Shimano MTB Groupset Chart

Table of Contents

Quickly gauge the year and value with the help of this Shimano MTB Groupset Chart.

When looking for new projects I often find myself wondering what year a certain bicycle is based on its groupset. It’s not always that easy to find the year of a bike with just the brand and type. Simply because almost always they span multiple years.

But as Shimano started to dominate the bicycle industries’ groupsets in the late eighties and nineties, you can use the chart below to quickly assess the year and value.

By knowing the number of gears (6, 7, 8 etc.) and the type of the groupset, you know what year you’re dealing with and the quality of the groupset.

Shimano MTB groupsets

groupset	XTR	Deore XT	SLX	Deore	Alivio	Acera	Altus
1983		M700 : 6 speed
1984
1985
1986
1987		M730 : indexed 6 speed		MT60 : 6 speed
1988
1989		M732 : 7 speed	MT62 : 7 speed (Deore II)	M500 : 7 speed (Mountain LX)	M450 : 6 speed (Exage Mountain)	M350 : 6 speed (Exage Trail)	M250 : 6 speed (Exage Country)
1990		M735 : 7 speed rapidfire	M650/550 : 7 speed (Deore DX/Deore LX)	500LX : 7 speed (Exage)	400LX : 7 speed (Exage)	300LX : 7 speed (Exage)	200GS : 7 speed
1991
1992	M900 : 8 speed rapidfire+
1993			M560 : 7 speed (Deore LX)	M520 : 7 speed (Exage ES)	(discontinued)	M320 : 7 speed (Exage LT)	A10, A20, C10 : 7 speedC20 : 6 speed
1994		M737 : 8 speed		MC30/31 : 7 speed (STX/STX-SE)	MC10/MC11 : 7 speed (Alivio)	(discontinued)	C50 : 6 speed
1995	M910 : 8 speed		M565 : 8 speed (Deore LX)	MC32/MC33 : 7 speed (STX/STX-RC)	MC12 : 7 speed	M290 : 7 speed (Acera-X)	C90 : 7 speed
1996	M950: 8 speed	M739: 8 speed	M567 : 8 speed (Deore LX)	MC34/MC36 : 7 speed (STX/STX-RC)	MC14 : 7 speed
1997			M569 : 8 speed (Deore LX)	MC37/MC38 : 7/8 speed (STX/STX-RC)	MC16 : 7 speed		CT92 : 7 speed
1998	M951: 8 speed					M291 : 7 speed (Acera X)
1999	M952 : 9 speed	M750 : 9 speed	M570 : 9 speed (Deore LX)		MC18 : 8 speed	M330 : 8 speed