Mountain Biking - Up-grades

I hv a Shimano Deore FD, hv spent many hours getting it set up correctly after several rides & I know I have it as good as I can get it, but while riding I still have problems with it -

I am thinking to upgrade this to an XTR - is this a decent FD & is it worth the change ? - are there any others to consider ?
I hv the Shimano rapid fire shifters which I don't want to change so it needs to be compatible with that. I assume with the XTR FD I can leave everything in place and just change the FD using the exsisting tension cable that's in place ?
Is the XTR FD fitted in the same way as the Deore, i.e same principles to install & set up ?

Thanks..

I hv a Shimano Deore FD, hv spent many hours getting it set up correctly after several rides & I know I have it as good as I can get it, but while riding I still have problems with it -

I am thinking to upgrade this to an XTR - is this a decent FD & is it worth the change ? - are there any others to consider ?
I hv the Shimano rapid fire shifters which I don't want to change so it needs to be compatible with that. I assume with the XTR FD I can leave everything in place and just change the FD using the exsisting tension cable that's in place ?
Is the XTR FD fitted in the same way as the Deore, i.e same principles to install & set up ?

Thanks..

I wouldn't go to xtr. That is totally un-necessary and a waste of money unless you are competing. You are mostly paying for the xtr badge. XT is the best bang for the buck. Having said that, I've used deore front deraileur on one of my bikes and had no problems. I'm not quite sure what problems you could be having that would be solved by upgrading. Regardless of what you get, the deraileur will have to match your current one. It will either be bottom or top pull, and have bottom or top swing as well as have the same clamp diameter.

Can get it working fine when the wheels are off the floor, but under under sort of load at all it doesn't shift very well - seems impossible to be able to ride and avoid any load before shifting.... I managed to set it so at least it does't mis-shift & guess I can live with it - just wondering if anything better is out there.

So XT is as good as XTR - will I notice any difference between XT and Deaore ? - don't want to change if I am wasting my time...

thanks..

Can get it working fine when the wheels are off the floor, but under under sort of load at all it doesn't shift very well - seems impossible to be able to ride and avoid any load before shifting.... I managed to set it so at least it does't mis-shift & guess I can live with it - just wondering if anything better is out there.

So XT is as good as XTR - will I notice any difference between XT and Deaore ? - don't want to change if I am wasting my time...

thanks..
i honestly don't think you'll notice that much of an improvement in functionality of your front derailleur going to the XT unless there is an inherent flaw in the one currently on the bike. since it sounds like something is not kosher, then yeah the XT will probably be improved if installed/set-up correctly.

Like everyone else is saying, there is no need for XTR. To take it one step further you would probably be just as happy with an LX front derailleur as you will be with an XT. The set-up is the most important thing. Have you taken the bike to a shop to have them look at it? It could be as simple as rotating or raising or lowering the front derailleur 1/4".

If you look around you will notice that most high end bikes only use XT front derailleurs, including ones that are custom built. I spared no expense on my bikes but still went with XT front derailleurs on them.

If you need hours to get a Deore FD working reasonably well, then your problem is not the model of FD. The FD is a simple beast that just pushes the chain one way or the other.

Maybe you have a chainring issue. Or maybe you are expecting more from a front derailleur than can be realized. Shifting chainrings under load is always difficult. The FD has to move the tensioned side of the chain which is difficult to do.