Mountain Biking - Does Deore XT=XT?

The Shimano webpage lists the current MTB line up as XTR, Deore XT, Deore LX, Deore, etc. No where is regular XT mentioned. Some online stores are selling components labeled as XT and some as Deore XT with both claimed to be 04 products, but most stores only sell one or the other. Performance for example sells an XT and Deore XT rear rederailer. What is going on here?

As far as I know, Deore XT = XT.

If you look at the picture of the 'XT' derailleur on the Performance website, you'll notice it it actually labelled 'Deore XT'. The 'XT' is a non rapid-rise, long cage on the Performance site, while the 'Deore XT' derailleurs are both rapid rise, one long- and one medium-cage.

What if it just says "Deore"? Is it still XT?

What if it just says "Deore"? Is it still XT?

Most likely not. It is probably just the plain deore stuff. Still well performing and respectable though. I am upgrading most of my stuff from 8spd Acera to 9 speed Deore along with a bit of XT maybe.

Deore = Deore...

Deore Xt = Xt
xt=xt

lx=lx

Those crazy Japanese, you would think that after all these years they could come up with a proper naming system for their components.

CHEERS.

Mark

XTR = XTR
Deore XT = XT = Deore XT =xt
Deore LX = LX
Deore = Deore.

Now for XT there is M750 and M760. M750 is pre 2004 designed components with non rapid rise rear mech.
M760 = post 2004 stuff with RR, new disc brakes and flippy shifters with rapid fire shifters as an option.

On the subject of XT, whad exactly does is stand for? And was does LX and XTR stand for?

On the subject of XT, whad exactly does is stand for? And was does LX and XTR stand for?

I'm not sure what the suffixes are really supposed to mean other than to descriminate between different levels of the Deore lineup. Deore is an old namesake in the Shimano world. It was originally meant to denote their offroad group. At first there was just Deore and life was grand. Then came DeoreII. Deore became the denominator for "serious" offroad when other offroad groups got introduced below it. Then they broke the Deore lineup into DeoreXT (highest level most often used by racers), DeoreDX (midgrade most often considered best value... like XT but a little heavier) and DeoreLX (entry level with cheaper parts) while at the same time introducing some lesser groups for more lower end and recreational level components. Roundabouts 1991, the XTR group was introduced with the "R" standing for the "race" version of XT. It was where all the new race-level technology was being introduced and everything would trickle down from there. A year later, the DeoreDX was dropped and DeoreLX supposedly moved up the line although I still feel that nothing ever did replace DeoreDX in terms of bang-for-buck. Most people ended up mixing DeoreLX and DeoreXT to get the right value. Then starting from around the mid-1990s until around the turn of the century (always wanted to use that phrase), the DeoreLX became the breeding ground for innovations meant for "popular consumption". The Optical Gear Display (OGD) for instance was first introduced in the DeoreLX group I believe and eventually trickled both up and down the line. Also, the FlightDeck computer is considered DeoreLX level for the MTB side and Ultegra level for the roadbike side. Some time around the late 1990s, the "new" plain Deore name was introduced for a group which kicked in where the short-lived STX-RC group used to exist and bumped everything up a little.

As someone else noted, not all Shimano components with the same name are equal. You need to really look at the actual model numbers of the components to really discern the level. Those will change with generation while the names are there just for marketting purposes.

Note - There is a DX group but it's a BMX group and has nothing to do with the old DeoreDX group.