[mojo722]

I should probably post this in the drivetrain forum but I thought I'd try here first.

I am looking at a new Jet9 and my choice is either an X7 kit or X9 kit. Will I tell a big difference between the X7 and X9 shifters/deraileurs/cranks? I know the X7 stuff will weigh a little bit more but will they perform as well as the X9 stuff?

 

[roscoe1971]

i upgraded from an x7 when it failed to an x9 rear derailer and didnt notice a bit of difference.

 

[rufus]

Doesn't the X9 and X7 crank weigh pretty much the same? Figure that would be where the most weight gain would be, but here it seems to be pretty much neglible.

 

[gfs69]

I can't offer a comparison, but I have the X-9 2x10 on my JET, and so far I really like it. It shifts great. If the price difference isn't that big, and the kit includes additional upgrades, I say go for the X-9.

 

[Silentfoe]

I demo'd a bike with X7 and if I hadn't ever looked down at it, I would have never known it was the lesser group.

 

[mtnbiker72]

The biggest difference will be the shifters, that is where X-9 is superior to X-7

The rest of the group I doubt you'd ever notice the difference between the two

 

[TX-BoneDigger]

I'll be the nay-sayer here. I have not been happy with the shifting of my X-7group. I liked the shifting of X9 better by far. X7 seems sluggish.

Todd

 

[JTeezy]

I have the X.7 shifters and I am not impressed. The front der. shifts are very sluggish. It feels like I have to use a lot of force to upshift. I haven't tried the X.9 or higher. The SRAM stuff came stock on my new bike. I have always ridden Shimano XT. The Shimano was a 3x9 and the X.7 is a 2x10.

 

[thomllama]

ya, I have to agree with the shifter comments on the X7's being sluggish... the older version (pre 2010) were fine though they had the goofy gear indicator on them, they worked great. Broke one this past summer and replace the shifter with new (2010) X7's and find they are kinda sluggish or squishy feeling... much prefer my X9's !! everything else... not a big deal

have all X9 on the other bike and much prefer it.. never noticed the diff in derailleurs, or anything else till they came out with the new design... haven't tried the newer X9's so they may have the same issues as the X7's shifters...?

 

[madsedan]

My LBS as well as a SRAM rep at a recent race event and demo day said that for me it would be a waster to buy above the X7 level. If I'm not racing the bike or counting grams that its not going to be noticeable while flying around the trail.

 

[erlau]

Don't think about it too much, they are both good.

The shifters may make sense to upgrade to X9 because that is your "touch-point" for the shifting system so you want it to feel good. Also, the difference between a X7 front der and X9 (or even X0, XX) is minimal so that may make sense.

 

[madsedan]

Something I've noticed on some of the builds lately is that the manufacturers are specing X7 shifters and an X9 rear der, is there a reason for that or is it strictly financial?

I was assuming that meant theat the rear der is more money better spent on the X9 or higher while the shifters had a negligible difference?

 

[TX-BoneDigger]

Many companies spec a higher level derrailleur than shifters. You'll also see a pairing of XT rear der and SLX shifters, etc.

Todd

 

[padrefan1982]

My Take...

Something I've noticed on some of the builds lately is that the manufacturers are specing X7 shifters and an X9 rear der, is there a reason for that or is it strictly financial?

I was assuming that meant theat the rear der is more money better spent on the X9 or higher while the shifters had a negligible difference?

I think it happens more than you think. (Or it used too) Lots of companies spec the RD one level up from everything else on the drivetrain, as most buyers will look there and assume that the rest of the drivetrain is of similar quality. I seem to remember one of my bikes(Schwinn S-20) from the late 90s having an XT RD, LX crank, and a horrid bottom-of-the barrel BB.

I was rather proud of myself when I replaced the BB with something of quality first, resisting the urge to drop money on an XTR RD.

I can typically feel more of a difference in fresh (and correctly installed) cables than upgrading a functional RD.

 

[thomllama]

there are some minor advantages with the X9 over the X7 though I haven't played with the 2011 stuff so they may have improved the X7 this yr.

As of late 2009 the X9 and up rear derailleurs use actual bearings in the jockey wheels instead of the older bushings. Spring was a much better quality, and the materials were a bit better quality, particularly the lower cage was made with a stiffer aluminum I believe. Again, this is all based on 2009/10 stuff as I haven't had any issues so no need to replace anything on my bikes other than the shifter I broke :madman:

 

[BruceBrown]

I should probably post this in the drivetrain forum but I thought I'd try here first.

I am looking at a new Jet9 and my choice is either an X7 kit or X9 kit. Will I tell a big difference between the X7 and X9 shifters/deraileurs/cranks? I know the X7 stuff will weigh a little bit more but will they perform as well as the X9 stuff?

As you mention, the X.9 will weigh slightly less than the X.7, but performance should be pretty much on par. I wouldn't hesitate to run either if weight is of no issue to you. The X.9 has the red color - so that may or may not be a cosmetic issue for your build.

You can check the weights and specifications.

X.7 here: http://www.sram.com/sram/mountain/series/269
X.9 here: http://www.sram.com/sram/mountain/series/268

 

[want to ride]

cranks....

what about the cranks?

Is there any significant difference between the x7 and the x9 cranksets what I should take into consideration?

I can save almost 80 bucks on the crankset what I could spend on the XG 1080 casette .