Originally Posted by
SHBR
Eh, my experience says otherwise, that tourney RD is a sloppy P.O.S. (It never shifted well, and got substantially worse in short order)
I switched to a SRAM x-3 combo and have been shifting flawlessly for the past 3 years.
I also ride a high tensile steel Dahon folder, and an old CAAD-3 warranty replacement frame converted to single speed.
I'm willing to bet that both of these bikes will outlive me.
I do agree that Tourney RDs - especially the ones with the red jockey wheel - will be utter crap in the shift quality department in everyday use. I've owned several bikes - both brandname and knockoff - that had them and my experience mirrors yours: I had to work on them at least once every week.
But my post that you quoted wasn't about how well they shifted; it was about whether they would stay in service for a reasonable amount of time (measured in years rather than months or weeks.)
I also agree that any Tourney RD can't hold a candle to the more affordable ones among the (arguably simpler) SRAM range. While the X3 on my current Dahon isn't as "nice" as the X5's that were on my older Mu and Speed, it's still a far cry from the curved-face Tourney that came on my old Vybe. I never even had to adjust it once since I rode the bike home from the shop. And yet, I'm sure that the Tourney will last just as long as the X3 and will be much cheaper to replace (last time I saw them local Trek dealer sell one, it was for about 80 riyals/$17, and the level of abuse that the customer had inflicted on his entry-level Trek was borderline criminal.)