deore vs deore lx

Slight increase in performance, tho not much at all. Not enough to justify the $$ increase. My buddy has full Deore. No problems yet, and we beat the heck out of our bikes.

bizarrpro said:

is there a great difference in performance? how much r their price difference?

I've got a full deore and a full lx equipped bike minus brakes. The lx parts are a bit nicer but they can really cost more depending on the part. The lx cranks and bottom bracket are really light but are a big jump in price over deore, I'd buy deore again and live with the square taper. The lx shifters feel more substantial and seem more weather proof than the deore, I really like them and would buy them again over deore any day. They feel like they pivot on bearings and not bushing inside and click gears very solidly. The derailleurs are a little better made to look at them, I'd buy lx for the front again, not much price difference. The rear has a much better cage, but uses the exact same pulleys as deore and they have to be replaced just as frequently as deore. The cage definitely last longer on the lx so I've been updating them with XT sealed bearing pulley sets but that's about 25$ each. I will buy xt rear ders. in the future as the pulleys offset initial cost. I can't see much difference in the hubs other than the lx has a nicer finish. I have no facts on weight or bearing quality in the hubs, I've not had to service them yet.

bizarrpro said:

is there a great difference in performance? how much r their price difference?

As far as my experience goes, I'll build with smoother LX shifters and LX hubs and save money using Deore everywhere else except for V-brakes and possibly cranks. Shimano V-brakes are a little overengineered. I'd rather stick with a simpler and generally lighter V-brake mechanism. Although Octalink is very weatherproof, I'm not the only rider whose had one come loose. If I can get a good deal on an ISIS crank, I'll swing that way.

A few years ago at least I thought LX was the bare minimum for performance. Don't know now. Lesser stuff (STX etc..) would always fail e.g. upshift 'automatically' under full torque etc. XT and XT-R was more for lightening the parts. I have full XT-R and have no complaints. And my large bike weighs 22ish. If you are thinking I spent a fortune, I didn't. I bought it used. 😄