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

[madjh]

There is a saying that says: from XTR down you should not speak, they are the pleb, you are the king ... or something like that

But since every body rides a XTR, the important thing is ... how many XTR do you have, of course only RD, If you ride with a XTR you are a PRO.

But if you put some colour to the bicycle you are .... holly s .... I haven´t match the cap end of the cables with the hubs!!, this is horrible!!

 

[stoney_god1975]

Never used to bothered 20 years ago... now 49, I've contracted OCD if nothing matches wife kicks me out until I get over it.

 

[Mr CC]

I have a combination of Alivio, STX and STX RC on mine 90s Univega. I remember I liked the STX RC name when I was young.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Stx rc was a good looking and hard working groupset.

I've noticed a few times with 90's MTBs that they have an XT rear mech but an LX front mech or an XTR rear and XT front as original fittings...why?

Often the rear derailleur was the groupset above the rest of the gears.

As you went cheaper, the brakes would be looky-likeys and if you went low enough, the hubs some own-brand-badged Taiwanese basicness - with a short-lived freehub body that was impossible to remove or replace

 

[madjh]

I have a combination of Alivio, STX and STX RC on mine 90s Univega. I remember I liked the STX RC name when I was young.

My first good bicyle was a Rock Rider 500 from 1997 and has SXT RC in RD, FD, hubs and brakes and was quite good, the brakes are the same as the LX but in silver, ... that bicycle was very good for the price. Today you get nothing with double the price with the inflation.

I love the STX RC, it was very close to the LX.

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

My first good bicyle was a Rock Rider 500 from 1997 and has SXT RC in RD, FD, hubs and brakes and was quite good, the brakes are the same as the LX but in silver, ... that bicycle was very good for the price. Today you get nothing with double the price with the inflation.

I love the STX RC, it was very close to the LX.

It was the colour that made STX RC for me.

 

[CassidyAce]

If the front and rear mechs are going to be from different points in the hierarchy, it makes more sense for the rear one to be the higher spec: yes, it gets noticed more, but it gets used more too. I can't say it bothers me.

 

[bikeworkshop]

It was the colour that made STX RC for me.

Lovely finish

I like the chromica of stx too, but the 7 speed fhb restricts choice.

 

[Cloverleaf]

XTR's a funny one; the jockey wheels on M735/9 mechs were so much better with their solid ceramic bushes that didn't ever seem to wear out, vs stupidly small ball bearings in the XTR ones, but the rest of the mech bagged out surprisingly quickly. Even today I find XTR 12spd stuff far superior to XT, particularly on the Santa Cruz which has quite a bit of chain growth which puts huge stress on the main pivot when combined with a clutch. But M950/952 XTR is absolutely the best looking mech IMO, and probably why all the bike manufacturers spec'd up on the rear mechs for each of their bikes compared to the rest of the range.

I remember back when I was riding for KTM they were always at pains to point out that if they said a full XT groupset they meant full XT, right down to the chain and proper Shimano cables. Not many brands ever did that. Cheapest BB, cassette and chain usually, with an XT mech on an otherwise LX bike.

Lovely finish

I like the chromica of stx too, but the 7 speed fhb restricts choice.

Yeah, that STX colour was almost as good as XTR. Can you not use an 8spd free hub and axle on them and then recentre? It's been so long since I've played with retro cup and cone bearings that any knowledge I did have has been long forgotten.

 

[Cloverleaf]

I like the chromica of stx too

I was curious about which STX parts were done like that and which weren't as I seemed to remember it being a special edition or some such. Anyway, according to Shimano's page it's actually 'Kuromika plating (black tin-nickel alloy plating)'. More useless information that has no doubt just pushed out something useful from my head...