ZhengZL

Just curious, what would last longer for me, linkglide or gx/xt 11 when all I do is just smash the derailleur all the time. I don't really have an issue with chain wear, or other parts, and 11speed would also be lighter and less unsprung weight, but linkglide looks damn good for a casual smasher like me.

@mattmatthew: haha, actually yes. But I did also consider going 11 speed (would require changing everything + freehub) or less, or maybe even a gearbox frame. I'm currently broke though so I just bend the hangers to offset the bend on the derailleur.

@vinay: I'd partly agree. 1. Because most of my mates run 12 speed and only one of them has similar problems with smashing derailleurs, so it might just be a "me" thing. 2. Hangers would ideally break before the mech does, and considering most modern bikes come stock with 12 speed drivetrains, they should give in before the 12spd derailleurs do. The thing is impacts are unpredictable, could be a twist, a sideways impact, etc. Either way, I think my best bet in the future might be: 1. Going for a gearbox frame 2. Going for 11spd or less (easier to index, while bent) 3. Maybe go linkglide (11/10 speed + a really long-lasting cheap and replace drivetrain overall) 3 wouldn't make sense for performance as unsprung weight takes a big hit, but time will tell what I do. Currently I just bend the hanger to offset the bend on the mech, bent it lots of times and it still hasn't given in.

@stephenzkie: I disagree, I broke 3 to 4 derailleurs (Shimano 12 spd XT, SLX and DEORE) and none of the times did the hanger give in. It did bend once, when I was on the deore, fixed it, crashed, hanger was straight derailluer was bent. Then I bought a GX (cable) derailleur, hit a rock, derailleur stopped shifting right and the hanger was straight. I can't afford any more derailleurs so I just bent one of the hangers I have to make the GX shift well. So far so good, haven't broken it for a while now.

@Highlandshredderr: idk m8, my canyon strive broke 3 derailleurs and the hanger has yet to snap. I rather have my hanger snap than those 3 derailleurs though lol