Originally posted by a2psyklnut
Soar Grapes? Not at all.
Let me quantify my statements. 1) I am currently running full XTR on my bike, bought it that way! 2) I've been a bike mechanic (albeit only working Part-time) for the last oooohhhhh 18 years!
If you reread my statements, I claim XT shifts "almost" as well as XTR, but at half the price. What I'm saying is that unless you've got deep pockets or are a "Racer Boy", XTR isn't a valuable upgrade.
So many people get hung up on Status, that they don't step back and look at the big picture. I think XTR shifters (Pods Only) are worth the extra money, however, the XT's shift nearly as well. Very seldom do shifters get whacked during a crash!
Rear derailleurs are probably the MOST destroyed component on your bike. I've gone through several, many times on easy parts of the trail where I've picked up a large stick and it rips the derailleur off before I know what's happening. Why spend the extra Cha-ching on a component? Doesn't make economical sense to me.
My verdict is still out on the new XTR shifter/brake combo levers. I'm running Ultegra on my roadie and understand the concept, but feel that mtn biking is too rigorous and the shifter/lever is too suseptible to damage from a fall. (More often in mtn biking than road). Plus, I like my Hayes discs, so I'd stick with seperate shifter pods/levers anyways.
L8R
A2, I wasn't talking to you, but re-read MY statements
I never said XTR was vastly superior. In fact, I said that XT or LX will do fine for most recreational riders.
I was replying to the comments that XT shifts better than XTR. That's just..."applesauce"
I had no idea that I was a "racer boy" with "deep pockets" for disagreeing with you
