SLX or XT - worth saving money here?

[Tatt]

Update from my side..

 

I service my bike religiously,  and with full M8000 XT 2x I have had to replace front granny, 11-42 cassette and the clutch went on the derailleur on Sunday. Bike was built 6th Jan and has done around 4500 kay's. 

 

XT cassettes are very expensive, and I'd hope they would last a bit longer.  I had SLX cassette on my previous bike and that got me to 8000 kay's before needing to be changed.

 

I am not too sure what the clutch will cost to fix - I will know this afternoon...

 

Today I have bought Sunrace 11-42 for around R750. Unfortunately I won't be able to use it for a while as  I have fitted anther XT 11-40 cassette which I  had spare.

 

In short, take wear and tear into consideration, you might have to repeat the outlay on some parts very soon after purchase, this is particularly my experience so far with XT parts vs my SLX which lasted longer.

 

I also had a similar experience with my Ice Techs, both front and back only lasted 3 months before I  needed new rotors (but I  am 112 kgs, so this might have helped the wear and tear).... And Ice Techs aren't cheap either..

 

Tom

[s14phoenix]

LOL. No, and I'm an SRAM fan. 

 

nee sies - Myles just lost all his trail cred.

 

That said... I use a X01 Cassette with M9000 RD and shifter...

[the nerd]

 

I am not too sure what the clutch will cost to fix - I will know this afternoon...

 

 

Hopefully your lbs orders the clutch parts from shimano and not try sell you a whole new mech... 

[dirtypot]

Hopefully your lbs orders the clutch parts from shimano and not try sell you a whole new mech... 

 

If a whole new RD is sold though, can I have the old broken one?

[varkie2]

I prefer slx shifters over XT shifters to be honost, But then again i prefer XT brakes over SLX brakes. But SLX is as good for the job in my opinion.

[Long Wheel Base]

look up the differences on the specifications listing on si.shimano.com

There is a 3MB pdf you can download with all specs.

 

Very little weight difference except for crankset and cassette.

 

XT shifters have slightly improved feel due to use of bearings instead of bushes and the double downshift and max 4 upshifts per stroke. SLX M7000 has only the single downshift and max 3 upshifts.

 

On 10spd SLX the double downshift could be enabled by removing a moulded tab inside the shifter cover. i.e. this functionality was deliberately disabled on SLX.

 

On the brakes, XT has bite point adjustment. This was not very effective on the M785 series, dunno about M8000.

 

On the brake discs, although interchangeable the standard discs for XT are ice-tec with steel/alu sandwich (RT-86) vs steel only (RT-76) for SLX. This makes a big difference in performance and if buying a full groupset that includes discs, you sometimes get lower spec discs or smaller sizes that you don't want.

 

In general, XT parts sometimes have better sealing, bearings instead of bushes, more corrosion resistant metals and better finish. Otherwise very similar.

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Seriously? I am going to try this out. Have XT on my bike with double down shift and my toppie has SLX on his anthem and I really do like my double down shift. So will have a look on his SLX.

[lerouc]

Update from my side..

 

I service my bike religiously,  and with full M8000 XT 2x I have had to replace front granny, 11-42 cassette and the clutch went on the derailleur on Sunday. Bike was built 6th Jan and has done around 4500 kay's. 

 

XT cassettes are very expensive, and I'd hope they would last a bit longer.  I had SLX cassette on my previous bike and that got me to 8000 kay's before needing to be changed.

 

I am not too sure what the clutch will cost to fix - I will know this afternoon...

 

Today I have bought Sunrace 11-42 for around R750. Unfortunately I won't be able to use it for a while as  I have fitted anther XT 11-40 cassette which I  had spare.

 

In short, take wear and tear into consideration, you might have to repeat the outlay on some parts very soon after purchase, this is particularly my experience so far with XT parts vs my SLX which lasted longer.

 

I also had a similar experience with my Ice Techs, both front and back only lasted 3 months before I  needed new rotors (but I  am 112 kgs, so this might have helped the wear and tear).... And Ice Techs aren't cheap either..

 

Tom

 

i love my ice tech rotors, fitted them after my 1st K2C where my old avids overheated. And it has been exactly 3 years now since then and i weigh (on average) in just under 130kilos. But on the other side i might just use my brakes less than others.

[CAAD4]

Update from my side..

 

I service my bike religiously, and with full M8000 XT 2x I have had to replace front granny, 11-42 cassette and the clutch went on the derailleur on Sunday. Bike was built 6th Jan and has done around 4500 kay's.

 

XT cassettes are very expensive, and I'd hope they would last a bit longer. I had SLX cassette on my previous bike and that got me to 8000 kay's before needing to be changed.

 

I am not too sure what the clutch will cost to fix - I will know this afternoon...

 

Today I have bought Sunrace 11-42 for around R750. Unfortunately I won't be able to use it for a while as I have fitted anther XT 11-40 cassette which I had spare.

 

In short, take wear and tear into consideration, you might have to repeat the outlay on some parts very soon after purchase, this is particularly my experience so far with XT parts vs my SLX which lasted longer.

 

I also had a similar experience with my Ice Techs, both front and back only lasted 3 months before I needed new rotors (but I am 112 kgs, so this might have helped the wear and tear).... And Ice Techs aren't cheap either..

 

Tom

Hi Tom who is selling Sunrace casettes for R750?

[nonky]

Repeated overseas tests have shown little to no difference between new SLX and XT brakes.

I replaced some deore brakes with XT and i honestly cannot tell the difference.

 

As for the drivetrain, i love my SRAM 1x11 but my old XT 2x10 was also cool - whether anyone can tell the difference between slx and xt shifting i'll leave to the experts.  

 

With wheels and Fork, however, you'll feel the difference every single time you ride.

[Tatt]

Hi Tom who is selling Sunrace casettes for R750?

 

Cycle Technix in Kenilworth has them - was R799, not R750. They also have the 46 tooth on order and will be arriving in October. 

 

Tom

[CAAD4]

Cycle Technix in Kenilworth has them - was R799, not R750. They also have the 46 tooth on order and will be arriving in October.

 

Tom

Thanks Tom

[nox1111]

I enjoyed this read; http://blog.artscyclery.com/mountain/ask-a-mechanic-shimano-xtr-where-to-spend-your-money/

[Mr lee]

Update from my side..

 

I service my bike religiously,  and with full M8000 XT 2x I have had to replace front granny, 11-42 cassette and the clutch went on the derailleur on Sunday. Bike was built 6th Jan and has done around 4500 kay's. 

 

XT cassettes are very expensive, and I'd hope they would last a bit longer.  I had SLX cassette on my previous bike and that got me to 8000 kay's before needing to be changed.

 

I am not too sure what the clutch will cost to fix - I will know this afternoon...

 

Today I have bought Sunrace 11-42 for around R750. Unfortunately I won't be able to use it for a while as  I have fitted anther XT 11-40 cassette which I  had spare.

 

In short, take wear and tear into consideration, you might have to repeat the outlay on some parts very soon after purchase, this is particularly my experience so far with XT parts vs my SLX which lasted longer.

 

I also had a similar experience with my Ice Techs, both front and back only lasted 3 months before I  needed new rotors (but I  am 112 kgs, so this might have helped the wear and tear).... And Ice Techs aren't cheap either..

 

Tom

 

I know I am reviving an old thread here but do you perhaps have any further feedback on your findings after another 9 months with your M8000 groupset?

[Tatt]

I know I am reviving an old thread here but do you perhaps have any further feedback on your findings after another 9 months with your M8000 groupset?

 

 

It got interesting....

 

My LBS were great with the clutch and highlighted that it needed a lot more attention than they had previously given it. So it was just a quick service and it was back to normal again.

 

The 11-40 lasted just under 900 kays, which wasn't what I expected. Annoyingly most of the wear was on the alu sprockets, with the steel all perfect.

 

The Sunrace has got about 400 kays now and is still going strong. For the price I am very happy going this route, and will probably go with an SLX/Sunrace build on my next bike in August. 

 

Tom

[Mr lee]

It got interesting....

 

My LBS were great with the clutch and highlighted that it needed a lot more attention than they had previously given it. So it was just a quick service and it was back to normal again.

 

The 11-40 lasted just under 900 kays, which wasn't what I expected. Annoyingly most of the wear was on the alu sprockets, with the steel all perfect.

 

The Sunrace has got about 400 kays now and is still going strong. For the price I am very happy going this route, and will probably go with an SLX/Sunrace build on my next bike in August. 

 

Tom

 

Wow that is interesting... Do you ride in allot of mud or extremely dusty conditions?

How often did you wash and lube the bike with that cassette setup?

Was the 11-40 an M8000 variant?

 

I was under the impression that the SLX M7000 also has larger alu sprockets and that the only real difference was that some of the mid-upper gears are connected with a spider on the XT M8000, while the SLX M7000 has complete individual sprockets with spacers. They are effectively the same material so I would expect that the SLX would wear the same...for you anyway      

[Tatt]

Wow that is interesting... Do you ride in allot of mud or extremely dusty conditions?

How often did you wash and lube the bike with that cassette setup?

Was the 11-40 an M8000 variant?

 

I was under the impression that the SLX M7000 also has larger alu sprockets and that the only real difference was that some of the mid-upper gears are connected with a spider on the XT M8000, while the SLX M7000 has complete individual sprockets with spacers. They are effectively the same material so I would expect that the SLX would wear the same...for you anyway      

 

Mine is dust and sand and a buffalo rider. 11-40 was M8000, it came with the original groupset. I bought the 11-42 at the same time, as I wanted all the help I could get for the Epic last year.

 

Will use a Sunrace cassette next build and all the other bits will be SLX (shifters etc). Rotors will be Ice Techs again.

 

Pic attached of what the clutch did when it packed-up.