squachie

This is my 97' retro-mod. Lots of NOS goodies, The bike its self is NOS. I pulled it fresh from the box to do this build. The list of NOS parts are as follows. frame, fork, bars, stem, seat post, Slr seat, Deore Xt crankset, Hg90 7 speed cassette, F/R xt derailleurs, DeoreXt top mount thumbies, DeoreDx hubs laced to Araya rm-20 hoops.
Stock it was a 24spd, went for a 21spd build. Someday I might even ride it..lol. makes me wish I was in my 20s again.

jolly_codger

Very nice; full marks to you on that build! Two random thoughts that came to me looking at that beauty: The last generation of the XT 7-speed shifters had a "secret" extra click so that you could run an 8-speed cassette. Deore DX was a short-lived group that was just a notch below XT; never had anything DX back in my racing days to say how close they were but I often search eBay for DX equipped bikes of that era to see if I can find a diamond in the rough.
John

squachie

I have never used the extra click that I also have heard of, seems strange to me since 8spd was not around as yet. the DeoreDx and DeoreII as they were called the poor mans XT. However The DeoreDx was actually a tad lighter groupo because the Xt used Thicker cables and housing in original trim than the DX versions. The deroeDx thumbie mounts were steel vs cast alloy for the xt, the Xt came with black levers and rubber mud boots

georges1

Lovely bike I wanted at one time a Bontrager Privateer MTB frame but all the ones I have seen for sale were too small for me

PhilFo 

I've used the extra "8th shift" click since 1995 using XTII shifters. The only time it has failed is when the shifter is dirty or worn out. I have this setup now on my heavy duty Univega Alpina Uno.