A question on XTR, XT and LX mechs on 90's MTB

[mk one]

It's very unlikely it was o.e.

I've never seen a new bike supplied with a higher quality front than rear mech in many thousand bike sales.

It's quite easy to twist a new triple derailleur if it's knocked or poorly set up - and if the shop had an xt on the shelf, it would make more sense to fit that rather than order an lx in at the same price.

Marin ran XTR front mech with XT rear, Kona also liked to mix the groupsets up, a lot of experimentation during the 90's though.

 

[fearfactoryüberalles]

For me, it's always the cost/weight/function ratio what matters. M737/9 short cage rear mechs are the same weight as XTR ones for half a cost, and look lovely with their polished frontplate/full alloy backplate.

For cantis/8sp. the ST-M567 is the lightest Big S STI, and works flawlessly. I tend to pimp BBs and cranksets up though, as choosing/speccing them properly can be very rewarding looks/weight wise. I do love a matching groupset, but won't ignore different brand/group parts that are readily available and superior to their peers.