It is a case of something old meeting something new and discovering that the May December romance between my beloved old Suntour bar cons and the modern SRAM X series derailleurs is one that has to be experienced first hand.

I love my vintage bicycles and have a particular fondness for vintage Suntour derailleurs, they are rugged and beautiful and just keep going year after year and mile after mile but they do have limits.

My separable touring bicycle runs a 53/48/40 with a 12-32 Suntour Ultra 7 freewheel that I built up and the SRAM X7 handles this rather massive capacity without skipping a beat and besides this... the shifting is smooth, quick, and precise because of the SRAM's excellent geometry and light action.

That, and the cable routing on the X series keeps the cable low and away from any pannier hooks... it was designed as an mtb derailleur so this is also beneficial to keep one from snagging the rear derailleur cable.



Today I refitted my Cascade Expedition bike by rebuilding the 6 speed Uniglide with new cogs and converted my 28/34/48 to a 48/52 half step with a 28 tooth granny. The Suntour Cyclone I had fitted could manage the range although the SRAM X5 I installed does just what the X7 does on my folder and that is shift with a lightness and precision that is awe inspiring and also handles a capacity range of 40 with room to spare.



Even one is not a fan of half step gearing, if you like friction shifters like Barcons it might be worth it to look at the X series derailleur as it was like these two components were made for each other.