Am I the only one who thinks m900 xtr shifters are cack?
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I wish people would read things properly, Yes they are Retro... but Ian is happily comparing M900 shifters to some of the lesser groups from the same period... makes for a bit of debate, which is why most of us come here...
I've tried talking to the wife about the merits of STX RC over bog standard STX (or even SE), but I always get a more reasoned response on here...
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hollister":2cto2luc said:
Tell us what the X and T stand for and I'd be impressed.
I'm not keen on any of the early rapidfire shifters. In 1992 I was using XT Rapidfire Plus shifters on the bike I raced on.
The throw of the shifter lever was and still is very short when compared to modern Rapidfires.
I reverted back to thumbshifters as I just wasn't keen on how fragile the Rapidfires felt.
XTR M900s feel even more fragile due to their more lightweight 'Race' design.
Later designs improved but it wasn't until about 1997 or thereabouts when I was happy using them. Modern rapidfires are great nowadays.
In terms of Gripshift, I used X-Ray SRT800, ESP900 and then ESP9.0 for a few years from 1995 onwards in that order.
The non ESP types (SRT600 - 800) suffered from cable drag and weren't that nice to use. The ESP types however, with their 1:1 cable actuation ratio, were a vast improvement and worked very well.
Very intuitive to use and very reliable, but I can understand why some people don't like them, especially with Shimano's efforts to undermine the concept by offering their own cheap and nasty versions over many years.
So yes in summary, XTR M900 rapidfire plus shifters aren't that great. Fragile and temperamental, but great when they are set up well, looked after and maintained constantly.
A mechanic in the pits often helps for the above...
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XT-Race 8spd shifters were not that good, neither were the XT 7spd rapid fire plus for that matter. The shifting was simply not as positive as the later versions.
What is better has been every generation since, even the humble Alivio. The pawls and the ratchet system are sharper if you compare the internals side by side, with later generations shifting much more smoothly and with a better snappier feel over the early version. Even the 3/4/500LX versions have a better more robust click about them but even to this day, the grease used still gets all guggy and the bloody left hand shifter will slowly stop working properly (loob and flush, gents, loob and flush).
What is better has been every generation since, even the humble Alivio. The pawls and the ratchet system are sharper if you compare the internals side by side, with later generations shifting much more smoothly and with a better snappier feel over the early version. Even the 3/4/500LX versions have a better more robust click about them but even to this day, the grease used still gets all guggy and the bloody left hand shifter will slowly stop working properly (loob and flush, gents, loob and flush).
I'm thinking the same. Shame shimano only made m900 in sti, as it would be nice to be able to run reliable shifters with the rest of the m900 group set. Maybe I'm cynical, but perhaps that's why t here was never a separate shifter/brake lever for m900?klasse":1hdntsb2 said:
