Hush please..... some respect is due for Shimano XT

[chiswickcollectables]

Jonnyboy666's which part thread got me thinking recently and yesterday as I was cleaning a couple of my bikes - while brushing the filth out of my M780 SPDs I clocked the letters 'X' and 'T' on the side. Deore XT I thought to myself.... I've been taking this awesome groupo' for granted for too many years! For 20 years I've used and abused XT, I've acted like it's not there, I've treated it like shite, I've cheated on it by using other kit and overall my behaviour towards it has been appalling.

So I then thought its now time to make amends.. it is time to show some appreciation by taking ten mins to dedicate a thread to my all time favourite groupset, Deore XT.

Deore XT I love you! You have always been there for me, you have remained faithful and never let me down and for the past 20 years of my life you have remained constant... sort of like the Rovers Return of the bike world.. you're there when I need you. You have served so many purposes in the last 20 years. You've helped move my bike, change gears on my bike, stop my bike.. even protect my bike with you're little Shark Fin way back when I was just a young lad. You've given me somewhere to rest my feets while bombing down a hill or whilst tootling along gassing to my mates' (and fellow XT a abusers).... you're a true legend that's been there for the majority of the years I've been on this planet.

So let us gather round fellow XT users and abusers. What XT do you use? What XT do you take for granted? If you love 'old faithful' and respect it enough to show some appreciation this is your opportunity to take time and think about what it's meant to you over the last couple of decades. This is your chance to share stories and to tell the world what XT means to you. For me personally, my relationship with XT started way back in 1990 when I saw it in bike shops and catalogs strutting it's stuff on high-end steeds that remained out of my reach. Most manufacturers from Klein to Alpinestars; Marin to Orange used it on their top spec'd kit. My first XT taster was when I had to replace a broken M550 LX rear mech back in 1992. Somehow I managed to get the money together to fund a M730 mech and it was at that point a bond was formed. Little did I know then that those two letters 'X' and 'T' would remain with me in some form or another right up to the present day.

Here's a nostalgic look at some of my XT kit and although you can see things have changed over the years, two things have remained exactly the same....... 'X' and 'T'

One love... all XT haters' out there need not reply

Shifter

Brake

Cranks

Mech

Pedal

Cassette

Hub

Chain

Thanks for looking

 

[T'boo Ted]

must say XT is my stuff of choice. Have had other stuff, but I always upgrade to XT when something needs replacing, or just buy XT. XTR is nice and I'd like to run it, but only for pose value. XT does everything I need, so 95% of my parts are XT

was jsut thinking today fiddling with my Yeti that has been sitting on the balcony unloved for the last 6 months, the wheels, XT paralax hubs, new in early 94, never been even looked at let alone serviced, been raced XC and DH and all about on 3 different frames, the rear on its 3rd rim, front on 2nd, still run smooth as...

 

[Pyro Tim]

My first pieces of XT were my attempt of polishing a turd back in 92, and old DB Topanga. My current steed is XT throughout. I'd like XTR, but never saw the point, as it was twice the price of XT, but not twice as good. It was lighter yes, but not as reliable if totally abused.

Now I only ever consider XT for almost all my needs.

 

[Tazio]

Tough as old boots and has the benefit of trickledown from XTR. New XT has the same features as 2 year old XTR.

 

[t-stoff]

I still use my 1997 XT V-brakes. It was my only set of brakes since then so they have raced, crashed, and done tons of miles and still go on with no signs of wearing out.

 

[RockiMtn]

XT all the way!

from several sets of m730 bear traps and m737 SPDs, 7-spd XT thumbs running 8 spd gear, to my fav m737 groupset, m739 Vs with "parallel push" technology. and now to modern m775 hydro brakes and there lovely m785 trail SPDs.

Love it all!

 

[t-stoff]

I've always found the M739 V's prettier than XTR version. Thats one of the reason why I kept them.

 

[dbmtb]

Only XT I still have is M732-5.

There's nothing to not like about it. More of a workhorse than poncy M900.

M770 series was also very awesome but there's only so many bikes you can run so I had to let mine go to a good home as "my" modern bike is a shop demo for Hope and Middleburn......

Didn't like the period inbetween so much. M950-3 XTR was better (and better looking) than the XT stuff that was around at the same time. M770 was IMHO better than M970 XTR as it had better brake lever functionality, sprockets that didn't bend, a shifters and mechs that didn't break and the only item I ever considered an "upgrade" in XTR was the chainset......

Still preferring M780 XT to M780 XTR....

 

[legrandefromage]

nothing beats a shiny new M730 chainset.

 

[incorrigible]

LOVE the XT. Bought my first MTB at age 29, a 1989 Nshiki Alien new from the shop with all XT. I hadn't been on a bike for over a dozen years before I bought it, but I wanted the best because I knew I was going to get a lot of enjoyment out of biking again. I beat the crap out of that bike every day for at least 7 or 8 years, and the XT rarely, if ever, let me down. Sure, I toasted some rims and went thru a few crank bearings during that time, even bent the frame at one point, but the XT parts held strong.

Within a year after I bought my bike, I upgraded to STI 2-finger push-push levers, and have never wanted to use anything else.

No, the XT thumbies are long-gone.