best XT iteration?

[Cloverleaf]

M750, that modern stuff there. So obviously absolute pants and wash you mouth out. Vintage hardly even touches on being retro. (checks in - 97 section)

737 era was nice, nice chainrings. Front mech was faffy, something not quite right with the normal version.
Rear mechs OK, but wears out faster.
Vbrakes good but wear out and go floppy in a day.
Brake levers really nice, shifter good but don't feel so good on my thumb/fingers compared to say STX.
Cranks, look flimsy.
Headsts are really nice.
Really good solid hubs and the best cassette of the spider era.

M732/5 era is best though!
Just works, doesn't really break, lasts forever compared to M737
Shifters a pile of shite.

M730 OK too but the tech wasn't quite there.
The best XT part comes from here, the shark fin.

I'd actually forgotten some of that. Shimano headsets were lovely but I do think the XT one was the best of them, even more so than the M900 XTR. I think from a nostalgia perspective M739 was on the whole the best for me, but the M737 STI shifters just felt so solid and bombproof than the later V version. I'd also forgotten about how many of the M739 RH shifters I'd broken before switching to M952 XTR. I think the plastic cogs inside struggled when cables became slightly sticky and you were trying to shift under power as the ones I had on the XC bikes were always fine, it was DH stuff that seemed to kill them. Ditto with your comment on the M737 front mechs, especially on smaller frames like my 14" Trek, they just never worked as slickly on that as they did on other bikes. From a performance point of view it has to be the latest 12 speed stuff, it just works so well and is pretty much indestructible. No character though, for me that was epitomised by the M739 era.

 

[mk one]

M737!

I use it on all my bikes that get used for their purpose, riding hard and racing. Not the prettiest, though I do like the cranks, but the best working and reliable, all apart from the cantilevers, never got on with them personally, pair with Dia Compe arms and you have the perfect set up.

 

[Jimmy oldskool]

M737!

I use it on all my bikes that get used for their purpose, riding hard and racing. Not the prettiest, though I do like the cranks, but the best working and reliable, all apart from the cantilevers, never got on with them personally, pair with Dia Compe arms and you have the perfect set up.

I'd like some 737 cantis for one of my builds but the ones I've seen are telephone numbers!!!

 

[riskllama]

Best in terms of aesthetics, or functionality?

I guess I'm after durability.

 

[Jimmy oldskool]

I guess I'm after durability.

Depending on age of the build, you'd either want M732 or M739 with M732 Thumbshifters then...

 

[riskllama]

also, if I haven't said it before I'll say it now : you guys are great. the pool of knowledge on this forum never ceases to amaze me.

 

[bikeworkshop]

Given this stuff is 25 years old, wear and abuse is probably more significant than which iteration of early xt

 

[al-onestare]

M739. Even better than some bits of M950. I especially like the levers and rear mech; durable, slim and super reliable.

 

[Markybeau]

Given this stuff is 25 years old, wear and abuse is probably more significant than which iteration of early xt

Are you talking about members or groupsets?

 

[brocklanders023]

M732/5 with thumbies rather than STI, and black chain rings. Case closed.