Where does shimano saint fall into their product line? I thought it was blah blah, deore, deore lx, deore xt, xtr...

So I was looking at cranks and I saw some shimano "saint" stuff...and it was actually pretty expensive. Decent stuff?

Saint is the top of the line DH/FR group.

Also LX and Hone is being replaced by SLX which will have the sleeker Shadow design.
LX will still be around but promoted for Trekking.

SAINT is tougher but not as light as XTR.

Oh alright its more of a downhill thing

Yeah they are Shimano offering to gravity riders.

Which are better for DH and mild XC? SLX or XTR or SAINT? I'm interested in replacing my drive train.

Probably SLX. Not as light as XTR but tougher, not as tough as Saint but lighter for the XC stuff. Alot cheaper to raplace than XTR if crashed.

Plus the SLX stuff is updated LX stuff which looks to be on par with the current XT stuff but less$$.
The new SLX rear derailleur is one gram more than a XT for $20 less. The SLX crank looks real nice and is closer in weight to the XT cranks than the LX crank and costs a lot less than the XT.

Okay then, I'll probably be purchasing the SLX drivetrain.

Check out jensonUSA they had the Saint RD on clearance for like 25 or 30 bucks yesterday, requires the use of a Saint (or one of their other compatible model) hub to mount to as it doesn't use a traditional hanger but mounts to the axle itself, just something to look at if you are wanting to build right now and save quite a few bucks on at least that component. Good luck and have fun, everything I've heard about the Saint claims it's tough as nails.