Mountain Biking - are good components worth it?

I have a fairly new XT drive train on my bike, avid mag break levers, RF cranks, you know, good components. Well I have bent my big ring on my cranks a little, I folded my right break lever in half (luckily it bent back without breaking), I smashed my left shifter pod, and yesterday I mangled my right one. Im starting to wonder why I bothered buying these components. Really what would be the difference if I just went with an all Deore setup, or posibly even lower than Deore? I mean it would still work fine right? and when I broke stuff it would be much cheaper to replace. What do you guys think? How much of a difference in performance is there really?

Personally, I think there is a big difference between Deore and XT. However, I would NOT recommend XT to a newbie, or relative beginner. Why? Well, because you break stuff initially. As you become a better rider, you crash less often however, with the same severity.

Here's a tip that may prevent future destruction. Only tighten your shifters/levers/stem/handlebars/bar ends/etc. to the point where they are snug and won't move under medium pressure. But not soooooo tight that they won't move at all. That way, in the event of a crash, your shifters or levers will twist on the bar, but not break!

L8R

thats a good tip :) cheers m8 :)

humm... thats worth a try. I have been biking for a few years now, but my crash frequency seems to be increasing and not decreasing. I figure its becasue I attempt stuff now that I used to just go around. Im also thinking a set of bar ends might help things, kind of like a roll cadge for the shifters and levers.

Originally posted by a2psyklnut
Personally, I think there is a big difference between Deore and XT. However, I would NOT recommend XT to a newbie, or relative beginner. Why? Well, because you break stuff initially. As you become a better rider, you crash less often however, with the same severity.
L8R

what would you recommend instead of XT components?

SRAM X-9. :D

And yes, good quality components are worth it, especially if you're a fickle rider that notices every little ticking sound coming from your ride.

You pretty much get what you pay for. If you're breaking stuff constantly though, I certainly wouldn't go high end. But my crashes are few and far between since I've been riding for years. I know my skill levels and usually don't attempt anything that goes beyond them.

What do I recommend? I recommend different things to different people and their style of riding and their bank account. My co-worker wanted a decent bike, that wouldn't give him troubles and wouldn't be constantly breaking and spending money on. He wasn't a racer and just a recreational cyclist, non-abusive type rider. A Deore and LX mix worked great for him.

I've also got a friend that has more money than sense, and isn't satisfied spending $5,000 on a bike if he finds out he could've spent $6,000.00. However, he rarely rides and when he does, hardly ever off-road. He insisted he get a Titanium Litespeed with Full XTR and CrossMax wheels.

So, as a beginner, Deore is fine. As parts break (and they will if you ride on a regular basis), upgrade as your budget allows. If you snap your rear derailleur and want an XT for $30 and you HAVE $30, get it. But you don't NEED to spend an extra $100 just so you can say, "Hey, I've got XTR on my bike!".

L8R

Originally posted by RussellM
Well I have bent my big ring on my cranks a little, I folded my right break lever in half (luckily it bent back without breaking), I smashed my left shifter pod, and yesterday I mangled my right one.


Did someone drive their car over your bike?

Originally posted by Nic
Did someone drive their car over your bike?

Actually sounds like he ran into a tree...either that or endoed in a comical way :)...My buddy destroyed his hayes master cylinder and shifter pod. Gave me an excuse to learn how to fix/replace a full hydro system.

If the lever was aluminum I would replace it. You don't want it braking at the wrong time (aka on a long dh section ;))

nope, thats just me riding, if you care I can tell you how I did these things.

Bent big ring - riding up hill, I hoped the front wheel up a one foot hight rock ledge, but didnt pull my back wheel up in time and clocked the big ring on the rock.

Bent break lever - cominging into a steep drop off I was a bit off ballance and did a little superman style endo. Both the bike and I ended up laying in a pile 20 feet down the hill.

Left shifter pod - Riding really slowly waiting for the rest of the group to catch up I looked behind me and nosed into a rock and endoed, The handlebars came down hard on a rock and the left shifter was smashed. One of those very imbarasing sort of crashes.

Right shifter pod - Cranking hard up a hill I droped a chain and hit the thumb lever of my right shifter with my knee. It now just flops around.

I thought about replacing the break lever, but they were expensive, and I figure its just the back break, if it snaps I can make do with front only long enough to get a new one.