Originally Posted by
corrado33
Look at where the cable connects on the back. (The "lighter grey" thing.) Now, I believe the socket bolt on the far side swings DOWN, so obviously it could be used with a bottom pull bike. (I'm not sure, I'm looking at an X5 in front of me where as the picture is an X7) However, if you look on the close side you see a cable guide that would allow the same socket bolt to be used with a top pull bike. (If the cable goes through the cable guides then connects to the same bolt.)
Many Shimano MTB derailleurs use the same concept; you either connect the wire directly or wrap it 180 degrees around a drum type of feature and then connect it. The leverage is the same either way since they are made with a common radius.