Mountain Biking - Help with finding a better rear derailleur

I ride a Diamondback XTS '06 bike, and recently I busted my rear derailleur (Shimano LX) on one of my daily rides. Thankfully the warranty covered the damages and are sending me a replacement, but I was thinking about getting a stronger derailleur. One that can take a little more beating, because this one seemed to fall apart fairly easily.

If anyone could give out some advice on which derailleur would be a good purchase (something in a reasonable price range) would be helpful.

-Thanks

Ask Shimano to send you a replacement XT instead of the LX.

If you're getting a new lx for free from shimano I vote ride the crap out of that one. LX is a very decent derailler. Unless you just have some $$ to spare. (or unless you can get Shimano to send the upgrade for a bit of difference).

Unfortunately all derailleurs break under about the same force. It doesn't really matter how much you pay for it. Just out of curiousity how did yours break? It's rare for a broken derailleur to be covered under warranty.

He was JRA and the derailleur spontaneously exploded.

Ask Shimano to send you a replacement XT instead of the LX.
why would they do that?

Shimano LX is the reasonably priced choice.

I broke an LX rear derailer recently when a large stick hit the cage, cracking it. I was still able to complete my ride, but I couldn't shift into the largest cog. That derailer was 6 or 7 years old. I replaced it with another LX derailer for $30. It's not the lightest or coolest, but for $30, you can afford to replace it yearly if necessary.

Chris

If you think this will be a common occurrence check out a short cage or a road RD, such as the Shimano Ultegra or the Shimano 105.

I was just wondering whats the difference in short cages and long cages?
Besides the length!

That's pretty much it and a bit less weight. Theoretically you get slightly better shifting, but I never noticed a difference. Besides, I use an 11-32 cluster and short cage derailers only go up to 28th in the rear.

Chris

I was just wondering whats the difference in short cages and long cages?
Besides the length!
http://www.beyondbikes.com/bb/tech/?section=rdr

You could always use a rear der guard. Wont stop everything, but doesnt hurt.

http://www.bike-in-a-bag.com/images/TOURINGbikeparts/highres/gearst.jpg

Saint derailers take a beating. My friend runs them, still on his first one and he has burst his kidney, taco'd wheels major casses/road burn, tree hits and it still shifts smoothly (and it is 3 years old). Get them if you can afford them. Or you can run deore, which are dirt cheap (so easily replaceable) but still shift really nice (I actually can't tell a difference between them and my xts, when I had them).