Disclaimer - I know nothing about mountain bikes other than the wisdom gleaned from this forum.

I am a couple hours away from picking up a somewhat thrashed 95 Gary Fisher Montare. The main issue is that it is missing the RD. It was originally a 7 speed Shimano STX RC.

Question is whether I should source a replacement of the original or if there is a better vintage MTB RD to obtain for this bike. This will be a drop bar conversion commute/light trail/short tour set up. I just don't want to get the STX RC if there is a better vintage MTB appropriate one out there that will wind up costing me a similar amount.

Your guidance is much appreciated in advance.

As far as I know, XTR is Shimano's top of the line. The name is still being used with their modern MTB components,but you can find vintage ones on eBay every once in a while

pretty much any long cage shimano derailleur from the late 80s onward will work fine. I'd look for something at the with Deore or XTR in the name, but really probably anything will work. STX was one step the lowest end deore level i believe.

Are you looking to just replace the derailleur with a quality model, or are you looing to go back to period correct? If you want a good replacement, go with a new deore level drailleur, it's tough and handles a 34T large cog. If you want to get the original STX-RC, you'll have to get it on ebay or from a BF member, they are no longer available. STX-RC derailleurs are solid, LX and XT models are higher up on the component list.

@Frantik: I'm pretty sure that STX models were the equivalent of today's Deore in the derailleur heirarchy. LX, XT, and XTR were above. I don't remember a plain old "Deore" model during that era.

I thought the Deerhead models were the precursor to Deore?

STX's part numbers are MC-30 which is more on the Exage level i would say. Exage isn't bad.. honestly even the altus/acera stuff from this period is fine and usable, just heavier

Personally I wouldn't go out of my way to find an 'ideal' RD for a bike that was originally equipped with STX, just whatever was cheap and easy to get ahold of

Deore existed before Deerhead.. Deerhead is Deore XT

Deore was in and out like many component names. Around 1995 it went something like XTR, deore-XT, deore-LX, STX-RC, STX, then maybe acera followed by altus? not sure. Later deore became a group on its own again which fell just below LX... today LX has become a touring group and has been relaced by SLX in the MTB line-up.

Dsm Berg, I suggest you source an 8 speed derailleur from that period in the STX-XT range. I would say the XT is the best for all around value. XTR is sweet, but I wouldn't put one on unless I got a real good deal on it. It might be a tad lighter, but you won't notice much difference even from the STX, those 8 speed derailleurs were awesome. Stay away from the 9speeds, I don't know what they changed by in my experience I see more pooched 9speed XT and deore derailleurs than I do 7/8speed... I also find that the 9 speed just don't shift as well on 7/8 speed systems as the originals... I got a new deore 9speed shadow and tried to set it up with 8speed ultegra bar-cons and it just didn't work as well as the old stx/acera style derailleur I have (once the sticker is gone its hard to tell the difference unless you check the part number, but I don't care enough to do so).

If the STX RD is anything like some other STX stuff I've got on my old Trek 930, it will work just fine as long as its not worn out. I always thought that STX was pretty good kit. Just clean it up, drop some Triflow on it and ride it. If it's flakey, you should easily find some Deore around that's OK. I used an Alivio RD for untold miles for nearly 15 years. It was a treat until it needed new jockey wheels and some other tiny kit-bits still in the Shimano catalog. Looks good to go for another 15 years. And STX, I believe, was up the scale from Alivio!

+1 on the 9 speed RDs - your best value RD would be an 8 speed LX or XT from that period.

Ah thank-you it was Alivio after STX, also a great derailleur in the 8 speed era.

STX-RC made it's debut in 1995. It was produced until 1999 but rec'd an 8 speed upgrade in 1997. It was 4th in Shimano's hierarchy of off-road groups behind XTR, Deore XT and Deore LX. It replaced STX SE which was a 1994 only group that replaced Exage ES.

Personally, I would go with a current Shimano Altus derailleur. They're pretty much the modern equivalent of STX, having aluminum upper and lower pivot housings mated to steel parallelograms arms and cage. Thye're also pretty inexpensive at around $25 and should be readily available through any LBS. Alternately, you can always try to source something C&V, pay the shipping and wait for it to arrive.

As always, I'm blown away by the good input here. At least now I have a "shopping list" to see what's out there. The STX RC group, minus the RD, is in great shape. The bike has been abused, but ridden little.

The pickup of the bike was what could only be described as classic craigslist. The guy was quite small and had been riding the 19.5 inch frame with the seatpost buried. For some inexplicable reason he had greased - yes, greased - the entire exterior (and some interior) of the cassette. Other than some paint dings and old cables, it's in pretty decent shape. Wheels are true and corrosion free. The hanger is bent so that will be a fun part to source.


Here it is after early stages of tear down:



Should be fun. Thanks, gang!

Nice looking bike, you may find looking for a STX RC RD can be a pain ( it was for me a few months ago), so consider looking at the 730 series XT RD's ie, 732, 735 739 as they wouldn't look out of place on it and may be easier to find. The standard STX stuff while I like it wasn't as nice as the STX RC IMHO. I read something a long time ago that STX was Shimanos first offroad only built group, everything else they had at the time had trickled down from their Touring groups of the past.

Glenn