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Saint or XO

Nov 9, 2005
692
0
Looking for a fast and smooth shifting rear derailuer that can hit a few rocks and not break. I like the saints mounting style but i like the 1:1 ratio on the XO. Any advice would help
 

face

Monkey
Sep 14, 2005
209
0
northern utah
i have saint derailuer and i also am a fan of the mounting system but i think sram has a lot better shifting quaility i.e smoother and more precise if you are racing i would go with sram but for general riding and shralpin' the gnarl id go with saint or even hone.
 

bballe336

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2005
1,757
0
MA
x.0 is much better. I have felt saint's and they are slow compared to my x.7's. the x.0 is the best derailluer period.
 

aggrorider

Monkey
Sep 20, 2005
209
0
X-0 for sure

I have an X-0 RD and I have nothing but good things to say about it. And the new X-0 shifter pods have come from heaven. They are so precise and so smooth. I love them.

Saint is nice, but I have to say that I have never riden them on a true ride. But, from the small ride on the saints I still have to say X-0 IMO. I strongly suggest getting the saint crankset. I have one and the thing is light and stiff as hell.
 

aggrorider

Monkey
Sep 20, 2005
209
0
SBDownhillRacer said:
yea but how durable is the X) cuz where i live there a lot of rocks so the derailuer has to take the impact
I have a medium cage RD and I live up North in the woods. I have had no problems with derailleurs ripping off.
 

face

Monkey
Sep 14, 2005
209
0
northern utah
the only problem with shimano is that you've got to maintain them a lot i think x.0 just works better. shimano does have a better design though for downhilling and freeriding but that is about it not much else to rave about
 
Nov 9, 2005
692
0
if i got the haldey hubs then they come with a new axle that is set up for the saint
but i like the XO and the XO trigger shifters
 

krustydude

Monkey
Mar 16, 2004
198
0
Richland, WA
if you don't mind spending the money, xo for sure. my buddy runs them, but he has ripped three of them off. he doesn't mind spending the cash though. i have shimano xtr on one bike and x9 on another and i'm sure you know that the x9 kicks the shimano's butt. i have heard of other examples of people ripping them off, may just be rumor though.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
I personally hate the shape of Sram trigger shifters (even XO), so I run Shimano shifting. Plus XO is really expensive, and SB trails aren't too RD friendly.
 

SXtrailrider

Turbo Monkey
Aug 27, 2005
1,189
0
taht is why you should go with x/9 or X7's they are almost as good as the Xo's but cheaper buy a lot and still have the 1:1 ratio. Just go cheaper trevor, because the derailer is the first part of you bike that is going to brake under use on trail rides especially at SB.
 

blt2ride

Turbo Monkey
May 25, 2005
2,333
0
Chatsworth
Bicyclist said:
I personally hate the shape of Sram trigger shifters (even XO), so I run Shimano shifting. Plus XO is really expensive, and SB trails aren't too RD friendly.
Really...I love Sram's trigger shifter; that's the only reason I haven't switched back to Shimano.

If you're riding the trails in SB, your best bet would be to run XT stuff...www.jensonusa.com has them for $39.95 right now...just my $.02.
 
Nov 9, 2005
692
0
yea i think im going to go with the saint because its built really strong and from what ive herd it sjifts pretty smooth. it is also a lot less than the XO and the saint shifters are less than the XO ones
 

face

Monkey
Sep 14, 2005
209
0
northern utah
Bicyclist said:
I personally hate the shape of Sram trigger shifters (even XO), so I run Shimano shifting. Plus XO is really expensive, and SB trails aren't too RD friendly.
so can you run sram drivetrain with shimano trigger shifters? i thought you couldn't because of the 1:1 thing? i like the shimano shifter pods alot more but think i want sram derailuers.
 

vitox

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2001
2,936
1
Santiago du Chili
this weekend i saw the most impressive derailleur survival story ever.

a friend got his RD sucked up into his spokes, trashed the rear wheeel completely, busted the derailleur cage, bent the hanger (this was a really thick dropout, not easy to do), but the derailleur itself was fine, the paralellogram is still straight and with a new cage and bolt it will be back in service. i have never seen anything like that.
 

TheInedibleHulk

Turbo Monkey
May 26, 2004
1,886
0
Colorado
Every derailleur rips off. The saint is by far the strongest but it weighs a ridiculous amount and is way too expensive. An XO works real nice but it is far from bomb proof and for what it costs it should be made out of gold. Here's what you do, take the hundred plus dollars you were gonna spend on a derailleur you were gonna break anyway and buy like 5 shimano tiagra or sram X5 or whatever derailleurs, and you will be set for quite a while. They'll all get you through the gears just fine. If you really dont want the hassle of swapping derailleurs get a saint, but an XO is a great way to blow 125 bucks in a weekend.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
vitox said:
this weekend i saw the most impressive derailleur survival story ever.

a friend got his RD sucked up into his spokes, trashed the rear wheeel completely, busted the derailleur cage, bent the hanger (this was a really thick dropout, not easy to do), but the derailleur itself was fine, the paralellogram is still straight and with a new cage and bolt it will be back in service. i have never seen anything like that.
Suntour?:p


I had a saint derailleur for about a week. I never whacked it but based on the bulk and the fact that it's probably the same material as shimanos other high end derailleurs, I don't think it would be any more durable consruction wise. It does have the cool pivot that swings back though, which is a plus. But the lamest thing about saints is that they are freakin RAPID RISE. It's near impossible to downshift under any sort of chain load...........like in sprinting up short steeps sections.........

That said, I've bent and broken derailleur hangers with x.0 derailleurs and had them on my DH bikes for 4 years. I've killed one beyond repair (bending it back). I have no idea how many xtr, xt, ultegra derailleurs I broke before that. I lost count.
 

vitox

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2001
2,936
1
Santiago du Chili
kidwoo said:
Suntour?:p

.

That said, I've bent and broken derailleur hangers with x.0 derailleurs and had them on my DH bikes for 4 years. I've killed one beyond repair (bending it back). I have no idea how many xtr, xt, ultegra derailleurs I broke before that. I lost count.

it was an x0 :nopity:

so you been rocking the x0 since before the pros eh? what do you trhink bout the new ones?
 

face

Monkey
Sep 14, 2005
209
0
northern utah
you could get hone it's the same as saint but cheaper if i were to build up a bike and was worried about the srams durability or didn't want to fork over the money for saint i get gone it sounds like hone would also work well for you.
 

kidwoo

Artisanal Tweet Curator
vitox said:
it was an x0 :nopity:

so you been rocking the x0 since before the pros eh? what do you trhink bout the new ones?
No I got a derailleur the same time as the pros.:blah: One of the guys I ride with got the hookup when he was on the pro norba circuit pretty religiously. It's one that came out before the dates were etched on the cage. They started doing that in 03 right? Am I wrong? Maybe it's 3 years. I know I had one on my 02 armageddon.

I don't have a new one because I haven't needed one. I'm wondering if the cages break since they can't bend. You'll enjoy the fact that the only X.0 I've completely destroyed was on dhtahoe's bike. I gave him mine and took his for extra bits.:)

I kind of figured your story involved some sort of sram. It's amazing the shapes you can make those things bend into with no noticible difference in shifting.
 

Mattoid

Monkey
Aug 3, 2003
973
0
Charlottesville, Virginia
Even my x9 holds up to loads of abuse. And I mean loads, ive ripped a few hangers off in crashes this past season and im on the same x9 derailer. Cant you get 2 x9s for the price of an x0? Did I mention my x9 shifts flawlessly?
 

face

Monkey
Sep 14, 2005
209
0
northern utah
^^^ yeah that what was i was wondering is the quality any better with x.0 or is it just blingin' is x.0 any better than x.9 or even x.7?
 

Sir_Crackien

Turbo Monkey
Feb 7, 2004
2,051
0
alex. va. usa.
XO out of the choises. i would also look into the x9 or even the x7. they are way cheaper and have been on of the most reliable parts on my bike. now how often can you say that!.
 

aggrorider

Monkey
Sep 20, 2005
209
0
Adam Novatt said:
taht is why you should go with x/9 or X7's they are almost as good as the Xo's but cheaper buy a lot and still have the 1:1 ratio. Just go cheaper trevor, because the derailer is the first part of you bike that is going to brake under use on trail rides especially at SB.
have you tired the new X-0 pods. I don't think so because there is a BIG differance between X-9 and X-0. X-0 is just so smooth and has such a defiant short click into gear.
 

Dusty Bottoms

Monkey
Sep 10, 2001
101
0
Santa Monica
I'm currently using an all sram setup on my freeride bike, but seem to go through about 4-5 derailleurs a year. I'm dealing with the same dilemna.....sram vs. saint. I like the idea of bolting a saint derailleur directly to my axle, it would definietely be more durable. However, switching over comes with quite a few downsides, enough to make the decision very hard. The downsides to the Saint setup are as follows....

1. Rapid ride shifting - I'm not against learning how to shift backwards, but I have 2 bikes and would likely want to switch both bikes to keep from going insane.

2. frame slap - Shimano r/d's are notoriously loud smacking against your frame. They even admit this problem by installing a bumper on the Saint r/d. SRAM r/d's are silent in the chunk, and on drops.

3. the Shimano cable loop - it hate it. It's ugly and un-necessary. SRAM's cable routing is hot in comparison.

4. more new parts - to switch to Saint you'll need 2:1 compatible shifters.

Anyway, I will likely stay with a SRAM drivetrain and install one of these Hanger Bangers to protect it. I spoke with the makers and they should be ready with a 12mm version by the end of the year.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
I would just buy a Shimano 105 short cage 9-speed derailleur because it's out of the way and then spend your extra money on one of those hanger bangers. LX shifters work really well. All that is way less than a Sram setup unless you buy crappy stuff.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
Like a lot of us I have been riding Shimano parts for many years. The next bike I put together will be XO. Better shifting feel, more adjustability, more durability, competitive weight, rebuildable, etc.

Oh and in my not so humble opinion, rapid rise is stupid and so is dual control. I knew that the first time I rode it, but I kept it on my bike for more than a year so I can say I gave it a shot. It just takes too long to downshift with rapid rise, and apparently I lean on my brake levers because I got a lot of inadvertent shifts with dual control.
 

Mattoid

Monkey
Aug 3, 2003
973
0
Charlottesville, Virginia
XO is much better quality than an X9, hence the price difference. Something about the body being forged instead of caste or some junk like that. Still, Ill take the gamble that one of my "cheap" x9 derailers will fall apart, after all it just takes one hit good hit regardless. Plus like I said before, my x9 holds up just fine :)
 
Nov 9, 2005
692
0
yea either saint or hone because of how their shaped they can take the beating well it sounds like and im not a huge weight weenie so a lil extra weight wont bother me i could find a way to get rid of it some how