XTR - Grrrrrr
Author
Discussion

Rolls

Original Poster:

1,502 posts

200 months

Saturday 29th August 2009
quotequote all
Hi Guys,
Have a great weekend last week in Afan on my Superlight, and have just got around to giving the bike a proper strip down, and clean.
Seems that I must be one of the unluckiest people with XTR components I know...
New front mech - all set up, and working lovley.. - then the bolt that holds the cable tight shears off whilst done up. Marvelous!
Now my XTR rear cassette has gone - one of the spiders that connect the freehub to the acrtual rings has snapped on all 4 legs, and twisted - must have been luck that it didn't go all of the way around...

Just a word of warning to guys with XTR cassettes - check them frown

RRS_Staffs

648 posts

202 months

Saturday 29th August 2009
quotequote all

Hmmmm

I trashed an XTR front mech last year in exactly the same manner

It was out of warranty and I wrote it off as one of those things

Cheers!

Gooby

9,269 posts

257 months

Saturday 29th August 2009
quotequote all
I am on my 3rd XTR rear Mech and 2nd front mech. I have gone through the top of the range SRAM cassette in weeks. The best cassette for my syle of riding is XT.... (All in 2 years)

fatwomble

1,389 posts

237 months

Saturday 29th August 2009
quotequote all
Glad I've never paid out for XTR, always run mix of XT and LX on my bikes. That said a year old LX rear mech sheared off at the pivot a couple of weeks ago rolleyes.

Had SRAM before but wasn't keen on then way they shift gears.

Parrot of Doom

23,075 posts

257 months

Saturday 29th August 2009
quotequote all
The bolt is designed to snap off. If you look at the side, where the bolt goes in, a shaped nut may be found. Its flush with the derailleur. Get a pokey thing in the hole, and push it out sideways.

I just replaced the bolt with a steel job.

ewenm

28,506 posts

268 months

Saturday 29th August 2009
quotequote all
Gooby said:
I am on my 3rd XTR rear Mech and 2nd front mech. I have gone through the top of the range SRAM cassette in weeks. The best cassette for my syle of riding is XT.... (All in 2 years)
XTR always seemed to be style over substance for me. XT works fine, is light enough and not too pricey, why spend more on XTR?

anonymous-user

77 months

Sunday 30th August 2009
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fatwomble said:
Glad I've never paid out for XTR, always run mix of XT and LX on my bikes. That said a year old LX rear mech sheared off at the pivot a couple of weeks ago rolleyes.
exactly, xtr is for race freaks who want the lightest components they can get... its not durable enough for everyday hack-around-the-trails-stomp-on-the-pedals-and-let-the-mech-deal-with-it stuff but because its the most expensive people buy it regardless...

k-ink

9,070 posts

202 months

Sunday 30th August 2009
quotequote all
XTR disc brakes are rubbish too. I had the pads for mine simply drop out when on a down hill section! Needless to say I swapped to Hope the next day. Way better feel and reliability.


Rolls

Original Poster:

1,502 posts

200 months

Sunday 30th August 2009
quotequote all
Disagree completely on the xtr brakes being rubbish - there is no way the pads can fall out as they are held in the same way as hopes are - retianing bolt through the top, with a circlip to stop the bolt coming undone!

As for XTR being unecessary - IMO you can feel the difference between shifts using XTR components.. - As this is my nice bike, and the rest of it is XTR it felt slightly silly not to get an XTR rear mech - i've got full XT on my other bike!

k-ink

9,070 posts

202 months

Monday 31st August 2009
quotequote all
Yes your right. I clearly just made it up.

anonymous-user

77 months

Monday 31st August 2009
quotequote all
personally i wouldnt fit anything other than a deore front mech on a bike, good cables and levers and it could be SRAM x.o or XTR and you wouldnt notice bar the weight and looks....

RRS_Staffs

648 posts

202 months

Monday 31st August 2009
quotequote all
k-ink said:
Yes your right. I clearly just made it up.
I too am intrigued as to how your pads fell out

Ive been running XTR brakes for 2 1/2 years

They have a retaining screw and also the pads are mounted in such a way as to be secure even if the screw works loose or is just not fitted out of stupidity

The brakes are great

What happened to yours to make the pads fall out?

Cheers

Gooby

9,269 posts

257 months

Tuesday 1st September 2009
quotequote all
ewenm said:
Gooby said:
I am on my 3rd XTR rear Mech and 2nd front mech. I have gone through the top of the range SRAM cassette in weeks. The best cassette for my syle of riding is XT.... (All in 2 years)
XTR always seemed to be style over substance for me. XT works fine, is light enough and not too pricey, why spend more on XTR?
\

Xtr is superb, some of it is a little too light and weak but as long as you are prepared to do the maintenance and a little prep, it swaps cogs beautifully. You have to learn to ride with some mechanical sympathy in order to get the best from it. Why do I use it? because my bike is worth it, I like the feel of it and it is the best. I can not vouch for the brakes (I use hope, because they are better) and my crank etc is race face. The mech's and shifters are XTR and are superb.

k-ink

9,070 posts

202 months

Tuesday 1st September 2009
quotequote all
A few years ago I bought a brand new S-Works Stump jumper from Bike Trax in Brentwood. It came loaded with full XTR. The pads were held in with clips NOT bolts. Since then I swapped to hope and didn't look back. Perhaps the new models fixed this design?

ps

It cost me over £350 just to swap the brakes, so I wasn't being fussy for nothing!

Edited by k-ink on Tuesday 1st September 09:20

mat205125

17,790 posts

236 months

Tuesday 1st September 2009
quotequote all
These kind of threads make me glad that I cannot afford / am too tight to cough up double the money, for XTR over XT. I've never suffered a failure with XT other that those resulting from impact or eventual wear and tear.

k-ink

9,070 posts

202 months

Tuesday 1st September 2009
quotequote all
The best XTR component ever was the ultra compact brake levers from many years ago. Before they stuck the gear selectors to them. They were great becuase they just worked and were so simple. Too many components on bikes are overly complex for no good reason. This is why I have returned to far simpler bikes, with hardly anything to service or replace.

P-Jay

11,260 posts

214 months

Tuesday 1st September 2009
quotequote all
I fancy an XTR Chainset, but I'd replace the rings with something harder wearing when they were done-for.

As for the rest of the range, doesn't look as if it would stand up to any sort of treatment. It's for XC whippet racers and bling addicts IMHO, You can buy (from Shimano!) gold dress kits for XTR stuff FFS! It’s for a mountain bike! After some rides its hard enough to tell the difference between my bike and one belonging to my mate, who's gonna see gold fluid reservoir caps!! ha ha.

SRAM do a dry-sodomise range too in the form of X0, but at least it looks robust! Even the, as yet unreleased, lightweight 10 speed XX stuff looks fit for purpose.

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

221 months

Tuesday 1st September 2009
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mat205125 said:
These kind of threads make me glad that I cannot afford / am too tight to cough up double the money, for XTR over XT. I've never suffered a failure with XT other that those resulting from impact or eventual wear and tear.
The thing is I've never had an XTR rear mech fail on me, and I've never paid more than RRP XT price for XTR.

What breaks them is shifting like a tt, and allowing them to get full of mud. I have them (of various vintage) fitted to all my bikes, including a mountain bike tandem, which are probably the hardest machines on rear mechs and none of them have ever missed a beat.

mat205125

17,790 posts

236 months

Tuesday 1st September 2009
quotequote all
rhinochopig said:
The thing is I've never had an XTR rear mech fail on me, and I've never paid more than RRP XT price for XTR.
.... and I've never paid RRP for XT wink

Appreciate that everyones experiences are different, and just because people are paying out for expensive kit doesn't necessarily mean that they know or care how to use and maintain it correctly.

rhinochopig

17,932 posts

221 months

Tuesday 1st September 2009
quotequote all
mat205125 said:
rhinochopig said:
The thing is I've never had an XTR rear mech fail on me, and I've never paid more than RRP XT price for XTR.
.... and I've never paid RRP for XT wink

Appreciate that everyones experiences are different, and just because people are paying out for expensive kit doesn't necessarily mean that they know or care how to use and maintain it correctly.
Does anyone ever pay RRP for any shimano kit hehe