Mountain Biking - Shimano XT or XTR

I am slowly putting together my new bike. bought a Zaskar Race frame, using a RockShox SID 100 fork, and was thinking of buying the XT groupo for the rest.

My LBS owner bought the XTR group for himself, but the frame he wants is unavailable, so he is stuck with the unused XTR. He will let me have it for about $700 usd. The XT will cost about half that. I have been using a Giant ATX 770 for the past 9 years (mostly LX) no problem.

I rarely ride off road, but with this new bike, will joing the local club on the trails. I don't think i will be too brutal with the bike. I know XTR is overkill, but hey, it sounds like a luxury I would like to treat myself to. I expect my bikes to last however. From what i have read so far, I get the impression that XT is well worth the money, but XTR is only marginally better. I have even read where people suggest that because XTR is lighter, it is also eaiser to damage. Thus I now turn to you all for some advice.

Will i be disappoineted with XTR? I am relatively gentle, i haven't broken any components in all my years of my years of riding, but they have all been on the road, some a bit uneven. I just don't want to put down the money, and then have things start to fall apart in 3 months. These fears of my have mainly been raised by reading personal reviews from some online magazines.

What do you guys and gals think?
Thanks
AnUaR

I can't answer your questions specifically because I've never used the LX, XT or XTR, but its been my experience that if equipment is not abused and well maintained it should last a long while.
There are plenty of Mtn riders who will give you a better answer. However, at $700.usd the XTR is cheaper than I can buy it wholesale here in the US.

If you've got the money and you want it, get XTR. But if you do get XT, you won't be dissapointed. The biggest difference between the two is weight. XTR weighs less than XT.

Sounds like the XTR is the way to go for the money. I have a GT i-drive with full XTR on it that I put on about a year ago (1000 HARD miles) and have only had one problem. About 6 weeks ago in the middle of a steep, rocky climb I broke the largest ring on the cassette and bent the next two. I was riding with the owner of a LBS and he said it was probably cracked from a crash some other day and the stress I was putting on it finally broke it. I run the titanium cassette and was surprised that it broke. I ride pretty hard and crash even harder, so it is quite possible that it got damaged at some point. Other than this incident I have had NO problems with any of my XTR components.

I also have a bike with full XT and have had no problems with it either. I am fanatic about maintenance and care of my bikes so I believe this definitely helps with the performance of the parts. XTR is lighter and is the top of the line for Shimano so you can't go wrong with it. It's mostly a personal opinion choice and deciding how much to spend, but once you have the best...you will never have to upgrade.

Good luck

Treat yourself. If you can afford it, then get the best. Any item from any group can fail if neglected or you crash hard. Either one will last you a good long time. I'm a bit of a weight weeney and would go for the XTR if money isn't an issue.

As the others have said, if you can afford it, go for the xtr. Other than that I find that xtr and xt are both equally as durable, and xtr only has a slight advatage in performance (weight aside of course)

Do whatever the pocket book allows.

Thanks everyone.

You have all helped me clear up a few issues.

Hopefully my banker will say "XTR" :)


AnUaR

Ditto's on the "if you afford it" The big difference is weight, I'm a big guy 225 lbs and stick with mostly XT stuff, but I've been using a XTR rear derailleur for the last year w/o problems. As far as performance, you probably wouldn't be able to notice a difference. It really just comes down to cost.

If you were paying full retail and buying used, I'd suggest sticking with the XT.

Since you're getting a great deal on XTR, then I'd say "Go For It!"