Model/Year: Medium Cage 2010

Pros: - Immediate shifts
- Lightweight
- Cost

Cons: - Shifts are not crisp or smooth
- Weak and bends easily
- Not precise

Recommendation: You get what you pay for. The X7 isn't the smoothest or fastest (response) but it will get the job done. Something does have to be said for the cost as it comes in at a very reasonable price.

However, the arm isn't made out of the strongest metals and tends to bend which causes poor performance.

Ultimately it doesn't live up to real day abuse and should only be considered if your on a budget.

Model/Year: 2011

Pros: Cheap!
Loud noisy shift that lets you immediately know you are in another gear. Some people seem to love this about SRAM derailleurs

Cons: Loud noisy shift that lets you immediately know you are in another gear. I don't really care for this feature in SRAM derailleurs.

Recommendation: Works well, especially given the price that these can be found for. If you can get over the noise (marketing hype calls it "direct shift"), it actually shifts pretty well and is easy to set up just like a decent RD should be.

Pros: Strong
Shifts Great
Cheap

Cons: None

Recommendation: I've been running this on my DH rig for 2 years. It always shifts great. I've never had to adjust anything on it. It's taken a few hits and still works like new. Cheap to buy as well. Great product!

Pros: works great, shifts well under torque

Pros: everything

Cons: non

Recommendation: butter shifts like butter bought my x7 setup from wheel world oem for 30 bucks. combined with all x7 setup shifts like a dream. i was talking with a sram rep at a local bike shop who said the only difference in x7 and x9 was that the 9 had 2 metal handles instead of 1. i cant believe shimano is still in business

Pros: Not too heavy. Not too pricey. Strong for what you pay for.

Cons: Different to setup then shimano systems due to the accuation ratio (not really a con, just something you need to learn to do). No matter what I do, I can get this derailleur to shift flawlessly on 8 out of 9 gears. There's always one trouble maker.

Recommendation: Good derailleur for the price, but the X9, X0 and XX derailleurs are in another league.

Pros: sram

Cons: Plastic cage/swing arm thing.

Recommendation: A decent derailleur, but it pales in comparison with the X-9. For not very much more you can land a far, far superior derailleur! I destroyed this in very little time at all. But derailleurs are susceptible to frequent annihilation anyways.