Hi,

I'm in the process of purchasing my first hybrid and I was wondering if anyone could explain to me the difference between the Shimano components and their importance? Is there really a big difference between Tourney, Altus, Acera, and Alivio? Does it make a big difference as to where they are used (ex. Shifters, Front/Rear Derailleur)? I'm a bit confused on the Shimano front. What should I be looking for?

-Accel.

Quality levels...
Tourney
Altus
Acera
Alivio
Deore
etc.
I read some comments here some prefer Acera at the minimum. The jump to Deore from what I read can be significant.

I noticed though if you look at bicycles at the same price like two $450 bicycles, if one has suspension forks and disc brakes, it could have Shimano Tourney on it (some people don't recommend) while another one with rigid forks and V-brakes could have Acera on it.

At the other extreme, where most people probably don't want to go, if you went with Falcon friction shifters for example, you wouldn't care too much about index shifting performance. Some distance cyclists on this site though say Deore LX will last longer than lower quality levels.

Shimano also has a xmart level below Tourney.

Tourney should be suitable for 7 speed systems, although I've used it for 9 speed friction shifting since I needed a claw mount RDER.

I think much has to do with how well you set it up + having things like FDER's match your chain ring curvature.

each are adequate for the price. as said there are cost levels
made to meet a target price point of the whole bike.

That choice is the Product Manager's decision.

most are a product of a fully automated manufacturing process .
to make millions of them to supply the factories building bikes.

the bottom line price is a mix of the parts list ..

sometimes a nicer piece is featured at the trade off of a simpler few elsewhere.

but the total cost remains the same. the target price chosen.

Is the difference just lifetime or does it function way different/faster or something? My tourney derailleurs on my db have always worked perfect.

Altus rear on my new bike perfect too, the front one on new bike sometimes takes a push until click plus another half push of the trigger to shift up. That somewhat normal or should I tension the cable more or something?

The altus triggers on new bike have really given me a hatred of the revo/twist ones on old bike (front friction) that I liked perfectly fine before.( I guess because up until then my only experience on a bike with gears was the huffy stone mountain I had from age 12 to 15 that had thumb-push friction shifters for both)

And as some hybrids have road bike based components .... top to bottom: from Wiki

• Dura-Ace Di2 [9070] (11 speed electronic)
• Dura-Ace [9000] (11 speed)
• Dura-Ace Track [7710] (NJS-approved, which is a requirement of all bicycle components used in professional Keirin racing in Japan)
• Ultegra Di2 [6870] (11 speed electronic)
• Ultegra Di2 [6770] (10 speed electronic)
• Ultegra [6800] (11 speed)
• Ultegra [6700] (10 speed)
• 105 [5700] (10 speed)
• Tiagra [4600] (10 speed)
• Sora [3500] (9 speed)
• Claris [2400] (8 speed)

I didn't memorize everything but I did read a message from someone saying he questioned clients for years about the difference between Alivio and Deore. Deore apparently needed to be adjusted less often and worked better when pedaling fast.

You'll notice if you make big jumps. If you go from say Altus to acera, you won't notice a thing. But if you go from Altus to acera, you'll notice things work much more nicely. And the parts get a little lighter as you go up the chain. The other thing you get are more sturdy components. Most casual riders won't notice a difference between xt and xtr but the price jump between the two can be quite drastic. If you're handy and can turn a wrench, you could swap out components yourself. It's not that hard and there are many YouTube videos that will show you how. But it's generally cheaper to buy the bike with the stuff you want versus upgrading all of the components.

Then you need to pay attention to the number of speeds that the equipment will handle. Some of the lower end stuff will only do 7 speeds and others 8 and hen as you go up you'll get into 9 and 10 speed. You'll notice a big difference in changing the shifters before he deraileurs. He gear changes are smoother and more direct. You'll notice a difference between acera and xt v brakes as well. The xt brakes will stop you more immediately. And then when you step up to str brakes, those are really grippy.

At the end of the day, if you are just beginning, any bike that you get from an LBS will be vastly better than a department store bike.