Touring - help me pick a rear derailleur

my rig is almost entirely built up now, but i'm looking to pick up the rear derailleur. as far as i can tell, almost any long-cage mtn rear derailleur will work with my 8spd shimano barcons, if they're on friction. someone please stop me if i am wrong. i was thinking of a 'traditional' (high-normal) shimano deore lx rear derailleur, since it's priced right and is a fairly well-regarded rd. however, i've yet to order the thing, so i'd love to hear some suggestions.

thanks in advance,
-rob

LX is what I am running with barcons and 8 speed.

Bar end shifters are a little clunkly by nature, (in index mode of course) so higher end derailleurs really won't help performance. If you stick with the traditional *high normal* RD your bar cons will shift the traditional way. The new fangled *low normal* work well, but your right shifter will work backwards.

LX will work fine. Deore will work fine too.

This isn't a thing you want to lose any sleep over.

LX is what I am running with barcons and 8 speed.

Gee, me too. Works great. BTW, I prefer it as a friction setup.

I'm running an XT (regular-rise) and bar-end shifters in frcition mode, mounted as Thumbies. Works awesome!
edit: should have noted that I usually run LX which is awesome bang-for-buck but I got a good deal on the XT in this case

+1 LX 9 speed with barcons

With a low normal, upward pull gives a higher gear, either side. Aside from being opposite to top-normal, it is more intuitive. I use one on one of my road bikes. It's great.

If you want top-normal, you have only about thirty choices. For value-for money, I suppose that LX would be hard to beat. That being said, there are some good deals on the XTR-M950 top-normal derailleurs here and there, and that is a very nice derailleur. I recommend it.

LX here with barcons...

I would consider a SRAM derailleur (X-7 or X-9). They use 1:1 rather than 2:1 ratio, meaning you have to move the shifter less far to change gears. However, I just noticed that Jenson is selling the XT rear derailleur for $49, about the cost of an LX. I think you would be happy with any of these choices. My choices in order of preference:
SRAM X-9
Shimano XT
SRAM X-7
Shimano LX

I would consider a SRAM derailleur (X-7 or X-9). They use 1:1 rather than 2:1 ratio, meaning you have to move the shifter less far to change gears. However, I just noticed that Jenson is selling the XT rear derailleur for $49, about the cost of an LX. I think you would be happy with any of these choices. My choices in order of preference:
SRAM X-9
Shimano XT
SRAM X-7
Shimano LX

Sorry, I think I mixed that up. 1:1 ratio requires you to move the shifter farther, which may make it easier to dial in the gear using friction shifting. I like SRAM because IMO they make great products and I think competition is good for the market.

my rig is almost entirely built up now, but i'm looking to pick up the rear derailleur. as far as i can tell, almost any long-cage mtn rear derailleur will work with my 8spd shimano barcons, if they're on friction. someone please stop me if i am wrong. i was thinking of a 'traditional' (high-normal) shimano deore lx rear derailleur, since it's priced right and is a fairly well-regarded rd. however, i've yet to order the thing, so i'd love to hear some suggestions.

thanks in advance,
-rob

Any 7/8/9 spd rear Shimano derailer should work with the bar ends in index mode. The derailer is only a robot and does what the shifter tells it to do. Personally, I have XTs on everything and the Jenson USA deal is killer.

Get it!

I use a high normal Deore rear mech. Works great. If you have a good price for a LX high normal derailleur it will work like a champ.

i work at a shop, just one day a week, but i still get everything at cost. that being said, i get a 'good' price on virtually everything, but i'm still a heinous cheepskate. i was thinking of going the SRAM route, as walshclimb sugested, but i'm fairly certain that my barcons won't work with those RD's in indexed mode, but friction should work fine. the way i see it, i kinda wanna get lx b/c it'd match my hubs =P, and also b/c i've heard it's a really good rd, perhaps worth the $10 premium over the Deore. i'm not losing sleep over it; i'm just having trouble pulling the trigger b/c i'm overly analytical at times. thanks, all, for the advice. =)

-rob

I use friction stick-shifters(down tube) so the high-normal/low-normal thing is a total non issue for me, pull or push the lever to go up or down makes no differance, you get used to anything like that pretty quick.

So the Shimano 2:1 is one part cable to two parts derailer movement, and the 1:1 SRAM has twice the cable movement(half the tension for the same spring) per cog rather than half the movement of the Shimano(twice the tension)? I've been meaning to write SRAM an email asking them to clarify which way that 1:1-2:1/1:2 thing worked.

I just know my Avid Rollamajig did wonders for the feel of my shifting, I use a Shimano 600 rear d.(old ultegra. New old stock with a deep scratch, swap meet $5)

Anyhow this really doesn't deal directly with the main derailer selection question, so I'm a gonna go now.

surreal,

If you work in a bike shop, why pay for a new derailluer? Isn't there any used stuff hanging around?

I know what Shimano says, but I've used 32t granny gears with Tiagra rear derailuers, making it a good touring bike choice. I've run 30t grannies with other long cage road derailures. Just hook up what you got and see if it will work.

my rig is almost entirely built up now, but i'm looking to pick up the rear derailleur. as far as i can tell, almost any long-cage mtn rear derailleur will work with my 8spd shimano barcons, if they're on friction. someone please stop me if i am wrong. i was thinking of a 'traditional' (high-normal) shimano deore lx rear derailleur, since it's priced right and is a fairly well-regarded rd. however, i've yet to order the thing, so i'd love to hear some suggestions.thanks in advance, -rob

Hi Rob!

May I recommend the XTR "rapid-rise?" I believe the quality and durability of the XTR parts justify its cost. I've used the XTR on a hybrid, a recumbent, and a MTB. I've also used the Deore, and find no significant problems other than if you break a cable, you're stuck in high gear, and the Deore doesn't shift as crisply (IMHO) as the XTR. The majority of BF posters disagree with me, but Sheldon Brown doesn't.

I'd rather carry a spare one ounce $3 cable with a small allen wrench(that a touring bike would generally carry anyway) and have all my gears, than spend a huge wad of extra cash on an XTR rapid rise just to be stuck in low. A cable that will also work on the front derailer.

But when is the last time you broke a maintained cable? (oiled and a quick inspection every few hundred miles)

+1 Lx

I promise this is the last thread I'll bump...I'm getting parts together for my new LHT frame and trying to use what I have before I buy new stuff. I have a sram x.7 front derailleur from an old bike. I assume this will work with a dura ace shifter?

The X.7 should be fine