Shimano Deore XT

Pros: Smooth shifting, cheaper than XTR
Cons: Adjustment period

One of the biggest differences between a department store bike and a high end mountain bike, besides price, weight, safety, and comfort, is shifting. If your $40 Huffy shifts AT ALL, you should consider it an accomplishment. Remember to sit down while ...

Pros: works like a charm, costs less than XTR, sturdier?
Cons: a touch heavier than XTR

I have ridden, and broken, almost every derailleur ever to pop up on the biking scene. Ok I'm exaggerating, but let me put it this way, I own three mountain bikes, and they are set up with LX, XT, and XTR rear derailleurs respectively. But here...

Pros: Smooth shifting
Cons: they break all the time

It makes almost too much sense, if you have a bike with a Hyperglide(HG) cassette and chaninrings you need an HG chain to go with them. Shimano will go as far as to say that you absolutely must use a HG chain or face horrible consequences. While most...

Pros: Incredibly smooth, quick, reliable shifts. Very durable over the long haul.
Cons: Doesn't have the XTR "cool" factor.

I have to be honest. I was a little skeptical about Shimano's performance line when they redesigned it pretty much from the ground up. Their old stuff worked great and I couldn't imagine why they would want to mess with that. Well, I found out when I...

Pros: Cheap, pretty, and just plain works
Cons: See above, everybody and their brother rides it

The new XT component line from Shimano is what everyone who seriously rides but does not have deep pockets has been waiting for. Next to the V brakes the XT derailure is the most improved component of this group. As for performance there isnt that much...

Pros: Smooth dependable shifting. Durable, light. Great for dyslexic bikers!
Cons: If you bought a tranny for your car and suddenly reverse was drive, you'd understand.

Doh! I just bought a new drive train, (shimano crankset, chain, derailleur , cassette), dividing the parts up to what I understand about the performance of each. I've been riding mountain bikes for over 15 and less than 20 years, and except in ...

Pros: Precise Shifting & reliability
Cons: None

I went from Shimano Deore to the Shimano XT rear derailleur when my old one finally died. I was very impressed with the amount of improvement that this derailleur provided in my shifting. You click once and whata ya know its shifts to the next gear....

Pros: Buttery smooth shifting, affordable race level quality, 8 or 9 speed
Cons: None yet.

I don't care much about weight on my bike but I know this does save weight over most competitors. The shifts like the chain isn't even there. I upgraded from LX which is only one step lower but the difference is huge. The 11-tooth pulleys last longer...

Pros: Good for all but Pro riders
Cons: Little heavier than I like

While it's a little heavier than the XTR part, I feel the cost saving more than makes up for it. This derailleur is solid and has not mis-shifted once on me, even shifting under a load (shifting while climbing). Ok I'll admit it doesn't have the XTR's...

Pros: Value, works (extremely) well for the price.
Cons: Some plastic parts, like the barrel adjuster.

I recently upgraded the cassette on the 15-yr old 8-speed road bike to add larger gears...up to 30T...in the rear. I hoped that my old Ultegra short cage derailleur would accommodate the increased range, but no. I installed the Deore Rapid Rise this weekend, and it's smooth, accurate, and adjusts nicely.

I would recommend this to someone who wants to get triple-chain ring gear rations (or nearly so) on a double chain ring bike. If you go with big gears in the rear, get a long range derailleur. For most riders, it would probably work as well as a derailleur of twice the price.

I have no issues with the low-normal (Rapid Rise) shifting. Since I'm the only one riding my bike, I'm the only one that has to get used to it. I suspect that the spring action pulling the derailleur to the larger gears makes for smoother shifting.

I'm giving it 4-stars, but will consider upgrading this rating once I have enough miles on it to gage durability.

Pros: durability, weight
Cons: beware of the wheels rays!!!

Mine is quite old, but still in good shape... the durability is excellent. But always check the distance between the shimano XT and the wheel spokes!