks, Race Face Atlas Cranks and Handlebar, Thompson Seat post and Stem, Chris King threadless headset, Hope XC/Mavic XM 819 wheels, Formula ORO K24 brakes... | | Bottom Line: | If you want a reasonably priced, good quality rear mech that's going to last and last and last, then get an LX.
I bought this rear mech in 1999 and it's had a ton of use since then. When I upgraded my old hard tail to my Epic I popped most of the bits from my hard tail onto the new frame and have been replacing the components over the last 5 months now. This may not sound relevent, but when you look at my bike set up above you'll see what this LX mech is working alongside and I have to say I can't fault it.
It's done 1000s of miles and dispite the pins now begining to show wear it still shifts nicely enough for me not to have to rush out and by a shiney new SRAM X.something.
When I rebuild my hard tail it'll be an LX going on it. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Keith geebs
a Downhiller
from Hope, B.C., Canada
Date Reviewed: November 26, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | waters edge singletrack dh | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | cheyannes | | Strengths: | cheap, easy maintenence, adjustability, reliability, strngth, stays true | | Weaknesses: | skips ocassionally , needs a short cage | | Similar Products Used: | deore | | Bike Setup: | manik 888 diabolus deore lx double track snake bite | | Bottom Line: | worth the money unless you race downhill, then get an x9 or an x0 if you gotz cash | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dustin Dever
a Racer
from Melbourne, Australia
Date Reviewed: October 12, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | This product shifts very smoothly, requiring little effort and continually feels smooth. Nice and strong | | Weaknesses: | ghost shifting, lot of movement incluuding hitting the frame and making a bad noise. | | Similar Products Used: | deore, xt | | Bike Setup: | hardtail | | Bottom Line: | Yes i think this is a great derailer if you are not really hard on the gears and pedals. I found that if the ground was rought and i was cranking there would be a lot of ghost shifting. I was able to minimise this by having a larger tyre with less pressure. But i can never trust it over rough stuff if i am pedalling. If you are racing you must have a derailer that is never going to miss a beat. 90% of riders will love it but if you want to sprint like a demon up and down rough single tracks then try another derailer. I am going to try a sram x9 setup. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Larry
a Weekend Warrior
from Lafayette, CO, USA
Date Reviewed: July 20, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Cheap and it works when it is in one piece. | | Weaknesses: | The pins fall out. | | Similar Products Used: | Deore, XT, XTR | | Bottom Line: | I'm writing this because the pins fall out. This review has real events with real people whose names have not been changed. I'm riding with Steve and Howard and Howard's derailler fails. One of the pins in the pivot fell out. Another guy rides by (didn't get his name) and checks it out and says "that happens on LX's". I tune up Michelle's Rock Hopper. A week later she tells me there is something wrong with her derailler. I check it out. The pins fell out of the pivot. I talk to the mechanic at the LBS and he says that happens to the LX and it is too bad it does. So, Steve decides to try out the new reverse spring LX. Surely, Shimano must have figured out by now that the pins have been falling out. I asked him if he was sure he wanted to do this. That was less than two months ago; the pins fell out last weekend. Value rating is based on while the derailler is working. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
J Darling
a Cross Country Rider
from Marshall, MI 49068
Date Reviewed: May 9, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Strengths: | cheap, and shifts smooth | | Weaknesses: | week spring, keeps hitting my frame even on small bumps | | Similar Products Used: | alivio, deore | | Bike Setup: | 2000 GIANT YUKON SE, shimano LX deraillers, XT BB, everthing else is stock. | | Bottom Line: | not bad for price, change the spring if you can, once again good and cheap, I can't ask for much more, but if you have the $$ to spend go XT or XTR. DOWN WITH SRAM! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alex
a
from SLO, Ca, USA
Date Reviewed: May 1, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came on bike | | Strengths: | Fast shifting and many adjustments are able to be made. | | Weaknesses: | Strength of material. It broke a jockey wheel in half, bent the cage, and cracked the main body of it half, but it didn't fall off. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Deore | | Bottom Line: | It's ok if you're not going to hard on it, but if you are a jumper or downhiller you might want to invest in a XT, Saint, or Hone. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
James Jordan
a Weekend Warrior
from Lee County FL
Date Reviewed: April 20, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | LSD Mountain, Bristol CT | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Purchased At: | came with bikes | | Strengths: | Was hanging onto the bikes I bought and started doing things real, real good like. | | Weaknesses: | Cannot serve up 'Prince Albert in a Can'. And my neighbors dogs bark alot when the neighbors are not home. I think this is because so many people spend big bucks on rear derailuers when these LX units area as kitten as a cat. Hence the bark. | | Similar Products Used: | My own two feet. | | Bike Setup: | Dialed in IronHorse Warrior HT. So sick it puts a thermometer and hot water bottle in and on your bike. | | Bottom Line: | All that I've had to do to this my latest is tighten the pivot 5mm bolt a bit and clock the idle pitch with the set screw behind the hanger. I've a e.thirteen 38T DH ring up front, and a 11-34XT cassette. XT 93HG chain, and the e.thirteeen SRS. It works flawlessly and with the LX shifters still. May put Avid Flackjackets to match the Full Metal Jackets for my V7/V6 F/R combo, but that would just be for appearance. All told, you are the butt of many Eddie Murphey jokes if you diss this derailuer. Audi 5000, bro-bros. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bob
a Cross Country Rider
from RSM, CA
Date Reviewed: March 25, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Aliso Woods | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Reliable, durable, smooth, excellent value. | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | XT, Alivio, Acera | | Bike Setup: | 2005 Kona Dawg, Manitou Minute 2, Hays 9 | | Bottom Line: | Just as good as past XT's. When I first got my bike I was expecting to change out the derailleur for an XT, but, I've been really pleased with the opperation of it. It actually works better than the XT I had on my old bike when it was new. No need to spend the xtra bucks for the XT when the LX works just as good! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
jake
a Weekend Warrior
from cranbrook bc canada
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | beer run, roller coaster | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$45.00 | | Purchased At: | gerick sports | | Strengths: | strong reliable dosent gost shift | | Weaknesses: | hard to clean | | Bike Setup: | spesalized endro bomber forks LX componts fox vanlila shock
avid disc braks | | Bottom Line: | vary good prodect needs agustment only 1 to 3 times a year never had problem with shifting its quiet and reliable ive used it for 2 years with no troble at all i would recamend it to any one who just wants a good prodect thats reliabale | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Gardner MA USA
Date Reviewed: March 8, 2006 | | Favoriate Trail: | Bald Hill: Leominster State Forest | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$44.00 | | Purchased At: | Pricepoint.com | | Strengths: | Great looks, smooth shifting | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano SIS, Atlus, Deore, XT | | Bike Setup: | 05 Trek 4500 lots of upgrades; Raceface everything, WTB moto raptors, RS pilot TIme ATAC Alium | | Bottom Line: | I bought a rapid rise XT and one of these cause i wasn't sure if i was gonna like the reverse action.... Great shifting, stayed adjusted for as long as i had it on my bike (3 months) Great derialleur for the money | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nate Phillips
a Weekend Warrior
from Pacific Grove, CA USA
Date Reviewed: February 27, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | Bay Bikes in Monterey | | Strengths: | Very smooth shifting, light weight and good-looking. | | Weaknesses: | May take a while to set up. I had to take it to my local bike shop for ajustments right after I bought it. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Deore XT, Deore, Alivio, Tourney. Sram Sx5 and X-7 shifters. | | Bike Setup: | Kona Hoss Dee-lux with LX rear derailleur, Easton EA50 cockpit, Mavic XM 117 rims, Hutchinson Scorpion Airlight tires, WTB Rocket V Seat, BB7 discbrakes, and Raceface Ride XC ISIS crankset. | | Bottom Line: | I had a very good experience with this rear derailleur and would recommend this to any XC rider. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Josh
a Weekend Warrior
from VT
Date Reviewed: January 13, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | stock on bike | | Strengths: | Super smooth shifting seems pretty strong | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Some crapy old shimano | | Bike Setup: | marzocchi forks hayes discs truvativ stem deore shifters deore front lx back fsa cranks wtb speeddisc rims kenda tires | | Bottom Line: | pretty good for stock my bike was only 380 so i think thats pretty gosh darn good price. i would recomend it for any intermediate xc rider | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
JOHN
a Cross Country Rider
from MD
Date Reviewed: November 29, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | LOCH RAVEN | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$50.00 | | Purchased At: | PERFORMANCEBIKE.COM | | Strengths: | RAPID RISE WORKS GREAT, SHIFTS QUIET, NO PROBLEMS SETTING UP AND MAIANTAINS SHIFTS | | Weaknesses: | NONE | | Similar Products Used: | PICE OF JUNK THAT CAME ON MY BIKE | | Bike Setup: | IRON HORSE WARRIOR DISC, XT HUBS, MAVIC DISC RIMS, AVID BB DISCS, DT SWISS CENTERLOCK, LXM580 CASS, MEGA 9 SIIFTERS, TRUVATIV CRANK
AND LEVERS, | | Bottom Line: | GOOD RESULTS WELL WORTH THE $, I RIDE MORERATLY ROUGH AND HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH IT. THIS SEEMS FAIRLY WELL MADE AND HOPEFULY WILL NOT BEND AS EASILY AS THE JUNKER THAT CAME ON MY BIKE. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
andrew sutherland
a Racer
from philadelphia
Date Reviewed: September 30, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | anything in the mass races | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | bikeshop jeffersonville-good people | | Strengths: | good 4 the first 6 months after that it isnt so great | | Weaknesses: | doesnt hold ajustments good guzzles lube jumps everywhere | | Similar Products Used: | shamano alevio-not on my raceing bike | | Bike Setup: | stock basicly | | Bottom Line: | not soooo great but gets the job done | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
andrew sutherland
a Racer
from philadelphia
Date Reviewed: September 30, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | anything in the mass races | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | bikeshop jeffersonville-good people | | Strengths: | good 4 the first 6 months after that it isnt so great | | Weaknesses: | doesnt hold ajustments good guzzles lube jumps everywhere | | Similar Products Used: | shamano alevio-not on my raceing bike | | Bike Setup: | stock basicly | | Bottom Line: | not soooo great but gets the job done | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bill
a Weekend Warrior
from Central Colorado
Date Reviewed: September 26, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$33.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Smooth, positive shifts up & down; relatively inexpensive. | | Weaknesses: | None so far. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Alivio; SRAM 5.0 | | Bottom Line: | Recently had my LBS upgrade my Trek MTB to the LX rear der cause I wasn't satisfied with the slow & clunky downshifts of the stock Alivio. What a difference- smooth, positive upshifts and downshifts. This is on a par in terms of smooth shifting with the SRAM 5.0 on my wife's bike. Neither of us is hard on the equipment; but I certianly strongly recommend this one for the other "easy riders" out there. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
adam
a Weekend Warrior
from mt beauty, victoria, australia
Date Reviewed: September 7, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | big hill | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | came with the bike | | Strengths: | shimano name
smooth shifting
solid look and feel | | Weaknesses: | none yet | | Similar Products Used: | acera | | Bike Setup: | stock gt avalanche 1.0 disc 2005 | | Bottom Line: | great durability, very smooth shifting(9 gears on rear).
sleek smooth not bulky look. good brand not expensive compared to some other the other rear derailleurs on the market these days much better than the one on my old bike | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ed
a
from USA
Date Reviewed: August 22, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | -cheap
-shifts very well
-new '05 looks
-strong | | Weaknesses: | Weight | | Similar Products Used: | XT, Alivio, Acera | | Bike Setup: | Stock '05 Fisher HKEK + LX HTII crankset | | Bottom Line: | This is a review on the 2005 LX Rear Derailer:
This is me:
-I ride trails XC/All Mountain style singletrack 2-4 days per week.
-I ride every day to work on the street.
-I ride 2-4 days a week with my wife on the road.
-I CLEAN AND LUBE my chain after every TRAIL RIDE(not road)
That said...the 2005 LX rear derailer is superb! I used to swear by XT because back when I rode XT...the technology was just not there for LX. With the '05 LX, I have missed absolutely ZERO shifts from mechanical failure. (a couple from hard root hits) Today's LX is much better than XTR was a few years ago. LX has evolved quite a bit in the last few years.
I used to ride a C-dale with XT 8 speed setup. After a few rides, I always had to monkey with it to get it to shift well. The 9 speed LX that I currently ride is so smooth, that I sometimes don't even notice the shift. I run a SRAM PG950 cassette for the moment. I don't plan to upgrade it for mechanical reasons, but maybe for weight savings. The only reason I would get rid of the LX derailer would be to save weight.(only 48 grams heavier than XT, though...that's only 0.11 pounds) I could think of more cost effective places to save weight.
Remember:
-Clean and lube your chain after every long or off-road ride and this product will serve you well.
-If you don't know how to adjust it...pay the shop. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Kenneth
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne, Australia
Date Reviewed: August 14, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Strengths: | Simple, good for normal riders but definitely not for extreme downhill or whateva. | | Weaknesses: | Sometimes the shifting is lagging. | | Bike Setup: | GT Avalanche 1.0 disc | | Bottom Line: | A solid built Rear Derailler, it is obviously much better than some cheap one. reliable and value for money. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Charles
a Weekend Warrior
from Sturgis, MI USA
Date Reviewed: April 9, 2005 | | Favoriate Trail: | anything | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$30.00 | | Purchased At: | local bike shop | | Strengths: | Shifted great, even on uphill and under loads this was the Rapid Rise version. Held adjustments well after getting it set. | | Weaknesses: | It was difficult getting it adjusted properly. | | Similar Products Used: | Mostly OEM style, Deore, last bike came with LX | | Bike Setup: | Rigid bike, mix of LX and Deore | | Bottom Line: | The local bike shop did not want to touch this one as it was the Rapid Rise, it shifted backwards, but it shifted smooth (after finally getting it fine-tuned.) My new bike is on order but when the stock Deore derailler dies, I would purchase this one again as a replacement. I am quite rough with my bikes and weigh in at 240 and it took all the abuse that I threw at it. I do frequent maintenance (cleaning and lubricating) so that may have something to do with it. Great product for the price, but a little tricky setting up. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
ryan
a Cross Country Rider
from sodus, ny
Date Reviewed: April 3, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | jensonusa.com | | Strengths: | inexpensive, great shifting, pretty durable, has mud guards for the cable | | Weaknesses: | not XTR, still shimano... | | Similar Products Used: | cheap stamped steel shimano | | Bike Setup: | too much to bother typing | | Bottom Line: | worth it for somone who doesnt ride more than say 4 days a week. if you spend that much time on a bike buy an xtr or xt, they are far better anyways, or sram X.0 are supposed to be good. but if you are on a budget you wont be let down, these shift good and last a long time, IF you maintain them. they arnt maintainance free now are they? NO. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alan Koslowski
a
from Seattle, WA USA
Date Reviewed: February 20, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$32.00 | | Purchased At: | Ebay | | Strengths: | Reliable, durable, functional | | Weaknesses: | Heavier than XT & XTR | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano: Sora, XT, 105 derailleurs | | Bike Setup: | 2001 Trek XO-1 cyclocross bike, 105 hubs, Velocity dyad rims, bar-end shifters. | | Bottom Line: | (I ride mostly on pavement and dirt roads, so keep that in mind.) This is a good, solid derailleur. If you want something functional and don't want to spend $50+, this is a great choice. Probably not for racers b/c it's not light, but for the general/rec riding, it's one of the best choices (like most LX components). | |
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$ 30.00
