Mountain Biking - Component comparisons Shimano to SRAM to Roadie

I'm a roadie and try to do as many MTB rides in the winter as I can. I'd ride more MTB during the warmer weather but the people I ride with only want to do road rides in the warmer months.

Help me with the MTB components and equivalent to the road.

The best to the lower level

Dura Ace
Ultegra SL
Ultegra (the preferable you should buy)
105 (the minimum you should be buying)
Tiagra (the least you want to buy)
Sora (which you don't want to buy)


Where do these line up with Shimano and SRAM and where does the Shimano lineup with the equivalent SRAM.

Would you tell me if this is correct?


XTR Dura Ace? Sram X0 & X9
XT Ultegra? Sram X7
SLX 105? Sram X5
LX, no longer made
Deore Tiagra? Sram X3
Alvio Sora?
Acera
Altus

Any others I've missed, is there a SRAM X1?

Move X9 down to XT and scroll everything else down one notch, give or take.

XTR = Saint > XT > SLX > Deore > Alivio > Acera > Altus
XX > X.0 > X.9 > X.7 > X.5 > X.4 > X.3

LX was replaced by SLX and fits in the same place on the Shimano food chain. New LX is touring stuff. Hone is a discontinued group that was kind of a Saint-light.
On SRAM's side, there are also Truvativ components with other names (Holzfeller, Hussefelt, etc).

Equivalents don't necessarily work. For a long time, people said X.0 was equivalent to XTR. Then SRAM came out with XX. So does that mean that X.0 got demoted and only works as well as XT now? Or XX is so vastly superior to anything Shimano has that it's off the charts? No to both. There are several factors that make it hard to compare. There's not much noticeable difference between XTR and XT for example. A couple ounces here and there, but it's not like it'll perform any worse. And XX is a no go for someone wanting to run 27-speed gearing. And a twist-shift fan definitely wants to go SRAM. Also, some of the stuff is made for a specific audience. A downhiller has about as much use for Truvativ Stylo as an XC weight weenie wants a Saint (that is, not very much for either). Plus, each company has its fans. Just like some roadies will take a lower Chorus over a top level Dura-Ace or Red just because they like Campy, there are SRAM fans who won't touch Shimano and Shimano fans who hate SRAM.

Some people will tell you not to go below Deore. However, a properly adjusted Altus will shift just fine. It just won't stay properly adjusted as long as XT will.

The used '91/92 Diamondback Axis mtb I just acquired came with full Deore XT....and the frame's chromoly. Is it worth upgrading?

That question probably could've used it's own thread, but...

What do you want to upgrade exactly? I'd only swap out parts as they break. XT was top of the line in 1991/1992.

Axis was a pretty sweet bike. Not my dream bike. (I had wood for Rocky Mountain Blizzard, Bianchi Grizzly, Trek 990 and Schwinn PDG 90s back then.) Oh, and MB-0 of course.

Ops, sorry...I was thinking about upgrading to the current stuff, if possible..also a suspension fork.

I personally don't think an entire group update to 2011 XT would be sensible.

If you get a fork, it'll be way easier if you're bike has 1 1/8" headset. Keep travel at 100mm or less. Try to get one with 80mm travel if possible to keep the front end geometry somewhat normal.

It's getting harder to find good deals on decent prebuilt rim-brake MTB wheels, which you'll need on the back. You can go disc on the front if you'd like.

You're looking at around $1050 at the low end for new XT:
XT group $630
Wheels $200
Fork $200

You can get a lot more bang for your buck getting a hated Motobecane with XT/XTR mix For $999 shipped. (http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom_elite09.htm)

I'd keep the Axis as is for mellow trail rides. Maybe keep eyes peeled for a fork to save your wrists. Hopefully it's 1 1/8"

1 1/8" is only a tad bigger so all I'd need is the threadless headset, stem (off my fixie), spacers and bars. The current bars are the same diameter as the fixie so they'll work. I was thinking of a 100mm travel fork since I'm 180+ pounds. 80mm probably wouldn't be enough. So far, I did a trail along Stoker *near Slauson Blvd* near Culver City (for those that might know the area)....

Well, I talked to my friend who's ridden a LONG time and worked at a bicycle shop. He said the geometry is NOT meant for suspension fork, and even if I could physically get it mounted, just riding (how a suspension fork is meant to be used) would cause severe damage to the headtube and a crash (if happening while riding). I guess I'll just get a nice set of SPD's, Kool Stop pads and call it a freakin day. Then if I like MTB'ing enough buy a properly designed FS bike...

I kinda think that was his own scary way of saying what I said at the beginning of post #7. ;)


1 1/8" is only a tad bigger so all I'd need is the threadless headset, stem (off my fixie), spacers and bars. The current bars are the same diameter as the fixie so they'll work. I was thinking of a 100mm travel fork since I'm 180+ pounds. 80mm probably wouldn't be enough. So far, I did a trail along Stoker *near Slauson Blvd* near Culver City (for those that might know the area).... The 1" vs 1 1/8" problem isn't so simple here. If your old Diamond Back is made for 1" forks, there's no reasonable way to adapt a 1 1/8" fork to it. I'm pretty sure your frame is made for 1" now, as I saw a 1991 with 1" and a 1993 on eBay with 1".

It would be tough to find a decent 1" suspension fork these days.

You'd probably have to look at a nice CX fork or I believe Dimensions has a 1" threadless but no disc I believe and it's cheap.

@LesterofPuppets: Yeah, now that I think about it, I measured the quill stem and it measures 25mm O.D. So I'm guessing going 1.125" (28.575mm) is definately out of the question. And if I could find 1" threaded I could hopefully rebuild the springs if I wanted...but then again, the concept of head tube angle comes into question. Is there an easy way of measuring the headtube angle?

A 1" quill stem means you've got a 1 1/8" threaded steerer tube - pretty common on upper end MTBs made after 1990.

Other than the geometry and head tube size, the front brake is another issue when adding a suspension fork to an older bike. Center pull cantis are gone from the MTB market. You'll need to upgrade to a front v-brake or disc brake.