[Tracerboy]

Deore, Alivio, and Acera: Drastic Differences or a matter of "Gotta-have-it?"

When I started my researching one thing I consistantly hear is that I should have at least Deore R. Derailer and an Alivio F. Derailer is sufficient.

I'm wondering if there is really such a huge difference in quality (from actual road experience, not salesmen saying so) with these three levels of components. Is Deore a matter of "Gotta-Have-It" because it is the industry standard to have Deore on a Entry-Level XC Bike? Are certain levels more for "salesmanship" and in truth a level down (which cost less) is just as good?

I'm new to MTB shopping and I'm looking for a $600-$1000 XC bike for about 50 kms of weekday commuting and weekend XCing in and around Vancouver BC.

EDiT: I'm looking at a Devinci Coyote, Cactus, or Cameleon.

 

[tlg]

When I started my researching one thing I consistantly hear is that I should have at least Deore R. Derailer and an Alivio F. Derailer is sufficient.

Yep that's pretty much right. Both good to start with. And both are pretty easy and cheap to upgrade in the future. Anything below Deore is pretty much junk. Alivo F. Derailleur is fine, but I'd stay away from anything else below Deore.

 

[boris the blade]

if you get at bike that does not have at least a deore RD i dont think that you can upgrade to 9 spd with it if it does not come as a 9 spd bike. all the bikes that we sell at work have at lest a deore RD on all 9 spd bikes.

 

[FuelFan90]

the rear derailleur was the only piece of deore on my old marlin, and it is the only thing i thought worked well enough to keep after i upgraded my drivetrain. the alvio front derailleur gave me fits the whole time i had it. i really don't understand how you can improve on a front derailleur enough other than make it lighter by a few grams, but the xt i replaced it with was miles ahead in shift quality and smoothness. the shifters are pretty good but i could tell the difference between the deore and lx shifters i have tried. i saw a trek 4600 in your price range with sram x7 stuff on it, might be a good option. i really like the new sram stuff and i'll probably replace my drivetrain with it in the future. i would bet more bikes next year would be using sram stuff since more and more people seem to like it.

 

[TobyNobody]

The primary difference between the 'entry level' parts and better parts is that the better parts will feel newer longer - They should work similarily when they are new, though. Cheap derailleurs wear out faster and you wind up having really crappy shifting much sooner.

Deore is absolute minimum quality if you are doing a lot of riding. A lot of companies put better rear than front because it saves them 10 bucks and customers are not supposed to know that compromises have been made on the bike in areas other then the rear derailleur. A lot of people go 'rear derailleur shopping' when they buy a bike - they know that just looking at the r. der. is an easy way to evaluate the quality of a bike without knowing much.

And companies don't do it because it really works better or is 'good enough.'. It takes a lot longer to wear out a front derailleur so the rider is less likely to think his 2 - year - old bike is worn out.

 

[BigBull]

[QUOTE= I'm looking for a $600-$1000 XC bike for about 50 kms of weekday commuting and weekend XCing in and around Vancouver BC.

I will say that's a right assumption if you have a $600+ budget. I have a full deore hardtail and a XT equiped F.S., I am glad I got the deores for it is decent enough and no need to be upgraded until worn out. XT group performs better in situation when you need to shift in tough timing, but I am happy with Deore most of the time. Definately minimum I will get though for dirt trail, I believe for $600 you should be able to get at least that spec. if you pay attention to the coming off-season sale.