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 | Saint | 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 |