SRAM X9 2x10 High Direct Mount Front Derailleur

I replaced a SRAM X7 - this one's a LOT better built and doesn't bend like the X7.

I want to love SRAM front derailleurs, but some models work better than others. The high clamp dual-pull design uses a sculpted lever with wire guide to apply leverage from either the top or bottom. The wire wraps around the guide over 90 degrees before reaching the cable retainer bolt. Both the lever and the bolt have design flaws.First, you have to thread the wire through the wire guide, and then follow the guide around the bend and capture the wire in the captive nut on the back of the derailleur, then tighten the bolt. There is no way to get proper tension with a new cable around the cable guide, so you have to tighten up the cable adjusters right away. In my case I couldn't get it tight enough, so I had to raise the derailleur on the seat post, tighten the cable, then push the derailleur back into position to firm up the tension. Once the cable was tight, it shifted in the wire guide after a few shifts, effectively cutting a corner and creating slack, making it impossible to shift to the big ring.The retaining bolt also has problems. The wire isn't captured directly under the bolt, but rather on the backside of the derailleur under a nut attached to the bolt. This nut is squared off to prevent it from rotating, but in my case I was having trouble with the cable slipping, so I tightened up this bolt, but the nut rotated, stripping the body of the derailleur and letting the nut rotate freely. This ruined my derailleur, and I didn't even get one ride out of it. Note that I do regular bike maintenance, I have built several bikes from the ground up, and I know what I'm doing. I used a torque wrench for the initial setting, so I know that it wasn't holding at the recommended torque. This is just a faulty design, one that isn't shared on the low clamp model or the alternatives from Shimano.I ended up getting a low-clamp model of SRAM 2x10 front derailleur, and that is a 5 star product. If you have to use the high-clamp model on your frame, be careful.