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Submitted by
Jon
a Cross Country Rider
from Brisbane, Australia
Date Reviewed: May 4, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$28.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Quite cheap for a mid-range product. Nice and shiny, looks very professional in appearance. Ridiculously simple installation, very much "fit and forget". Shifts cleanly and quickly. | | Weaknesses: | None that I've found so far, apart from cycling snobs scorning me because they have XTR running gear! | | Similar Products Used: | Falcon FD, old Shimano SIS model | | Bike Setup: | 1997 Gemini Echo Beach, Deore XT RD, Alivio cranks/chainwheels and shifters | | Bottom Line: | For the price I don't believe you can get a better front derailleur. Easy to install, works well (even on rough trails), and shifts under load nicely. Not as bling-bling as an XTR, but I've always been a "function over form" kind of guy. Strongly recommended. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Leonardo Horovitz
a Cross Country Rider
from Montevideo, Uruguay
Date Reviewed: April 29, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Works fine. | | Weaknesses: | Developed play after 2500 km (about 1500 miles).
It still worked, but made rattling noise and didn't shift as well as when it was new. I ended up changing it for an LX. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano C050 | | Bike Setup: | Trek 6500 2006 | | Bottom Line: | Works. But for the little $$$ difference, if I had to buy I'd buy LX or XT. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
milovan vukcevic
a Cross Country Rider
from melbourne
Date Reviewed: January 6, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | boys farm heritage walk, Lysterfield | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Price Paid: |
$40.00 | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | looks, shifting is good at first | | Weaknesses: | afetr a while it refuses to shift under force, and you have to push the shifter lever to far in order to change it | | Similar Products Used: | deore lx, and acera | | Bike Setup: | specialized epic m4, rock shox tora, x7 shifters, x-7 rear derailleur, deore xt brakes | | Bottom Line: | acceptable for the price, but if your serious about riding you should save your money for deore lx which is by far the superior derailleur | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
simon
a
from newbury uk
Date Reviewed: December 9, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Shifting is precise and efficient. Works well when new, still continues to work even when rattling with wear in the pivot | | Weaknesses: | Very poor life. Had this for 9 months and done 2000 miles. The cage started to rattle quite soon, and inspection showed its the pivot bearing that's useless. Kept on using it as it still shifts just fine but cage is now so loose its starting to gouge the cranks. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano LX - much much superior in terms of longevity but similar shifting performance (good!). The LX front mech on my other bike has done far more miles and there's no sign of wear on it at all. | | Bike Setup: | Giant Terago hard tail, XT cranks and rear mech. Deore shifters. Used as a daily commuting hack - 18 miles a day, mixture of road, gravel tracks and cross country. | | Bottom Line: | Shifts OK but for regular use its quality of construction especially the pivot bearing, lets it down. It is cheap though. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Albertinho
a Cross Country Rider
from Zagreb, Croatia
Date Reviewed: September 5, 2007 | | Favorite Trail: | Beer, climb, beer, descend, beer. | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Shifts properly, works when clogged in mud. | | Weaknesses: | None really | | Similar Products Used: | Alivio | | Bike Setup: | KTM Ultra Flite 2007
Marzocchi MX Pro fork
Formula Oro K18 brakes
Deore/LX parts | | Bottom Line: | Operated with SRAM X-9 shifter, it works all the time, no tuning was necessary. I heard XT shifts easier under load, but then I just don't push the pedals hard when shifting and it works fine. Almost zero maintenance too, just clean it with a water stream and lube the pivots now and then. If I tried more expensive derailleurs maybe I'd find flaws in this one, but currently I cannot think of any :) | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Justin
a Downhiller
from Holly Springs, NC
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came on bike | | Strengths: | Shifts great and is at a reasonable price | | Weaknesses: | None | | Similar Products Used: | Sram X.7 | | Bike Setup: | Iron Horse Warrior 3.0 | | Bottom Line: | This derailleur may not be the highest end but that really doesn't matter, the difference you get between many front derailleurs is weight. The width of the derailleur is about the same until you start buying 100 to 200 dollar ones. I asked the bike mechanic at my LBS if I should upgrade my derailleur he said it wouldn't make any difference, he told me that the angles of the chain cannot be changed by a derailleur, so best just to try and keep the chain as straight as you can. But I had him tune it for me
and put a XTR chain on my bike and it doesn't clink or rub at all he said the chain is much slimmer than most so you avoid the ussue of clinking and rubbing. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Donnie Anderson
a Weekend Warrior
from Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
Date Reviewed: June 18, 2007 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Strengths: | Included free with bike | | Weaknesses: | Everything | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Acera through XT, SRAM X.9 | | Bike Setup: | Giant hardtail, Full SRAM X.9 | | Bottom Line: | I always had problems with Shimano front deraillers. I'd install them using the 1-3mm gap between the cage and big chainring, or use a penny as a spacer. But the deraillers were always way low and I had to raise them. The H limit screw also never worked on any shimano deraillers.
I recently bought a new bike for my wife. I swapped my old Deore front derailler, deore shifters, and LX rear to her new bike, and installed full SRAM X.9 with gripshift on my frame.
Well first of all, I had zero problems with my X.9 front derailler. It comes with a plastic insert to hold the derailler open in high gear so you can install it and line it up, and use a penny as a spacer. Remove the plastic spacer, install the cable, and adjust the H and L screws. The H screw actually works. You can see the screw in the derailler and it works. On the Shimanos its all sealed, you can't see the end of the H or L screw and you don't know if it's working. Also on the Shimano the H screw is on the left when it should be on the right. SRAM has is right so you don't get mixed up.
Also the shop who installed the parts on my wife's bike did it all wrong. The fornt derailler was installed way high, and it was crooked. Limit screws were wacked and the cable tension was nuts. It would shift to first chainring. I removed the derailler and repositioned it, adjsuted it properly. Again the H limit screw sis nothing so I had to turn the shifter barrel to add some cable tension to pull the derailler a bit to clear the chain in the highest gear (big front/small rear). Overall I got it to about 80% performance that I'd expect. My SRAM is at 100%. And I know what I'm doing...I would expect the average JOE bike mechanic to have many more problems than I had. Good luck having them get the system shifting to over 60% performance.
My local shop couldn't even get it right.
I'd give it a better rating, but after having used SRAM deraillers Shimano is officially canned.
One thing to keep in mind. I have Gripshift which allows me to trim the fornt derailler. If I'm in the middle chainring up front, and put the rear to either extreme you'd normally get some minor grinding ro chain rub agianst the fornt derailler. Well with gripshift you can trim it to remove the grinding. This automatically brings my shifting into the 100% performance zone I always expected but was unable to attain with Shimano.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ivan Kalovic
a Cross Country Rider
from Zagreb, Croatia
Date Reviewed: October 3, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$20.00 | | Purchased At: | Slovenia, Maraton | | Strengths: | Looking good | | Weaknesses: | slow, | | Similar Products Used: | Acera | | Bottom Line: | I buy Deore instead Acera who just stop working, and I was disappointed. It wasn't any better than acera and that's
shame. So I regret to buy this product, and suggest that if you buying a new avoid Deore, and buy something else. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Will
a
from San Jose, CA
Date Reviewed: July 31, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Bottom Line: | Better than the deore rear deailleur, but still save your money. You don't need to replace it if it come with you bike, but if you had a choice I would try to get something else. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Erik
a
from TX
Date Reviewed: July 30, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Strengths: | It shifts. | | Weaknesses: | Slow shifting, not precise, and 3 times in 4 days it derailed the chain off the crankset. | | Similar Products Used: | Deore LX, Acera | | Bottom Line: | BUY THE DEORE LX INSTEAD! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Paul
a Racer
from USA
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$31.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike Shop | | Strengths: | Its Excellent once you install it the Right Way | | Weaknesses: | None so far | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano SIS | | Bike Setup: | Mongoose | | Bottom Line: | This Shimano Deore is the Best front Derailleur. If you install it right way and it dont rub against the chain ok. Its smooth at shifting to. It goes from 1 to 3 everytime fine. People should be careful at installing in the first place. Take Care Bye | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Boise, ID
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2006 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$25.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | inexpensive, reliable | | Weaknesses: | terrible installation intructions. need patience to get the chain to stop rubbing. | | Similar Products Used: | shimano deore LX, shimano XTR | | Bike Setup: | Fetish D&S | | Bottom Line: | I initially installed this incorrectly and the chain would pull the deraileur out of calibration quite easily and wouldn't shifter under load. I am absolutely convinced that everyone else who reviewed it like this did the same. To install you need to use two brackets AND two spacers. When installed correctly this deraileur will strip the paint off your bike before it moves out of position. Takes some time to get it so the chain doesn't rub at the extremes. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jules Evans
a Cross Country Rider
from Hobart,Tas,Australia
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2006 | | Favorite Trail: | Mt Wellington | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | Looks good, works ok when muddy. cheap. (now I know why) | | Weaknesses: | The cage is too flexible. | | Similar Products Used: | Campag, other shimano. | | Bike Setup: | Merida Matts speed D | | Bottom Line: | I have had constant problems with this deraileur. It will not change to the small ring when under load. No good for racing on an unfamiliar track. I thought it was just my poor riding style or poor adjustment but when I adjust it down a bit or tweak in the screw it lets me down more by throwing the chain which then gets ground into the frame. I have had it professionally tuned three times by two different mechanics and had numerous goes at it myself, all with no joy. The cage is way too flexible. A mate advised me that XT was the go but I am sick of shimano. I have had trouble with other shimano parts on the bike so I have decided to upgrade to their leading competitor. I also ended up doing this on my road bike aswell, as shimano customer service is POOR.
This Deraileur is ok as long as you don't race or are always prepared to power down when changing to the small ring. It doesn't like hard work! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Vladimir
a Weekend Warrior
from Russia
Date Reviewed: October 20, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | none | | Weaknesses: | cannot downshift under any load | | Similar Products Used: | shimano XT M760 front derailleur | | Bike Setup: | GT I-Drive 1.0 (year 2003) | | Bottom Line: | It does not downshift even on easy uphill. The weak spring is not the reason - it is the flexy cage. If you have this part on your bike, perform the following test: apply rear brake, downshift, then press the pedal - you will see as the strained chain bends the derailleur's cage. Another test : install a new derailleur, which you are going to buy, on a bike, or on some installed pipe (water-pipe will suit), then pull the outer plate of the derailleur's cage with your finger. If the cage bends before it starts to go as it should, this part will not function properly.
I had to buy Shimano XT M760 (year 2004) front derailleur - works OK on easy uphills and sometimes even on moderate ones, so that I can downshift before it is too late and the trail becomes too steep. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Joe
a Cross Country Rider
from Niagara, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 1, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | anything with lots of hills | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | it shifts smoothly sometimes | | Weaknesses: | the 2 top gears and 2 low gears in every range rub on it, after i've had 3 tune ups. | | Similar Products Used: | sis on my old bike, and it didn't rub | | Bike Setup: | Specialized Hardrock Pro Disc | | Bottom Line: | It was good for a little while, then it started to rub. Now i can't use the 8&9 gears or the 1&2 gears in every range, because it's so annoying. Get a better one if you are upgrading. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nick
a Cross Country Rider
from Framingham
Date Reviewed: August 18, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Callahan | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Came with bike | | Strengths: | Cheap..... | | Weaknesses: | very bad at shifting going up a hill or under any load at all. When I first got my bike the chain fell off every time i switched gears under load, not very impressive. My chain must have fell off 6 times that day before i realized it was the derailer. This could easily cause your chain to get crushed. This is going to be replaced soon. | | Bike Setup: | 2005 Cannondale Jekyll | | Bottom Line: | Save your money and buy something worthy of putting on your bike. Its not every worth the time to put it on. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
swavess
a Cross Country Rider
from Zephyr Cove
Date Reviewed: August 8, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Spooner rim trail | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | Nothing. Seriously. | | Weaknesses: | Won't shift at all under any kind of pressure even when adjusted correctly. Is the cage made of rubber? | | Similar Products Used: | XT,alivio | | Bike Setup: | KHS XC304 | | Bottom Line: | Worst front derailler I've ever had the misfortune to come across. It will just not shift under any kind of load at all. At first I thought it was my adjustment, so I had a shop do it...same results. The cage just does not have any strenght to it. Avoid it and if you buy a bike with one, plan on replacing it immediately. I did. Seriously, there are better derailleurs on Kmart bikes. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ryan Palmer
a Weekend Warrior
from Birmingham, AL, USA
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | Homewood Cycle & Fitness | | Strengths: | the nameplate | | Weaknesses: | Will NOT shift at all when ANY pressure on chain. Eating up my front gears. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano Altus C20 on Iguana | | Bike Setup: | Trek Fuel EX7 stock - Shiman Deore XT rear derailleur, Deore front derailleur, Hayes disc brakes | | Bottom Line: | I have had nothing but problems out of the box from this derailleur. Literally had better luck with my Huffy 12 years ago. The rest of the FUEL EX7 is amazing though. With such a solid bike it seems that all components would be at least decent. I shouldn't even have know this part exists, much less should it be the limiting factor on the quality and quantity of my rides. Unless you can plan ahead, buy another derailleur. I've had enough; I am upgrading to the XT or better tomorrow. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
nick
a Weekend Warrior
from mississauga ontario canada
Date Reviewed: April 27, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | if its fun .. close.. im there | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Purchased At: | came with bike | | Strengths: | not much...ummmm ... worked wel when it was working | | Weaknesses: | crapped out on me within the frist 2 weeks of actually riding my bike... wouldnt shift gears anymore ... evn when the store tried to adjust it it still wouldnt work... so i got a new .. different one | | Similar Products Used: | iunno | | Bike Setup: | rocky mountain flow 2005 f1 (stock ...x'cept for new derailleur) | | Bottom Line: | not very good part ... worked well before it crapped out on mr ... just bad expeience with this stupid part... thats why i dont like it | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan
a Cross Country Rider
from Ithaca, NY
Date Reviewed: March 1, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$6.00 | | Purchased At: | JensonUSA.com | | Strengths: | Strong, can be used with top or bottom pull, comes with shim for all clamp diameters. It's also dirt cheap, and shifts reasonably well when covered with mud. Comes with a screw to open the cage so you don't have to take your chain apart to take it off. | | Weaknesses: | Heavy, cage flexes a bit. The worst part is the setup. Your cable tension has to be PERFECT, or the derailleur will hardly move on direction or the other. Once you get it set up though, you won't have to touch it again. | | Similar Products Used: | Alivio, XT | | Bottom Line: | If weight isn't a big deal, the Deore is a great derailleur. The only difference I noticed between it and my old XT was weight, and the XT was easier to set up. Still, the Deore is a great derailleur for the money. If budget is a big issue for you, get one. I am happy with it for the amount of money I paid. The most important thing for me at that price was that it still worked properly when full of crap, and the Deore does that beautifully. I came home from one ride to realise that I couldn't see the parallelogram through all the mud and dried grass that were crammed into it. (We had ridden one small section of the ride through some tall grass.) I couldn't beleive that it would still work, but after a short spin around the block I was convinced that it worked almost as well as it did dry. My next derailleur will probably be an LX to save some weight, and I hope it will work as well as my Deore. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David
a Cross Country Rider
from Slovenia
Date Reviewed: February 7, 2005 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | shifts flawless, works even when covered in mud | | Weaknesses: | Durabillity, heavy, a bit weak spring | | Similar Products Used: | alivio1998, LX1998 | | Bike Setup: | FC-M440 crank (44T), HG73 chain, LX cassette, LX RD, deore shifters. | | Bottom Line: | quickly got some stack, which made it hard to set properly, latter even impossible to set without chain rubbing into swing-plate when on granny. died in two years of mid use, swing arm (pivots) froze completly. I could move it only with claws. I suppose it would last much longer, if it hadn't regulary been in mud, dirt, snow conditions. But mud appears in woods every spring when snow melts and attumn (rain). And mud does not bother me at all. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Brett
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: January 9, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | Adelaide Hills | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$33.00 | | Purchased At: | Bike shop | | Strengths: | None to mention other than price, but because of its poor performance then its not good at any price. | | Weaknesses: | Did not reach out enough over big chain ring and clashes with middle chain ring when trying to engage chain onto big chainring. Had to bend and modify the cage to enable full use of gears without rubbing.
Flimsy and flexed under load,
Gear changes slow and cumbersome. | | Similar Products Used: | XT, LX | | Bike Setup: | Specialised c/w LX groupset
Mongoose c/w XT groupset | | Bottom Line: | 10yrs riding mtb's and 4 bikes - first time with hair pulling out issues with front derailleur. Thought I would save a dollar downgrading, only to be burnt, wish I spent the extra on a LX (twice the price) or better.
Avoid this multi pupose Deore derailleur and source a dedicated derailleur (i.e top pull OR bottom pull) as they have less flex and are smoother, pay the extra. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
stephen john
a Cross Country Rider
from bampton, oxforshire, england
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | the big dipper | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | warlands, oxford | | Strengths: | cheap, shifts fairly well | | Weaknesses: | takes time to shift when muddy | | Similar Products Used: | shinamo lx | | Bike Setup: | dawes edge team, with xt shifters | | Bottom Line: | these shifters work very well considering the price, especially in the dry. However, as soon as they get muddy shifting takes 10+ seconds, and needs a lot of over-compensation. on the other hand these shifters are very durable, having survived various jumps, drop offs and countless crashes.
So if you live in the sun all year, buy them, otherwise think about the lx, which works a lot better in the mud. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rubén García
a Cross Country Rider
from Madrid, Spain
Date Reviewed: July 8, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Every XC | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Strengths: | Price- value, reliable | | Weaknesses: | I don’t find anything, Ok, but I don’t find many differences between these things (like my old Alivio) | | Similar Products Used: | STX-RC, Alivio, LX | | Bike Setup: | Merida Matts Speed 2003 Standard with V Brakes Avid Single Digit 7 (levers) | | Bottom Line: | It works; I had no problems with it, makes his job. As I said, I can’t find many differences with these things, for me all work very similar.
I’m very happy with it… Maybe I can’t be really critic, because I don’t pay attention to this component. I don’t find many differences with my old Alivio…Ok, it looks better
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Adam
a Cross Country Rider
from Oceanside, CA, USA
Date Reviewed: June 13, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Pontiac Lake, MI | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Purchased At: | OEM on Jamis Dakar Comp | | Strengths: | NONE | | Weaknesses: | Doesn't want to shift at all. Upshifts and downshifts take 3-5 seconds, unless you have very high RPM at the crank. I will replace it at my earliest opportunity. | | Similar Products Used: | LX, XT | | Bike Setup: | Stock Jamis Dakar Comp. | | Bottom Line: | A waste. I appreciate bike companies trying to keep prices low, but it would be well worth a few more dollars to get an LX. Luckily, XTs only cost about $20 on-line, so it's cheap to replace. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cliff
a Weekend Warrior
from Wells River, VT
Date Reviewed: April 21, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | kingdom trails | | Duration Product Used: | Tested or demo'ed only | | Strengths: | Seemed to shift down okay.
| | Weaknesses: | Shifting up needs to be held for a couple seconds to shift properly. | | Similar Products Used: | Shimano XTR, XT | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale Jekyll 400 w/ fox float l | | Bottom Line: | This is not a bad shifter, it only has one problem. When shifting into higher gears, you need to hold it for at least 3 seconds. This may not seem to much to you, but when moving downhill with rocks/roots/drops, this can be annoying. I give it a 4 because it is not a bad shifter, it can work very well if given a little time. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Vic
a Cross Country Rider
from Moscow, Russia
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Allround | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Purchased At: | Stock with bike | | Strengths: | Cheap, relatively durable, does its job somehow | | Weaknesses: | No positive up shifting, fails under load, slow shifting | | Similar Products Used: | Alivio, LX, XT | | Bike Setup: |
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$ 10.00
