Hardtail over full suspension

cbcbd said:

Shifting will be a lot smoother from Deore to XTR. But unless you're racing for time or are a serious enthusiast with $$ then top component sets are just way more expensive and probably not worth it.

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I always wondered how much difference there could be. My HT has a Deore rear der. and Alivio shifters (2005 vintage), when I got it a few years ago it shifted so good I couldn't imagine it getting any better. It still shifts as good, but now I'm riding on a bike with older a Deore LX rear der. and Deore shifters (2002 vintage) and the difference is quite noticeable. I'd like to try out a bike with XT or XTR components to see just how good those are. That said the Deore Alivio combo is more than adequate for the riding I do, it's never caused me any problems.

bvibert said:

I always wondered how much difference there could be. My HT has a Deore rear der. and Alivio shifters (2005 vintage), when I got it a few years ago it shifted so good I couldn't imagine it getting any better. It still shifts as good, but now I'm riding on a bike with older a Deore LX rear der. and Deore shifters (2002 vintage) and the difference is quite noticeable. I'd like to try out a bike with XT or XTR components to see just how good those are. That said the Deore Alivio combo is more than adequate for the riding I do, it's never caused me any problems.

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I personally dont notice to much difference bwteeen LX level stuff and XT/ XTR level. They seems to perform just as well, the XT/XTR just weigh less. I am a bif fan of LX or X7 (SRAM equivilant) becuase the perform well, and are MUCH cheaper to replace. If you ride technical trails you WILL have to replace a rear der one day and I would rather pay $60 over $100 any day. The LX / X7 stuff is also more durable IMO. All that said the lowest level I would ever consider is Deore, and that would only be on a front der. Anything lower than Deore is junk. Randi's bike came with Deore and Alivio ders and I had to replace them with in one month of riding. She now as full XT

when considering the componets on a bike, I would consider suspension quality before all else. To upgrade to a decent fork is very pricy. To upgrade some deore level components to LX or XT would be a fraction of that cost. So if you have the choice go with better suspension with lower components vs. low end suspension with high end components.

If your on a budget HT are the way to go. For under a grand you can get a kick ass HT. But you cannot touch a good FS for less than $1500. To get a FS with the same level of stuff on the $1000 HT will cost around $2000. HT are also better for leaning basic bike handling skills.

I'm confused by this statement. What do you mean by 'serious mountain bikes'? As in heavy duty, like the ones that are meant for DH anyway?

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Yup, I'm talking about heavy duty downhill mountain bikes. If your doing lift served mountain biking at a ski resort that what's your going to want to be on. Since Greg is a mogul guy I figured that's the type of mountain biking he should be doing. :lol: