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rear derailleurs

881 views 24 replies 22 participants last post by  greasemonkey 
#1 ·
i just screwed up my rear derailleurs and i was wondering about recommendations on what the best rear derailleur is for the money. Im kind of on a budget but i don;t want to put crap on my bike. Im running 8 speed and i have both shifters, sram and shimano so whatever anyone suggests is doable.
 
#2 ·
jmmiller said:
i just screwed up my rear derailleurs and i was wondering about recommendations on what the best rear derailleur is for the money. Im kind of on a budget but i don;t want to put crap on my bike. Im running 8 speed and i have both shifters, sram and shimano so whatever anyone suggests is doable.
I favor sram over shimano for the duel thumb shifting alone. The sram x-7 stuff is inexpensive and I hear it's a good bang for the buck.
 
#3 ·
Yeah, I run a sram X-7 and it's held up really nicely for the price. And the dual thumb shifting took a little getting used to but now I probably would hate anything other than it. If ya got the little extra cash as well go for the X-9. It's more durable so if you are hard on derailleurs it would be worth the investment,.
 
#4 ·
For me, I prefer to use Shimano Saint M-800GS mid cage, rapid fire. These are the strongest 9-speed MTB derailleurs out there, cuz it's bolted onto the 10mm thruaxle of my rear wheel.
I've killed 3 Shimano XT's in 14 months, with bent derailleur hangers in all occassions as well as 2 sets of broken rear wheel cuz the derailleur went inside the spokes. With this setup, it would be very unlikely for that to happen.
 

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#12 ·
I actually rock a Shimano 105 road der. The cage is so small (about 6mm between the two rollers), and have shredded the hell out of it for two years. It has a steel backplate, as opposed to aluminum on most others. Sram does kick ass, but I can't come to terms in paying for an XO when a $60 105 has held up so well.
 
#14 ·
Lets see, I had trouble with XT always coming out of tune, I switched to x.9 with x.0 shifters. Smashed the x.9 pretty quick. Currently using an x.7 rear mech. Not bad, I don't notice a difference between it an the x.9. My main concern is how long they shift well before needing a tune-up, and also, they are fairly delicate. I just bought a saint rear, and shifter. Installing soon. From what I hear they are a lot more durable and keep their shifting performance longer.
 
#16 ·
tadrscin said:
Sram all the way. I've got X7 on one bike and X9 on another and I can't tell the difference. I'm too cheap to try XO. As was mentioned earlier, if you think you're gonna trash the rear derailleur, go with the X7.
Agreed....SRAM. I ran Shimano shifting up until last year...just got '07 X.9 shifter and derailleur (short) about a month ago and SRAM just plain out performs Shimano in pretty much every way. I had X.7 (shift/der) on my P.2 and still out performed XT by a mile. Definitely the best bang for the buck IMO.
 
#20 ·
I prefer shimano; Sram derailleurs are huge and fragile.

Well setup shimano shifts just as quickly and alot more smoothly, and stays in tune longer, AND last longer; I dont consider SRAM's 'positive' clunk to be a positive. I do have 2 sets of X.9 (06 and 07) but my 96 XTR hangs with em no prob!

Get an XTR or Saint and a SRAM Attack shifter 8sp!!
 
#21 ·
Sram

I have been riding for over ten years... and switched over to SRAM this year on both my bike (XO triggers and x9RD) and the wife's (X9 shifters and RD). Since being set up, neither has given us a missed shift or ANY problems. OK, I had to adjust cable tension once...

Never had that same 'set and forget' ability with shimano.

Yes, both being dialed in, each works well. But I kept having to adjust/fiddle with the Shimano set ups after a few weeks riding. My SRAM stuff has lasted about 1 year, with Whistler, Mammoth, and local Santa Cruz riding and it is still going strong.

And not having the RD bang around is nice too ;)
 
#22 ·
Bullrider said:
I have been riding for over ten years... and switched over to SRAM this year on both my bike (XO triggers and x9RD) and the wife's (X9 shifters and RD). Since being set up, neither has given us a missed shift or ANY problems. OK, I had to adjust cable tension once...

Never had that same 'set and forget' ability with shimano.

Yes, both being dialed in, each works well. But I kept having to adjust/fiddle with the Shimano set ups after a few weeks riding. My SRAM stuff has lasted about 1 year, with Whistler, Mammoth, and local Santa Cruz riding and it is still going strong.

And not having the RD bang around is nice too ;)
I totally concede the bangin deralleur thing. Although rough enougg gets the SRAM goin too - but not nearly as bad, and onlyin the ROOOOOOOOOOUGH. I despisethe shift 'clunk' massively.
 
#23 ·
it's all going to break sometime, if it's worth it to you to pay the extra for sram quality then go ahead. I personily do not like the dual thumb shifters. I always hit it on acedent with my thumb when I jump.arrrg. Save yourself some money go with Shimano Deore. Ive used them for 3 years straight, no problems.(im very harsh on my bike)
 
#24 ·
MTB-AHOLIC said:
it's all going to break sometime, if it's worth it to you to pay the extra for sram quality then go ahead. I personily do not like the dual thumb shifters. I always hit it on acedent with my thumb when I jump.arrrg. Save yourself some money go with Shimano Deore. Ive used them for 3 years straight, no problems.(im very harsh on my bike)
Thats just it - wtf is with the 'extra for SRAM quality', the derailleurs that dont last, and have pivot slop from the factory even on the high end 235$ model have 'extra quality'?? I have X9 on 2 of my 3 bikes because it is nice stuff but another area of hype-o-rama is revealed here.

Back to my 96 XTR that still shifts like a dream. Scratched, beaten, even ripped off a cage and replced it and still primo. 11 years....
 
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