# shimano 105 vs deore xt



## muffinski (3 Aug 2009)

Any thoughts on which might be better on a tourer that is also going to be used as a commuter?

Condor offer these two groupsets on their Heritage but both are the same price.


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## Deafie (4 Aug 2009)

XT is more suitable for carrying luggage up hills. Lower granny gear and all that.


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## muffinski (4 Aug 2009)

Is there any difference in strenght?


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## andym (4 Aug 2009)

muffinski said:


> Is there any difference in strenght?



I'd very much doubt it, but you could try comparing the weights as a very rough proxy for strength. I've not heard of anyone busting a mech though.


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## muffinski (4 Aug 2009)

Cheers for that


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## Gerry Attrick (4 Aug 2009)

I have 105 on my road bike and Deore on my tourer. If anything, the gear changes on my tourer are even sweeter than the road bike.


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## GrahamG (4 Aug 2009)

You could argue that 9 speed (XT) will be a little more robust than the 10 speed (105) - either way, chains and cassettes will be a little cheaper for the former and probably more widely available thanks to the popularity of mountain bikes.

*Edit - definitely MTB group if going to be used as a tourer, I'm in the middle of faffing with road triple equipped bikes to lower gearing for a tour right now!

This is going to be a rather nice bike to commute on - have you thought of something lower maintenance/cheaper for commuting duties?


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## Pottsy (4 Aug 2009)

As said previously, you get cassettes with greater ranges and lower gearing in general with XT. 

Personally I think 105 suits a lighter, audax type tourer and perhaps XT for a more rugged, expedition type tourer. That's purely an image in my mind though.

I built my Surly LHT with XT.

Does the type of gear shifters you want make a difference with compatibility? (I ask to anyone generally). i.e. STIs on the drops, bar-ends for simplicity, MTB style for flat bars etc. Just a thought.


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## muffinski (4 Aug 2009)

Because I intend to use the bike as an all rounder ie for commuting and sunday rides etc I feel that STI's will be more practical than bar ends, especially in London traffic. However am I told that bar ends are more reliable due to having less moving parts (7?) to than STI's


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## adrianlondon (4 Aug 2009)

Anyone here use the newish SLX range? I'm thinking of getting that (instead of LX and/or XT) on a new tourer/commuter.


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## andym (4 Aug 2009)

Adrian - yes I've got the SLX on one of my bikes. I haven't put it to much of a test but it's a nice, quality bit of kit, that's reassuringly solid and seems every bit as robust as XT so I'd definitely give it a go.

Muffinski - yes I think there are issues about compatibility - but I'm wracking my brains to remember what they are. I _think_ that road and MTB front mechs operate with different cable pulls (which you could get round if you have STIs with friction mode for the front). But it could be the other way round - or it might have nothing to do with cable pull. Ring Condor (make them do some work for their money) - and then post the answer!

I don't know where you live in London, but I find that I rarely need to change gears so I'm sure bar ends would be perfectly feasible.


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## muffinski (4 Aug 2009)

Andym - re changing gear in London, this is true I am riding fixed at present. I'll let you know what Condor say


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## Danny (4 Aug 2009)

muffinski said:


> Because I intend to use the bike as an all rounder ie for commuting and sunday rides etc I feel that STI's will be more practical than bar ends, especially in London traffic. However am I told that bar ends are more reliable due to having less moving parts (7?) to than STI's


Modern STIs are pretty reliable. I have tried bar end shifters and found them a pain to use even for touring, as I spend most of my time riding on the hoods not the drops.

My tourer has Deore gears with Compag Veloce shifters, which work a treat.


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## andym (4 Aug 2009)

Oh I was going to say that the other alternative to bare ends in the erm bar end is is to convert them to thumbies and put them on top of the bar.







(From SJS Cycles, he said stating the blindingly obvious). 

Expensive though at £85. I like the simplicity, but I doubt there's any real benefit in terms of reliability.


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## BalkanExpress (4 Aug 2009)

Any chance Condor would let you mix and match? On my (new) Kona Sutra I have a Tiagra front mech witha 50/39/30 triple and an XT back mech which allows an 11-34 cassette.

At the top end I'm 50-11 so I will take me a lot to spinout going downhill, and at the bottom I'm 30-34 which should be enough fully laden up most hills.

The mix and match means i have bar end changers which will take a bit of getting used to after the rapidfires on my Cannondale, but I don't see it being too much of a problem (mind you i've never used STi so perhaps don't know what I'm missing)


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## muffinski (5 Aug 2009)

They might do. How you getting on with the "new" sutra how does it handle without panniers etc?


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## BalkanExpress (7 Aug 2009)

muffinski said:


> They might do. How you getting on with the "new" sutra how does it handle without panniers etc?



Sorry for the late reply the bike is so new (and I'd been having brake issues, see tech section) I hadn't had sufficent of a ride on it to give a proper answer. 

However, just for you I took it out on my commute this morning

Commute is 70m downhill over a km then 200m uphill over 3km, some at greater than 1 in 10, then 4km to descend 300 metres. This includes one 500m stretch down hill over cobbles (not nasty Flemish ones but still rather bumpy).

Comparision is with my M800 on (26x1.75) travel contacts at 70ish psi.

Downhill nice and stable, not as fast as a road bike but considerable faster than the M800 due in large part to the higher gearing and general confidence in the ride which was much more gentle in terms of road buzz and and smooth round teh bends where it held a nice line.

Uphill, .....well I got up the hill, with the granny to spare, (in my defense the saddle needs to go up a bit and I was on flats not the usual clipless also I'm fat and unfit).

Cobbles:, bouncy but there is nice comfy tape on the oversized bars so there was less buzz than previously even with the narower profile tyres. 

Roadworks, okay over the sand, loose gravel and broken tarmac which has mysteriously replaced one of the streets.

Overall, I'm very happy with the bike, I wasn't looking for a speed machine but something I could ride in a relaxed way on a weekend and do a bit of touring on. also I have it in blue and it is a great colour

Caveat: never trust anything I say about bikes themselves. My roadbike is a Peugeot comete (yes the one with the US recall) and for my MTB I nearly bought a Kirk revolution 
http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40664&highlight=kirk


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## twowheelsgood (10 Aug 2009)

The 46T XT (not the 44T MTB version) will be about perfect for touring, whereas the 52T 105 will be too high.

Cassettes and chains are interchangeable, the only decision you have to make is to match the front deraiilieur with the crankset as road will not work properly with MTB and vice versa (I think the MTB is spaced wider).


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## Crankarm (10 Aug 2009)

It is my understanding that the XT hubs have better seals on them than the road Shimano hubs so would be better for touring where roads and weather are not so good. Also they might well be more robust as they have specially treated ball bearings to increase durability according to Shimano. I got an XT 36H 9 spd rear hub in preference to Ultegra for this reason for my hybrid tourer with an Ultegra 12-25 cassette which is a lot lighter and just as strong if not stronger than equivalent XT cassettes. I have retained the Deore MTB triple mech on the front from when the bike had MTB gearing and now fitted a Campag Record triple 53-42-30 chainset. A Deore long cage deraillieur on the the rear. I have a new XT long cage which is currently a spare. I have an XT or Ultegra 9 spd chain on it I cannot remember off hand which. Everything works fine and I have a tremendous range of gears. I have been known to carry the odd heavy load although try to travel light. There isn't anything I haven't been able to get up or spin out on when on this bike.


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## andym (10 Aug 2009)

I've got both XT and Ultegra hubs - I'd honestly say I don't think there's anything to choose between them in terms of sealing. So far as I can tell the bearings on both bog-standard stainless steel. On the other hand, XTR hubs do have a special treatment on the races to increase bearing life and they are very well sealed as well.


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## Crankarm (10 Aug 2009)

I looked into the difference a couple of years back and the seals on the XT were either more substantial or there was an extra one in view of the off road use they would be put to in comparison to the road bike hubs whose seals are fine for the use they are put to on the road. Shimano claim the XT hubs are fitted with ball bearings that have an extra hard protective coating of Boron or Zirco...Sorry I don't have the spec or blurb to hand. I'm sure it's on their website. Dura-Ace is just silly money IMHO but obviously it is an available spec should one feel the need...


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## andym (10 Aug 2009)

No, you're confusing the races with the bearings. And XT with XTR.


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## Crankarm (10 Aug 2009)

andym said:


> No, you're confusing the races with the bearings. And XT with XTR.



I'm not confusing anything. You mentioned Dura Ace which is road spec and now you mention XTR which is the quivalent spec for Dura Ace but for MTBs. My 36H XT hubs have hardened ball bearings please read my post. I neither want to have to dig around Shimano's website or through my box of cycling component leaflets right now just to prove to you that this is the case. So you'll just have to take my word for it at the mo I'm afraid.


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## upsidedown (11 Aug 2009)

My LHT has XT with Dura Ace bar-ends, works a treat.


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## andym (11 Aug 2009)

Crankarm said:


> I'm not confusing anything. You mentioned Dura Ace which is road spec and now you mention XTR which is the quivalent spec for Dura Ace but for MTBs. My 36H XT hubs have hardened ball bearings please read my post. I neither want to have to dig around Shimano's website or through my box of cycling component leaflets right now just to prove to you that this is the case. So you'll just have to take my word for it at the mo I'm afraid.



Erm no I didn't mention Dura-Ace. I mentioned XTR because the XTR hubs have boron-coated _races_. SFAIK XT don't, but Shimano may have changed the spec.


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## Crankarm (11 Aug 2009)

andym said:


> Erm no I didn't mention Dura-Ace. I mentioned XTR because the XTR hubs have boron-coated _races_. SFAIK XT don't, but Shimano may have changed the spec.



I stand corrected you didn't mention Dura-Ace I did . But you did XTR as you've now clarified. I'll dig out the spec I think my XT hubs are as per above.


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## Pottsy (11 Aug 2009)

upsidedown said:


> My LHT has XT with Dura Ace bar-ends, works a treat.



So has mine.


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## Edwardsayshi (21 Mar 2021)

muffinski said:


> Any thoughts on which might be better on a tourer that is also going to be used as a commuter?
> 
> Condor offer these two groupsets on their Heritage but both are the same price.



XT is better for going uphill and carrying luggage. I live in a mountainous area, but enjoy riding on the local roads. I also run a lot of errands such as local shopping while riding. Sometimes I just like to go out and ride for fun and fitness. I combined the XT rear cassette and shifters with a hybrid road front crankset. This gives me comfortable climbing ability and decent speed on the roads. I placed them on a Marin Hybrid so it suits the build of the bike. The hybrid front crankset allows room for the XT combination in the rear to climb and gives me speed on the roads.


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## Blue Hills (21 Mar 2021)

I'd go for the Deore.
And on a tourer, 9 speed.
On hubs, LX or equivelent rather than XT - stronger - XT became, for odd reasons, rather too interested in weight saving.


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## Ming the Merciless (21 Mar 2021)




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## fossyant (21 Mar 2021)

12 years !


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## Blue Hills (21 Mar 2021)

fossyant said:


> 12 years !


Yebbut those old quality bits last well,i'm still fitting them, none of your modern junk.


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