DERAILLERS -SHIMANO STX/STI VS ALTUS
mike
im looking at a new bike and am wondering which of these is a
superior derailleur. the dealer says the Altus is superior than the
stx. Is this true? Also, what are the differences between the two?
Thanks for the help!!
Eric Rainey
Last time I checked, stx was the superior component.
XTR->XT->LX->STX-RC->STX->Alivio/altus/etc. Personally, I wouldn't ride
less than STX. Probably as durable as LX or XT, but not as smooth or
lightweight. This is of course assuming you'll be riding at least
moderately technical singletrack. If you're sticking to the fire roads
and streets, go for the altus, its cheaper (or should be).
BTW, you might want to check a different shop.
jim frost
30er...@sophia.sph.unc.edu (Eric Rainey) writes:
>Personally, I wouldn't ride
>less than STX. Probably as durable as LX or XT, but not as smooth or
>lightweight.
The differences between groups varies a lot depending on which
component you're talking about, and jumps of more than one or two
component group levels show significant differences. Mostly the
differences amount to greater durability, easier maintenance and
repair, and lighter weight.
Rear derailleurs, for instance, vary quite a bit in bushings, pulleys,
and parallelogram construction. There aren't big differences between
LX and XT, but there are significant differences between Acera->STX,
STX->LX, and XT->XTR -- differences which are not immediately obvious
on the first ride but show up as the unit ages. A year of hard riding
will result in an STX derailleur with a lot of slop but an XTR
derailleur will still shift like new.
In some cases the lower-end components are actually more durable --
STX chainrings, which are steel, are more durable than their
higher-end aluminum counterparts -- but don't shift nearly as well and
weigh a lot more.
Another big difference is subcomponent replacability. Acera and
Alivio chainrings aren't replacable, for instance, and the STI units
are similar -- you can replace some parts of the LX->XTR units (like
the brake lever) that are integral to the Acera->STX units. This
affects what kinds of repair/maintenance you can do on the units, and
generally means that better components have longer lifetimes.
STX is certainly a very usable group for off-road, but if you ride it
hard it'll wear out quickly and it's a lot harder to maintain than LX
or better. On the other hand it's dirt cheap so you can afford to
replace it more often. I know people who swear by the STX
derailleurs, figuring that they trash derailleurs a couple of times a
season anyway so there's no sense in buying more durable equipment.
For my money the best group in terms of price/performance is LX,
particularly since most of the components are practically
indistinguishable from the more expensive XT line.
jim frost
ji...@world.std.com
--
http://world.std.com/~jimf