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Suggestions for a good DH derailer

greg0936

Chimp
Mar 15, 2006
13
0
Im looking for some suggestions on some good DH derailer, i have a gemini and previously was using XT and went through 2 of them any better suggestions?
 

greg0936

Chimp
Mar 15, 2006
13
0
ugh i dunno i just have bad luck, this is the second one i have toasted, they just shear off, maybe from vibrations and **** from drops i dunno im just sick of em breaking is all
 

frznnomad

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
2,226
0
a-town biatches
wow you only went threw two. ive went threw 3 xt's in one day at the showdown at sugar. finally got feed up with it and put on a short cage 105 and havent looked back since. ohh this was also about a year and a half ago and my 105 is still running strong.
 

TheMontashu

Pourly Tatteued Jeu
Mar 15, 2004
5,549
0
I'm homeless
9Xts in 2 months put me on sram, I ran an X9 for a year then switched to an X0, broke 2 short cages in 6 months and the original x9 long cage went back on and has been going strong for the past 6 months, although I am replacing it with an X0.
 

heikkihall

Monkey
Dec 14, 2001
882
0
Durango, CO
I think you will run into problems with just about anything that you try. I had endless problems with SRAM I broke countless X.9s, a few X.0s then went back to Shimano. I did not have a single issue with my XTs all season on any of my bikes. Maybe it is luck but my experience with Shimano has been much more pleasant.

What frame are you running? Maybe try a Saint?
 

ZHendo

Turbo Monkey
Oct 29, 2006
1,661
147
PNW
definitely get sram, nothing compares. shimano still can't get a hint in terms of their spring tension settings, whereas sram actually knows how to make a derraileur stay in one spot and not throw the chain across your cogs a million times throughout one run. as you can see, i'm very anti-shimano in terms of rear derraileurs. i have heard that shimano is onto something good with the saint though, supposed to be the most bomber derraileur ever, but i'm never touching shimano unless i'm very, very desperate.
 

Jim Mac

MAKE ENDURO GREAT AGAIN
May 21, 2004
6,352
282
the middle east of NY
As countless others have said:

cheap: 105 short cage - got one on my wife's dh bike. She has bashed the crap out of it via Plattekill and those Whiteface rock squeezes and it's still standin' tall!

not as cheap: X9 short cage. I am eagerly awaiting one as we speak.
 

Banshee Rider

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2003
1,452
10
07 X9 derailleur and shifter are nice, and come in short/medium cage options. Perfect comprimise between price and performance IMO. Shifts like XO, but doesn't have you holding a formal burial ceremony when it finally breaks. Shimano just can't touch it (He said touch it!) at the moment. My 2 cents.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,559
24,182
media blackout
i don't know what it is, but i blow through deraillers like they're nothing (12 last season). I used to work at a shop, so I would just rummage through the used der bin until I found something decent or enough parts to frankenstien something together. and i keep enough spare parts with me when i go to the mountains the i can rig something together and keep riding.


oh and a note on short cage deraillers: if you're running a mtb cassette (12-34, as opposed to something for road thats 12-26 or smaller), make sure you add extra chain, especially if your frame has a lot of chain growth as it goes through its travel, otherwise you'll just blow up your derailler (happened to me once)
 

Rip

Mr. Excitement
Feb 3, 2002
7,327
1
Over there somewhere.
I think you will run into problems with just about anything that you try. I had endless problems with SRAM I broke countless X.9s, a few X.0s then went back to Shimano. I did not have a single issue with my XTs all season on any of my bikes. Maybe it is luck but my experience with Shimano has been much more pleasant.

What frame are you running? Maybe try a Saint?
The OP mentioned a Gemini.
 

Zark

Hey little girl, do you want some candy?
Oct 18, 2001
6,254
7
Reno 911
The short cage 105.
Cheap, out of the way, and suprisingly tough
I could wax 4 of 'em in a row and it'd still be cheaper than an XO
 

coma13

Turbo Monkey
Feb 14, 2006
1,082
0
The short cage 105.
Cheap, out of the way, and suprisingly tough
I could wax 4 of 'em in a row and it'd still be cheaper than an XO
I'll second that... Also, the spring tension on these is like 100X tighter than their mountain derailleurs... The performance/price ratio is unmatchable... Now if I could just splurge on something other than my old, haggard, all plastic LX shifter I'd have a smooth shifting setup!
 

SinatorJ

Monkey
Jul 9, 2002
582
51
AZ
I don't know how you guys go thru so many derailers. I have not broken one in 4 seasons. My Last 3 DH bikes all used Dura Ace and I didn't have a single problem. Maybe try to be more careful wen transporting bikes or just don't crash as much
 

frznnomad

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
2,226
0
a-town biatches
the reason i ended up breaking so many xt's is due to all the rocks that we have on some of our trails like sugar. i was running a long cage derrailure on a course with nothing but rocks. that is what caused me so many problems with mine.
 

bushrider

Monkey
Jul 4, 2006
146
0
NYC
Apparently for 2007 shimano is releasing a standard pull Saint RD as well a version that mounts to the derailler hanger.
This will make Saint compatible with pretty much any frame.

I ran a saint RD half of last season with no probs, DH inc drops.
The Saint RD took a few direct hits from rocks and sicks and still looks new.

Shifting is as good as the XTR 952 that the Saint replaced.
 

Ian F

Turbo Monkey
Sep 8, 2001
1,016
0
Philadelphia area
I ran the same XTR mid-cage 8 spd for 6 years. It's beat to hell from slapping against the chain stay of an M-1 for 4 years , but still works... I keep it in my pack as a on-trail back-up for my current bikes (also XTR 8 spd). I always kept a spare derailleur on hand... maybe that's why I never broke it... :rolleyes:
 

frznnomad

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2005
2,226
0
a-town biatches
dogboy is right. if you read a little about them you will see why they wont work. the way that you upshift and downshift with the derrailure is a totally new design even to the roadie nerds out there.
 

Bikerpunk241

Monkey
Sep 28, 2001
765
0
Is your chain long enough? The Gemini's have enough chain growth that if you run your chain too short, you could break your der.:poster_oops:
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,919
borcester rhymes
you=teh fail

it was sarcasm. seems to me that anything you put back there is going to get crushed, so pick the best looking one and ride carefully.